If you’ve paid good money to build an asphalt paving lot for your business, it makes sense that you’ll want to protect that investment any way you can.
And that means taking good care of it.
One way you can protect your asphalt paving lot, while extending its life and its usefulness, is to allocate some additional money to get it sealcoated. Think of it as spending a little extra now to keep from spending more on unnecessary repairs in the future.
It’s a bit of an insurance policy on your investment and one you should definitely consider adopting when your asphalt parking lot is initially constructed. You can also do it later on – better late than never after all – but adding sealcoating at the time of construction is always your best bet.
If you’ve made the decision to sealcoat your parking lot, it’s a near certainty that you’ll be hiring a local paving company to do the work. But even though you won’t be physically doing the job yourself, you should still familiarize yourself with the process.
The first thing that’s important to know is that sealcoating can’t be done properly when the temperature outside is below freezing. “In fact, your best results will be when it’s at least 60 degrees outside and adequate time is allotted between coats of sealer,” says Gary Daniels of ASC Paving, a part-owner of San Antonio’s largest Asphalt Paving Company.
But considering Mother Nature is cooperating and you’ve vetted and found the right contractor to do the job, work can commence.
Below are the steps performed in a normal asphalt paving sealcoating job.
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Clear Pavement Surface
You definitely need to make sure that your pavement is clear of any debris like trash and leaves before the job can proceed to the next level.
Because of this, it’s probably not a good idea to do your sealcoating on a windy day, as debris can easily blowback onto the parking lot after you’ve cleaned it.
Clean and Treat Oil Spots
After the parking lot has been cleared of debris, the next thing you’ll want to do is treat any existing oil spots with oil spot primer.
This can be found at any home improvement store, but any reputable paving or contracting company will have it on hand in the preparation of your sealcoating job.
Fill any Potholes
This is obviously a no-brainer, but we’ll include it here on our list just the same. It should go without saying that you don’t want to sealcoat an area that’s full of potholes.
So fill in those potholes and repair any damaged asphalt prior to getting out the sealcoating. By performing this job, you should see a lesser amount of potholes forming in the future than you did in the past.
Clean and Fill Cracks
The next thing you’ll want to do is fill any cracks with a product known as crack filler.
Again, that’s all you really need to know about this step, as your contractor will undoubtedly have this in his truck or service vehicle prior to the job actually beginning.
Apply Sealcoating
Now that all of the above steps have been completed, you’re ready to get to the job at hand – and that’s applying the actual sealcoating.
You’ll want to apply at least two coats to ensure adequate coverage and to be sure that your pavement is as protected as possible.
Apply Acrylic Paint
Now that the sealcoating has been applied and things are looking good as new, you’ll want to actually paint the parking lot and complete the project.
Painted areas should include parking spaces and any handicapped areas, as well as pathways, directional signals and anything else you feel is necessary to direct and inform your customers and guests.
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