Minimize Damages On Parking Lots And Drives Through Asphalt Sealcoating

| Saturday, August 17, 2013
By Helga Stokes


Seal coating is a pavement preservation procedure, which can help prolong the life of your driveways and parking lots. After installing pavements, you need to ensure that they are properly maintained throughout their lifespan. Asphalt sealcoating contractors can assist you to seal the blacktop with a weatherproof material. The cover prevents environmental elements like sunlight, water, and snow from causing damages on pavements.

When elements like snow and sunlight act on asphalt material, they cause the blacktop to disintegrate fast. Ultraviolet rays harden the asphaltic material making it fragile and easy to break. A sealcoat provides a shielding cover, which prevents the ultraviolet rays from directly heating the surface of pavements. This ensures that the pavement material does not crack easily.

Once pavements are laid down, they undergo continuous oxidation process. This oxidation occurs till the end of the life of pavements. However, in normal circumstance, the oxidation of asphalt material takes place slow. But when ultraviolet rays heat the blacktop, they accelerate the rate at which oxidation takes place. The blacktop begins to change its color fast. With time, you will notice that your paving material is changing from its original black color to gray.

When you sealcoat the surface, you ensure that it does not crack easily. Water causes the aggregate materials to become loose meaning that it may not support the load that turns over the roads. If the cracks are not repaired, you may spend a lot of money in road maintenance. The cracks can cause water to collect at the base where it freezes and melts down leaving voids. Potholes are likely to occur if cracks are not repaired in advance.

Sealcoats are not intended to correct defects within pavements. If cracks have already formed, you need to repair them before a sealcoat is applied. When you apply a sealcoat on top of cracked pavement, it only masks the problem. This means that soon the coat will peel off and expose your blacktop surface to the destructive elements like sunlight and water.

Pavements are landscapes, which can enhance the image of a business. If you want to create a positive image for your business, you need to ensure that the surrounding features like driveways, walkways, parking lots, and gardens are maintained in good condition. When customers see beautiful pavements, they have more confidence with your business.

In newly installed pavements, the first sealcoat may be applied after a period of 6 months to one year but this depends on how fast the asphalt material cures. The material has to be given sufficient time to cure before the sealcoat is applied. After the first coating, there are other successive coats, which need to be applied after every 3 to 5 years.

A properly maintained pavement can last for many years. When you use asphalt sealcoating products to cover the blacktop surface, you enhance the life expectancy of parking lots and driveways. Moreover, you also spend less on maintenance of roads. Pavements that are not sealcoated often are easily damaged by the environmental and man-made elements meaning that you incur hefty expenses in repairing the structures.




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