Asphalt surfaces are used in many commercial settings because the material is durable, and repairs are simple if a crack or pothole develops. Working with an asphalt contractor to repair or restore the asphalt around your business is often the best way to keep the parking area or travel lanes on the property in good shape and extend the working life of the asphalt.
Making Repairs
Asphalt will stand up to many things like changes in weather, high traffic, and even some chemical spills. However, over time, the sun beating down on the surface, the changes in temperature, and the weight of vehicles on the asphalt can cause it to crack or potholes to develop that need repair.
An asphalt contractor can patch and seal the parking lot for you to extend its life, and if you have a lot of cracks, a hot sealer is often the best option for filling them to form a strong bond between both sides of the gap. The repair is not very hard to make, but it can take some time because the contractor needs to remove any sand, dirt, or foreign material before sealing the cracks.
Once the asphalt is prepped and cleaned, the asphalt contractor will use a truck with a tank of material and a sprayer to drive around the parking area and fill each crack, then allow the sealer to cure. Once the crack filling is complete, it is safe to drive over the sealer in a couple of hours, so sealing does not typically shut down the entire parking lot while underway.
Filling Holes
Potholes that develop in a parking area can happen when water gets under the asphalt and erodes the soil, allowing the asphalt to collapse under pressure. The water can get under the surface through the cracks in the asphalt, and once a hole develops, an asphalt contractor must backfill the hole and then apply a patch to the surface.
Most holes can be quickly repaired and will last until the next repaving of the area, but it is essential that good soil is used and the hole is not filled with asphalt. The contractor doing the work for you may need to find where water is getting in and apply some sealer over the area to stop the erosion, or the soil could wash out again.
Compacting the material will help, and in many cases, the repair is enough to resolve the issue. However, if the problem reoccurs, you may need to consider having some drainage installed in the part of the lot to ensure water moves away from the parking lot. Most asphalt contractors do not do drainage work, so you may need to have that work completed first, then repair the asphalt.
For more information, contact an asphalt contractor.
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