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What you don’t know about
your pavement
may be costing you money |
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Parking lots and adjacent paved areas are costly expenditures for commercial property owners. Getting the longest life possible from your asphalt surface makes good business sense.
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Fortunately, it’s an investment you can protect easily through standard monitoring and maintenance. |
Basically, the job of pavement is to provide a smooth, even seal over soil – a surface that makes it easy and pleasant to visit and work at your property. A common myth is: Limit the amount of weight of traffic using your pavement and it’s guaranteed to last and last. The reality is that traffic is only a minor player in the destruction of your asphalt surface.
These are the real culprits of surface deterioration:
*The ultra-violet rays of the hot sun cause oxidation and the aggregate material to protrude from the surface, making the pavement rough. The surface becomes brittle, cracks develop and the pavement deteriorates. |
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*Gasoline, oils, and jet fuels dissolve asphalt causing it to soften – or even worse – fail.
*Water in the underlying soil may make it unable to resist even ordinary loads. As the soil yields way, the pavement begins to crack and deteriorate. As time goes by, freeze-thaw cycles widen the cracks, letting in even more water and the problem continues to worsen at an accelerated pace.
The best way to get the most life out of your pavement begins with selecting a qualified contractor to install the pavement and conducting life-preserving maintenance. You should periodically evaluate your paved surfaces to see what work is needed to prolong it’s life.
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Preventive maintenance is the
key to making your
pavement investment last |
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Only one thing will maximize your pavement’s life – preventive maintenance. This means minor defects must be identified and repaired early, before major repairs are needed. It means sealing your pavement to keep out deteriorating elements and chemicals.
Preventive maintenance is important because even though small fissures in the pavement are rarely noticeable, they may develop into serious defects if not repaired early.
Cracks and surface breaks may occur in only a few days time in an under-designed pavement under heavy traffic. If the underlayment can’t accommodate it – especially in the presence of water – your surface will fail.
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One way to stop small fissures from developing into large problems is to have your pavement periodically inspected by a professional. Minor defects can be repaired before they deteriorate into pavement failures requiring major maintenance expenditures. Preventive maintenance should start soon after asphalt has been installed to add many years to its life and reduce the chance of problems developing in the future.
Now that you have some idea of the maintenance needs of your pavement, you’ll want to talk to a professional about your options.
Joe’s Paving Company would be happy to arrange a time to thoroughly inspect your pavement – And it’s absolutely free. |
Upon completion of the inspection, you will receive a written
Pavement Maintenance Evaluation Report on your property. |
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