7 Things to Look for When Your Parking Lot Needs Repaving

Is your parking lot screaming for attention? Asphalt seems hard and durable, but it takes a beating over time, eventually requiring a bit of TLC to ensure it’s safe for pedestrians and cars. How do you know when it’s time for asphalt maintenance? Here are 7 things to look for when your parking lot needs repaving.

7 Signs Your Parking Lot Needs Repaving

Pavement riddled with these signs of damage typically require replacement.

1. Plentiful potholes
   Potholes result from the progression of minor damage, like cracks and raveling, that go ignored. If you could float a flock of rubber ducks across your parking lot after the rain, it’s probably well past time for replacement.
2. A crazy variety of cracks
   Our paving contractors typically see a variety of cracks when parking lot pavement is in rough shape, including:
   
   • Alligator cracks
     These cracks look like alligator scales and indicate structural issues that you can’t repair with patching.
   • Longitudinal cracks
     Longitudinal cracks run the expanse of asphalt and require full-depth repair.
   • Edge cracks
     You should address cracks found a few feet from your parking lot’s outer edge quickly to avoid the need for major repairs.
   • Block cracks
     Load doesn’t impact these patches. Large and rectangular, they often cover large areas.
3. Dips and divots
   Depressions result from poor compaction of base layers. Fix these fast to avoid more significant damage from puddling water.
4. Huge ruts
   Combine depressions and cracks from poorly compacted pavement or moisture damage, and you have ruts. You can fix minor damage with a slurry seal, but severe damage requires asphalt removal and replacement.
5. A weird rippling pattern
   Rippled asphalt, called shoving, will eventually lead to cracks. This damage always requires full-depth asphalt repairs.
6. Rampant raveling
   Raveling damage makes walking on your pavement feel more like walking on gravel or sand. Minor damage is repairable with an overlay, but more severe disintegration requires repaving.
7. Deteriorating joints
   When joints deteriorate, water and other contaminants can infiltrate the pavement, breaking it down.

Routine Pavement Evaluation is Essential for Lasting Asphalt

Scheduling a routine inspection to check your asphalt’s condition and promptly addressing maintenance needs is crucial. Rapid asphalt repairs extend your parking lot’s lifespan, ensure safety, and reduce liability, protecting your pavement against progressive moisture infiltration and damage that can lead to the unexpected expense of early replacement.

Follow the signs. When your parking lot needs repaving, get it back in action fast with affordable parking lot paving services from American Asphalt. Contact us at 510-723-0280 to schedule a pavement evaluation or to get a repaving estimate for your Hayward, Oakland, Pleasanton, Fairfield, or Vacaville business today.