The parking lot project was a process. A complicated process. In fact, every Sunday that the congregation shows up for worship, someone comments on the progress of the parking lot project.
Who knew, for instance, that before the asphalt driveway could be repaired the drainage from the flat roof areas would need to be addressed? As the contractors pointed out, however, fixing the asphalt driveways and main parking areas in the past has never worked. The freezing and thawing of the water that drains from the roof onto the parking lot has always resulted in more damage. In fact, some of the sunken driveways can be directly attributed to the roof problems that have been ignored for years.
The process of the parking lot problem at the church, as one church council member on the buildings committee explained, is a little like an iceberg. the cracks and broken pieces in the asphalt driveway and parking lot are like the tip of the iceberg. They are the parts that you can see. The roof drainage, the erosion caused by a leaking sprinkler head, and the fact that some of the asphalt driveway was laid on top of old surface that had not been correctly ground down are the problems you cannot immediately see. These below the surface problems, however, much like the unseen part of an iceberg are the bigger part of the current problem.
Reliable Contractors Will Make Sure That They Address Any Concerns That Might Lead to Future Asphalt Driveway Problems
Many people can lay asphalt or build concrete driveways. If the work is not properly planned and implemented, however, the resulting parking lot or driveway may not last as long as it should. Installed and maintained correctly, a concrete drive can have a long life, often 25 to 50 years.
Asphalt is a versatile surface that can be used in many environments. In fact, of the 2.6 million miles of paved roads in America, over 94% are have asphalt surfaces. This means that there are approximately 18 billion tons of asphalt pavement on the country’s roads. The fact that 90% of U.S. parking areas are surfaced with asphalt pavement means that in the the year 2013 as much as 67.8 million tons of asphalt pavement material was reclaimed. Of that amount, nearly 100% was reused.
Asphalt production in America requires 3,500 asphalt mix production sites to producing the 350 million tons of asphalt pavement material used every year.
Although asphalt can be reground and reused, the goal is to make the surface last as long as possible before the recycling projects begin. Jobs as small as driveway repairs and as large as entire parking lot applications all require the same preparation. This preparation begins with careful planning and attention to the underlying surface. Making sure that the ground underneath is both flat and compact is an important part of this preparation. Without careful attention to these initial processes, the laid asphalt may quickly begin to deteriorate, buckle, sink, or crack.
Carefully selecting contractors and asking for references from past customers is one way to make sure that a project goes as planned. Unfortunately, the best contractor may not always submit the lowest bid. the best contractor, however, may have a more detailed approach to the preparation of the surface of the parking lot.
Whether you are a small business owner or part of a maintenance team that is responsible for large parking areas in shopping malls, schools, or churches, careful attention is always important. In parking lot work, unfortunately, you often get what you pay for. An inexpensive job may be completed quickly, but it may not last. A more expensive contract that involves proper installation and maintenance, however, is often worth the investment in the long run.
