Parking lot maintenance is an essential part of maintaining the grounds in your commercial property. It includes a range of activities, including sealing in cracks, using new asphalt, painting and, replacing the curbs. However, maintenance activities are best handled in ideal weather conditions. Fall is an excellent opportunity to fix your parking lot because the ground is dry and the weather is warm. Without preventative maintenance, you may pay a high price in spring.
Why Can’t You Fix Your Asphalt Parking Lot In Winter?
When paving a parking lot, Strategic Grounds Management uses hot-mix asphalt. This mixture needs to remain within ideal temperatures to dry and compact appropriately before usage. The result of improper compaction and fast cooling is a poorly maintained parking lot.
Ground Temperature
When winter begins, the ground temperature decreases due to the cold weather, snow, and ice. If you decide to pave in the winter, the asphalt loses its temperature quickly, making it impossible to work with. The poor compaction and fast cooling causes potholes and cracks faster than usual. The ground below the asphalt and surrounding pavements also cool quickly, causing damage to your asphalt.
Precipitation
Precipitation prevents proper compaction, which causes an unevenly finished parking lot. It also affects the quality of the asphalt mixture, which causes cracks and potholes. Rain can also erode the asphalt, leaving the aggregate exposed to further erosion.
Temperature
Warm weather allows hot asphalt to retain its temperature during compaction and curing. Windy conditions cause problems because they cool the asphalt too quickly. Calm days are, therefore, best for concrete and asphalt repairs.
Warm weather is also essential for transportation, especially when working with asphalt. If the mixture loses heat during transit, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to lay.
Freeze and Thaw
In winter, water, ice, and snow become a common sight. Unfortunately, they cause further problems for any damaged asphalt or concrete parking lot. Usually, the water collects in a crack, freezes to form ice, and expands when the temperature drops. When the temperature rises, the ice thaws, and more water trickles in. The process repeats as the temperature fluctuates, causing wider cracks and potholes on your parking lot.
Here Are Several Matters to Consider Before Winter
Sealcoating
Sealcoating adds a liquid layer of protection from liquids and freezing temperatures that cause cracks and potholes on your asphalt. This job is best done before the temperatures drop below 50 degrees, and the leaves start falling.
Filling Cracks
Small cracks grow over winter due to freeze and thaw and also expose the sub-base to water damage. Filling all cracks and potholes before the cold weather sets in is essential.
Clean Up
Removing debris with a professional clean reveals any issues on your asphalt, such as cracks, uneven surfaces, and potholes. It also removes debris that may freeze with the snow and cause further damage to your parking lot.
Hire a Professional Asphalt Repairs Contractor
As a business owner, fixing one crack before winter could mean the difference between low-cost preventative maintenance and costly repairs in spring. Contact Strategic Grounds Management for asphalt repairs on your commercial grounds before winter.
