Whether you are a commercial and residential property owner, keeping it in a good condition is very essential. And, one of the best ways to keep your property in a good condition, and also improve its value is by installing an asphalt driveway or parking lot.
Asphalt, as a paving option, comes with numerous benefits, when compared to other paving options. Thus, if you are searching for a paving option, consider choosing asphalt—thanks to its durability and pocket-friendly installation costs. Other benefits of using asphalt as a paving option include:
- Lower maintenance costs
- Lasts long under different weather conditions
- Durable and easy to repair
- Faster installation time
- Suitable for different traffic
Driveways and parking lots handle a lot of vehicle and foot traffic, heavyweight loads, as well as extreme weather conditions. Thus, quality asphalt installation is essential for the durability and longevity of these surfaces.
There are other reasons why most people opt to use asphalt as a paving option, other than concrete. Asphalt dries and cures faster, meaning you can use your surface a few hours after its installation. If maintained well, an asphalt driveway can last up to 35 years.
However, if you want to install an asphalt driveway or parking lot, it’s essential to note that certain things can affect the lifespan of pavement or parking lots. Therefore, you need to know how to prevent these surfaces from destruction.
Here are a few tips to help with that.
Clean your asphalt pavement regularly
This is the first step when it comes to protecting your asphalt pavement. A simple cleaning exercise such as sweeping helps in removing grit and sand that accumulates on asphalt surfaces. If you don’t do that, the grit can turn into an abrasive material.
With time, this abrasive will remove the top layer of your surface treatment, thus allowing water to penetrate the surface into the base layer. This, in turn, will cause your pavement to start deteriorating. Thus, ensure that you clean your pavement once every 2 – 3 months—sweeping or washing the pavement will get the job done.
Sealcoating
You should schedule regular sealcoating—preferably once in every two years. Sealcoating helps in prolonging the lifespan of asphalt paved surfaces and ensures that the integrity of these surfaces is not compromised. The materials used to seal coat asphalt contain certain chemical properties, which protect asphalt from external elements, which are some of the greatest enemies of asphalt.
Typically, asphalt surfaces are designed to have some degree of flexibility for durability purposes, and sealcoating helps in maintaining this flexibility. Also, sealcoating helps in preventing the formation of cracks, which pose a serious threat to asphalt. Lastly, sealcoating helps in controlling moisture, which can cause asphalt to deteriorate quickly.
Repair damages as soon as they happen
Florida asphalt paving experts from ABC Paving advise people to repair cracks and potholes on your driveway or parking long the moment you notice them. This is not debatable. If you notice any of these forms of damage, contact a professional paving contractor for the necessary course of action.
Failing to address this issue can cause the cracks and pothole to become bigger, which can be costly to repair. Whenever a vehicle drives over the pothole or crack, it becomes weaker and increases the possibility of the damage getting worse.
Avoid overloading
While it’s a challenge to avoid overloading your asphalt paved surface, it’s important to regulate how large vehicles like delivery trucks and garbage trucks access your driveway. They should only do it when necessary. These vehicles can easily damage your asphalt pavement if they are allowed to drive on it frequently.
Limiting their present on your driveway or parking lot helps in reducing the amount of load your pavement has to bear. A good way to do this is to move your garbage bins close to the roadway. With this, garbage trucks will not need to drive on your pavement to access them. You might consider this to be a tedious exercise, but it will go a long way in protecting your asphalt—which will, in turn, save you repair costs.
Install a catch basin
As highlighted above, water is the greatest enemy of asphalt pavements. Installing a catch basin will significantly reduce the chances of water damage. The design of catch basins allows water to leave your pavement or parking lot quickly, thus avoiding possibilities for damage.
Bottom Line
The secret to asphalt durability is a stable base. When installing asphalt for medium vehicles, you will need around 40 – 50 millimeters of asphalt layer. However, you might need a thicker layer if heavier vehicles frequently access your pavement or parking lot. Therefore, you will need to consult an experienced asphalt contractor to assess your pavement to see if the base is stable, or whether it needs extra work done before asphalt installation.