When your parking lot is your first impression, it’s important for business owners to be vigilant about repairs. Large cracks can cause serious problems for customers and employees in commercial parking lots, but even an asphalt driveway can suffer from cracks, compromising the safety of your family and visitors. But how do asphalt experts like the ones at HCI Paving Solutions fix serious cracks in a parking lot? Let’s look at how these vital asphalt repairs work.
Why crack repair is important to longevity of your pavement
Small cracks in the surface of an asphalt parking lot may seem normal or not even problematic, but small cracks very easily turn into large cracks. When the asphalt surface is compromised, moisture and debris can get into the surface and disrupt the smooth surface. If water gets into a crack, then freezes, it widens the crack. Cars can work debris into the crack, widening it. Over time, these cracks can turn into large crevices or even potholes. That’s when you’ll need an entire parking lot replacement, which costs a lot!
Asphalt Crack Repair Process
To preserve the life of your asphalt and keep costs low, it’s important to repair cracks as they appear. But how does asphalt crack repair work? It’s a fairly simple process, but it’s very important to do correctly. First, a contractor will remove all debris such as sand or weeds from the crack to make sure it’s clean. Professional asphalt contractors even have crack cleaning machines. Larger cracks are filled in with sand to preserve the integrity of the subsurface. Then a liquid rubberized crack filler is poured into the crack, which flows into all the open areas to bind it all together. Once the crack filler cures, it can be followed by a sealcoat that seals the entire surface or by another layer of asphalt. If you have even minor cracks in your parking lot, it’s time to call in the professionals at HCI Paving Solutions for some crack repair.