As a facilities manager, you are accustomed to all kinds of seasonal maintenance. From painting and landscaping to HVAC and winter prep, seasonal maintenance is a necessity. Asphalt parking lot maintenance is no exception. As with other seasonal duties, asphalt parking lot maintenance needs to be planned, scheduled, and overseen. To help you prepare, in this article we will provide asphalt parking lot maintenance guidelines.
Seasonal Asphalt Parking Lot Maintenance Guidelines
Based on the time of year, facilities managers have different parking lot priorities. To help you get started on your path to parking lot success, here are the asphalt upkeep responsibilities you should be focused on — season by season.
Winter Parking Lot Maintenance
In the winter season, maintenance efforts should be focused on parking lot cleanup and snow removal.
Parking Lot Cleanup
Monitoring parking lots for trash and debris is an important year-round responsibility. Cleanup keeps your parking lots looking good. It also makes for safer foot traffic. Above all, it’s especially important to clean up branches and other fallen items after storms.
Snow and Ice Removal
During winter it’s important to manage snow and ice. It’s also important to have as little environmental impact as possible. As soon as possible, remove snow from the pavement to prevent it from compacting. Snowplowing should be done before applying any de-icing products. Avoid distributing salt or de-icer by hand. A handheld sprayer can effectively and evenly spread out deicing agents. They also help to cut the amount of product needed.
Snow and ice are a big threat to asphalt. When the snow melts, water will infiltrate any asphalt cracks it can find. Then, throughout the rest of winter, the water expands and contracts as it freezes and melts. This pushes up on the pavement from below, leading to potholes.
Spring Parking Lot Maintenance
This time of year, asphalt maintenance is focused on cleanup and pavement inspection. Spring also marks the start of crack sealing season.
Asphalt Parking Lot Cleanup and Inspection
Parking lots should be deep cleaned, and above all, inspected for new issues. Look for asphalt cracks, potholes, upheaval, and any other type of asphalt damage that emerges.
Asphalt Crack Sealing
Spring and fall are the best times to seal asphalt cracks. Asphalt cracks need to be re-sealed approximately every 18 months to two years. As you complete your spring pavement inspection, don’t forget to note any cracks and monitor their movements.
Summer Parking Lot Maintenance
Summertime maintenance tasks include ongoing lot cleanup, and any sealcoating, and striping.
Parking Lot Cleanup and Plants
As with winter and spring, parking lot cleanup is important in the summer. Besides cleaning up trash and debris, you also need to handle any vegetation growing from your asphalt. While it may not seem like a big deal, plants growing through cracks need to be killed. They can cause more asphalt breakdown if roots reach down into the base and subgrade.
Asphalt Sealcoating
Sealcoating is recommended about every three to five years. Sealcoat is a thin, protective coat of sealant that is applied to the surface of the asphalt. It fills in voids, slows oxidation, and repels water and car fluids, among other things. For best results, a seal coat has to be applied to dry pavement in temperatures 55 degrees and warmer. It’s also best that nightly temperatures stay above freezing during cure time. For this reason, most sealcoating companies perform these services from summer to mid-fall.
Read more: The Complete Guide to Sealcoating for Property Managers
Parking Lot Striping
To keep your parking lot safe and organized, it’s best to budget for annual parking lot striping. However, you may be able to wait longer, depending on actual wear and the amount of exposure to road salt, which causes the breakdown of parking paint. And of course, parking lot re-striping is necessary after a new seal coat has been applied.
Fall Parking Lot Maintenance
During the fall season, asphalt parking lot maintenance guidelines call for any neglected crack sealing, seasonal leaf removal, and winter weather prep.
Asphalt Crack Sealing
Any open cracks greater than ¼ inch wide need to be sealed before winter. Cracks left open to the elements facilitate the breakdown of adjacent pavement. If left over winter, more issues are bound to be uncovered in the spring.
Clean Up Leaves and Debris
Not only does parking lot debris invite pests, but it also has the potential to leave stains. Falling leaves threaten to stain asphalt. They also ruin drainage, causing standing water. And water is asphalt’s worst enemy.
Winter Weather Preparation
Fall is also the time to set your snow and ice removal plan into action. It’s time to order de-icing materials, make sure your snow plow is in order, or hire a snow plow contractor.
Asphalt Maintenance Services Utah
Now that you have the asphalt parking lot maintenance guidelines, your task comes down to diligence. You need to persist with regular cleaning. You also need to keep up on preventative measures, like crack sealing and sealcoating. Are you looking for a crack sealing and sealcoating provider? Superior Asphalt, LC is your Utah asphalt maintenance partner. We regularly work with facilities managers, property managers, and HOAs to create ongoing pavement management plans in Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, and Nevada. Contact us today!
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