After about five to seven years, the average asphalt parking lot will need repairs. Whether you have a small crack, surface damage, or a pothole, asphalt damage should be addressed as soon as possible. The damaged places can worsen with time and allow moisture to seep to the base. If left unrepaired, you could reduce the lifespan of your parking lot significantly and compromise the structural integrity. Damage to the structural integrity can easily be a safety issue for pedestrians and vehicles in your lot. Blackjack Paving wants to help you maximize the lifespan and safety of your lot.
Getting to Know Patching:
Minor Repairs–Depending on the type and severity of your parking lot’s damage, there are a variety of options for addressing your broken asphalt. If the parking lot has minor damage, your issues can likely be resolved using crackfill, sealcoating, or minor patching. When patching is necessary, we recommend utilizing hot asphalt patching instead of cold asphalt. The cold asphalt route is ideal for quick repairs and often used by people fixing their asphalt DIY style. The downside is that the cold asphalt cannot properly seal with your existing asphalt, so it is pretty much a band-aid temporary fix. Using hot asphalt will be a more durable and long-term solution.
Crackfill can properly seal cracks in your asphalt, keeping the base of your asphalt from being compromised. Sealcoating is a great overlay option for handling surface level imperfections. Also, sealcoating will act as a barrier protecting your lot and prolonging the lifespan of your lot. We can evaluate your lot and determine if your lot could benefit from one or more of these solutions. At Blackjack Paving, we recommend that sealcoating be a part of every parking lot’s lifespan to ensure longevity.
More Serious Repairs—If your lot has potholes, significant cracks, and/or drainage issues, you should consider these repair types:
- Surface Patching—This route should only be used if your damage is no more than 2 inches deep. Surface patching is considered a more temporary solution unless damage is only on the surface of your lot. Surface patching is a budget-friendly solution for surface damage, minor potholes, minor cracks, and drainage issues.
- Peel and Pave—Peel and pave is a more durable option than surface patching. We sawcut the damaged area to get clean lines, dig out the area to the stone subbase, fill in with asphalt mixture and smooth it out. This method extends asphalt life 10 times longer than surface patching.
- Full Depth Replacement—Asphalt is used to bolster the strength of the stone subbase and then added on top and smoothed out. This is a good choice when the stone base is too weakened to support the asphalt on top.
Repair vs. Replacement
Depending on the condition and age of your lot, replacement may make more sense than repairing your lot. If you are trying to determine between repair and replacement, consider these factors:
- Age of your Lot—The average lifespan of an asphalt lot is 20-30 years, depending on the installation quality and upkeep of the lot. If your lot is already 20-30 years old, go with a replacement. If your lot is under 20 years old, repairing or resurfacing your lot may be more sensible. Our team would be happy to offer a suggestion if your lot’s age is borderline.
- Extent of the Damage—If more than 25-30% of your lot is damaged, choose a replacement. Resurfacing may be reasonable if your lot has under 25% damage.
- Foundation Condition—You must build on a firm foundation for the safety of pedestrians and vehicles. If your foundation is compromised and failing, we strongly recommend replacing your lot. Any repairs you make to a lot with a weak foundation will only be temporary solutions and accidents ready to happen.
- Severity of Cracks—If you have cracks more than a ¼ inch wide and a few inches deep, a replacement would be wise. Serious cracks will continue to get worse, and any fixes will be very temporary, especially if moisture has already reached the subbase.
Blackjack Paving has a proven track record for quality work and genuine customer care. We want to help you extend the life of your lot. Schedule a consultation and we can make a recommendation for your lot if you are between patching and replacing. Give us a call for patching and repair of your commercial parking or roadway surfaces today!
