Parking Lot Maintenance and Sealcoating
Sealcoating is the best investment for your dollar. It helps to protect the asphalt from the UV rays of the sun, dripping oils from vehicles, water penetrating cracks, and various other elements that can harm your asphalt surfaces. It also helps re bind all the aggregate and keep it from raveling. I know most people think that sealcoating is a cosmetic project but this is not the case. It does however give your parking lots and roadways a fresh new black look but this is not the purpose of sealcoating. When you get your asphalt installed brand new it has a rich dark black look to it, that look will soon start to change over to a greyish look within the 1st year. This greyish look is beause the suns uv rays have dried out all the oils and liquid in the asphalt. It needs to be re sealcoated at that point to rebind the asphalt and protect it from drying out any further. This sealcoat will give it back some of its flexibility to absorb the movement of traffic on it. Otherwise without it the asphalt will start to crack and begin an irreversible process of erosion which would require asphalt repairs. Sealcoating is literally pennies per square foot opposed to the cost of having to re pave at 2-4 dollars per square foot. Proper preventative maintenance means sealcoating the property every 3-5 years depending on how much traffic flow the asphalt has. If you would like to learn more about the benefits of sealcoating then give us a call at 888-901-9042 or 941-413-0005 and one of our team would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Don't throw money Away!!
The last thing you want to do is have to spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to re pave your entire asphalt parking lot. I am sure you have better uses to spend that kind of money on, but the sad truth is without the proper preventative asphalt maintenance of your pavement you will not get the full life out of your asphalt products. Asphalt like everything else needs to be maintained in order to last decades. If untreated you will probably lose half its life early. Asphalt sealcoating fills surface voids, which reduces exposure to oxygen and UV rays and reduces the depth to which oil or gas can penetrate the asphalt. Sealcoating acts as a waterproofing agent, minimizing the rate at which water enters the asphalt. While there are many benefits to sealcoating, you have to decide if it’s the best decision for you. Depending on your situation, it may not be. For example, if your parking lot is made up of old, untreated asphalt, sealing it will not do much to preserve the already damaged asphalt. Asphalt sealcoat treatments are preventative surface treatments, but will not repair asphalt failure. If older asphalt is seal coated, then crackfill should also be applied where needed. This is will help slow the deterioration process. Let us put you on a comprehensive preventative maintenance plan that will save your asphalt. Ask us about our Free Pot Hole Repairs.
The Break Down
To understand the importance of sealcoating, you must first understand what asphalt is made of. Asphalt pavement is mostly made up of rock, fine stone or sand, gravel and asphalt cement which holds everything together and gives asphalt its black appearance. When harmful elements such as rain, sun and a variety of leaking auto mobile fluids come in contact with the asphalt, the pavement starts to deteriorate, fade, and become brittle, which causes the surface to have less resistance to heavy loads. Also, since asphalt is a petroleum product, other petroleum products such as oil, gasoline, transmission/power steering and/or brake fluids, dissolve into the asphalt causing it to weaken and break-up its “glue-like” properties. To reduce these types of damage to your asphalt, it is essential to implement regular seal coating into your pavement maintenance program. Most effective preventative maintenance programs call for parking lots and other asphalt surface areas to be sealcoated every 3-5 years.
Reasons to Sealcoat
Blocks the Drying Effects of the Sun- "Prevents Damage from Auto Fluids
- Adds flexibility to the Asphalt
- Increases Property Value
- Helps Prevent High Repair Costs
- Seal Coating Extends Pavement Life
- Curb Appeal
- Keeps Asphalt Looking New and Beautiful
- Seals out water and moisture
- Doubles your pavement life
- Saves You Money
