Asphalt Maintenance 101: The Basics
As a business owner, it's important that you don't dismiss the care of your parking lot. For many business owners, parking lot maintenance is an afterthought, resulting in the need for costly repairs when neglect turns to serious damage. When you understand the crucial maintenance steps and put a care plan into action, you can minimize the damage to your parking lot and ensure that your employees and customers are safe on your property. Here are some of the things you need to consider regarding asphalt maintenance.
Keep It Clean
As simple as it seems, keeping your parking lot clean is an important first step. When you keep the parking lot clean, it helps to keep things off it that could ultimately cause the asphalt to deteriorate. For that reason, it's important to hire a sweeper who can clean your parking lot on a daily basis. This way, you don't have to worry about damaging or unsightly debris buildup.
Fill Cracks
The most common issue that you're likely to encounter with your parking lot is surface cracks in the asphalt. Asphalt will crack for many reasons, including the weight of vehicle travel, sun exposure, weathering, and more.
If you notice the presence of any cracks in your asphalt, it's important to address them right away. Cracks create vulnerabilities in the asphalt, allowing water to seep through and underneath the asphalt surface.
Over time, this can cause the soil to erode, and it can also freeze under the surface and cause further structural issues. That's why you should reach out to an asphalt maintenance service to fill any cracks with a surface coating. Filling the cracks will protect the asphalt from any below-surface damage.
Patch Minor Holes
Any time you discover holes, chips, or similar damage to your parking lot, you should have it patched right away. An asphalt service can help you with either cold patch or hot patch asphalt to fill in any holes. The right type of asphalt will depend on the extent of the damage and the time of year, but you'll be able to restore the asphalt condition in either case. Just remember that you'll also have to allow the patch to cure before letting anyone drive over it, so be prepared to rope off that area until it is secure.
Sealcoat The Surface
Once a year, you should have your parking lot surface seal coated. If the parking lot sees minimal traffic, you might be able to extend this to every two years. Talk with your asphalt maintenance contractor about the seal coating application for your parking lot and determine how often it should be treated.