When you built your parking lot, you likely weighed your paving material choices very carefully before selecting asphalt. You may have been impressed with how quickly your new lot could be receiving traffic, or you may have been motivated by the economical price of asphalt paving. The superior safety and aesthetic appeal of asphalt may have also been considered. Now that your parking lot has been in regular use for a few years, you may have noticed some small cracks on your asphalt parking lot, and you are wondering whether they represent a serious issue. It is common for asphalt pavements to develop a few cracks, but you should not be too concerned. However, you should be concerned enough to have these small cracks repaired as soon as possible.
Why Do Small Cracks on an Asphalt Parking Lot Need Prompt Repairs?
Parking lot paving contractors do not just dump a load of asphalt and call it a pavement. Instead, they carefully design a pavement from the ground up, taking into account the properties of the soil, the weight of the vehicles that will use the pavement, and the volume of traffic expected on a typical day. They calculate the thickness of the aggregate base that will be installed to ensure that it will have the strength to support the pavement and the traffic. Next, they install and compact the base as well as the correct number of asphalt layers. During the first few years of your pavement’s life, you may not need any paving repairs, and your maintenance needs may consist of little more than sweeping, sealcoating, and lot striping. However, once cracks appear, you need to become even more proactive about your parking lot maintenance & repair. Cracks that are left open to water, automotive fluids, and dirt endanger the strength of your pavement’s foundation. Once the foundation becomes weak and unstable, your paving repairs are going to cost you much more than the price of an asphalt crack repair or two.
What Types of Damage Can Result From Ignoring Small Cracks on an Asphalt Parking Lot?
Parking lot maintenance companies know that the first thing that typically happens is that small cracks will deepen, widen, and lengthen. The increase in size can make pavement crack sealing more expensive, but worse damage awaits if you do not repair them. As the cracks grow, the amount of water that enters increases, and this leads to a weak, unstable base. Potholes form in areas where the eroded foundation has left an empty space between it and the pavement. Areas of your pavement will develop alligator cracking. To fix alligatored asphalt and potholes, your contractor will likely need to remove the damaged area, repair the foundation, and then replace the asphalt pavement that was removed. However, if the damage is spread over a wide area, the only cost-effective solution may be to completely reconstruct your pavement.
MH Greeson Paving Specializes in Asphalt Parking Lot Maintenance & Repair
If you are looking for a local asphalt paving company in the Marietta area, with integrity, impeccable references, many years of experience, and an exceptional reputation for extraordinary craftsmanship and exemplary service, contact us. We offer a range of services, including asphalt crack repair, sealcoating, parking lot striping, asphalt patching, parking lot signs, pavement markings, bollards, asphalt repair, ADA compliance, and car stops. We serve most locations in North Georgia from our headquarters in Marietta. To receive a free quote, submit our request form online, or call 770-335-2983.
