As a business owner, you’re sure to be an expert in your field. That means you’re probably not an expert in ours. High-quality parking lot asphalt laying is something you need, but not something you can provide for yourself. Let us help! We know the tricks for achieving a solid, smooth parking lot that will welcome customers to your business.
There are a few little tricks that set parking lots paved by J&J Asphalt apart. We can’t possibly reveal our entire bag of tricks, but we can share a few important ones.
How to Achieve a Quality Parking Lot Asphalt Surface
Working with existing pavement
Sometimes, we work with new construction sites and have the flexibility to smooth and grade the earth we’re going to pave over. However, more often than not, there is something already there that we need to work with.
When placing asphalt pavement over existing pavement, precision saw cutting is a great first step. Saw cutting prevents future damage by relieving stress concentrations. It works by creating cracks in the areas they are most likely to occur. It encourages any cracks that happen to continue along the line rather than in a problematic, random fashion.
Saw cutting existing pavement creates a stronger foundation for new pavement. It allows for the pressure put on the foundation to be relieved safely rather than creating cracks and damage that will lead to damage in the new asphalt and create an unsafe surface.
Strong gravel base
If you aren’t paving over an existing asphalt parking lot, a gravel base is necessary to provide support for traffic once the parking lot construction is complete. Stabilization with gravel reduces the plasticity of the base, lowers the water content, and increases the strength of the surface.
A proper gravel base is a cost-effective solution when laying parking lot asphalt on top of problematic soils. It can stabilize natural surfaces such as wet or sandy soil.
Proper drainage
Proper pavement drainage design requires at least a 1% slope. It allows water to travel through flow lines to lower elevation areas. It is important for your parking lot asphalt that water doesn’t sit on its surface for long. Not only does standing water create an unsafe driving situation, but it also damages the asphalt pavement.
Water damages the chemical bonds that give asphalt its strength. When the bonds are damaged and broken apart, the pavement becomes brittle. Once that happens, small fractures become vulnerable to moisture, debris, and damage from traffic.
Contact J&J Asphalt for a High-Quality Parking Lot
Let us handle all of these more complicated tricks for you the next time you need a fresh parking lot for your business. We’ll provide a free assessment of your property before we get started. We’ll discuss options for re-pavement or a simple crack repair with you.