Repaving the asphalt in your parking lot or playground is a significant project that can come with an even more significant price tag.
Luckily, careful planning and preventative maintenance can keep both your asphalt pavement and your budget in good shape.
How often should you budget for a repaving project?
As a general rule, you should have room in your business or municipality budget for a major restoration of asphalt surfaces on your property every 10 years.
But don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that you have to do a total repaving project every 10 years – you may be able to maintain the surface that you already have, with help from your commericial asphalt-paving contractors.
Consider Your Asphalt Maintenance Options
Before planning to replace your asphalt playground or parking lot, talk to your asphalt paving contractors about preventative maintenance that may be able to extend the life of your current surface.
Using our free maintenance checklist, you can determine the problems you are facing, and which asphalt-repaving options may work for you (and your budget).
Here are four asphalt pavement problems to look for, and the Wolf Paving recommended solution:
Cracks Larger Than ¼ Inch:
Large cracks in the surface of your asphalt playground or parking lot should be cleaned, repaired and filled to ensure that water is not able to seep in and compromise the sub-base. This will help extend the life of your asphalt.
Faded Asphalt:
If your asphalt is faded, you may be able to get it looking like new again through the process of sealcoating. There are many benefits of sealcoating that go beyond making your asphalt look great. Sealcoating also makes your parking lot or playground easier to clean, and protects the paved surface from harsh Wisconsin weather and daily wear and tear. At Wolf Paving, we recommend a sealcoat service every two years.
Potholes and Large Cracked Sections:
Spreading cracked areas and potholes are serious problems that could mean an expensive future repair or resurfacing project if they are not repaired right away. Try to fill potholes and cracked sections before the cold winter weather hits. These unsightly holes can allow water to penetrate the paved surface, which can then cause more cracking as temperatures freeze and thaw. Potholes and large cracked sections of your asphalt playground or parking lot can also impede snow removal, and create hazards for pedestrians.
Stains from Oil, Leaves or Debris:
Is your asphalt in good shape underneath, but still looking bad due to stains and dirt on top? Surface stain removal can be an easy do-it-yourself project, and street sweeping keeps larger surfaces looking great. Street sweepers are professional vehicles that use jets of water and specialized bristled brushes to remove dirt, debris and garbage from asphalt playground and parking lot surfaces. Making these repairs on small surface problems will help you to extend the life of your asphalt. Durable, flexible asphalt, whether porous or traditional, can have a lifespan of up to 20 years if maintained properly.
Consider Your Asphalt Repaving Options
If you determine that asphalt repaving is needed, there are many options for the type of asphalt you can use. Take a look at this article, to see your many available options:
Also consider these important tips:
- Porous Asphalt - This type of parking lot or playground surface allows water to drain through the asphalt and into a stone bed below, filtering back to the water table below. This paving solution is not only green, but also offers significant long-term cost savings. Many local governments charge developers or businesses storm-water impact fees for handling the water run-off from parking lots or playgrounds in the storm sewer system. Porous asphalt eliminates these both these impact fees, as well as the need to put in an expensive storm-water management solution, such as a retention pond.
- Downtime - One other issue to consider with parking lot repaving projects is downtime. If your asphalt parking lot or playground is large or has more than one section, you can phase your repairs over 2 sections. This will ensure that your project will not interrupt your tenants or customers.
With 75 years of asphalt paving experience, from small playgrounds to huge parking lots, Wolf Paving is your local source for all of your asphalt paving needs.
For more information on Wolf Paving or to request a free estimate for your next paving project contact one of our two offices. If you live or work in the Milwaukee area, call us at262-965-2121. For the Madison area, call us at 608-249-7931.
