3 Tips to Extend the Life of a Parking Lot
The parking lot is the first area customers notice when they visit your establishment, and keeping it presentable creates a positive impression while offering a safe place to park. From filling cracks and scheduling regular sealcoating, here's how to protect the surface against sunlight, wind, rain, and other harmful factors.
How to Protect Your Parking Lot
1. Sweep Regularly
Depending on your daily traffic, it may be necessary to have your lot swept several nights a week or a few times a month. Grocers, big box stores, and businesses in shopping centers require more frequent sweeping to remove discarded rubbish.
Cars also track dirt, oil, grease, and other debris onto the pavement, causing it to degrade faster. Additionally, nearby foliage can drop several leaves and branches that will make your lot look messy or impact safe driving.
2. Repair Damage
Cracks will form eventually due to everyday wear. Prevent them from spreading and causing premature damage by inspecting the surface regularly for fractures. Typically, these small cracks can be quickly filled with a sealant.
While new potholes are more intensive to fix, they can be temporarily patched. If your lot has many potholes, resurfacing is a more effective solution.
3. Keep It Sealed
Sealcoating protects the parking lot from oxidation, which causes the asphalt to become dry and brittle. When this happens, the pavement is susceptible to surface cracks that allow water to penetrate the material. Moisture encourages the fissures to spread and degrade the pavement base, causing potholes and an uneven surface.
Sealcoating is needed every one to three years after the initial application. You can tell it's time when the black finish starts to fade and looks dull.
