Asphalt Crack Sealing: 6 Cost-Effective Asphalt Maintenance Tricks You Didn’t Know

Asphalt is one of the most commonly used paving materials for a variety of residential, commercial, and industrial applications such as parking lots and roads. That’s because asphalt is one of the most durable, resilient, and long-lasting paving materials currently on the market. It’s also incredibly cost-effective and easy to maintain. Whether you’re using hot or cold mix asphalt, it’s guaranteed to last a very long time and maintain its high performance value as long as you take proper care of it and administer certain repairs as soon as they’re needed.

Like any other type of paving material, asphalt is prone to damages and degradation if it’s not maintained. Following these asphalt maintenance tricks can help extend the lifespan, appearance, and functionality of your pavement while also saving you a lot of time and money on repairs.

Regular commercial asphalt maintenance in Toronto should include the following:

Fix Drainage Problems Immediately

Puddles, also known as standing or pooling water, are major indicators that you may have a drainage issue on your property. Whether it’s a clogged or broken catch basin or lack of sloping throughout your parking lot, improper drainage can cause water backups. Water that continues to accumulate on your asphalt pavement can lead to weak spots, dips, and depressions. These are indicators of a weakened structure below the surface.

Getting down to the bottom of what’s causing your drainage problems and how you can fix them will help you avoid future expensive repairs and overlays.

Perform Routine Inspections

Regularly inspecting your asphalt every couple of weeks or on a monthly basis is an important part of asphalt maintenance in Toronto and the GTA. Asphalt pavement is constantly exposed to harsh external conditions such as UV rays, heavy vehicle loads, hot and cold temperatures, snow, rain, etc. All of these elements can deteriorate the surface of your asphalt pavement over time, causing the topcoat to fade and even crumble. Scheduling routine professional inspections or performing them yourself makes it easy to quickly detect potential damages and problem areas so that you can repair them before they get worse.

Fill in Cracks and Potholes

Small cracks are typically one of the first indicators that you may be having asphalt pavement issues either on or below the surface. Sometimes, cracks can stem from internal structural issues. It’s important to patch up cracks immediately. If neglected for too long, cracks can quickly spread throughout your asphalt pavement.

Cracks are the starting point for potholes. Over time, as vehicles continuously drive over the same cracks, little chunks of them break off and they widen and deepen until they become fully formed potholes. At that point, repairing them gets a lot harder and more expensive. You might even have to hire a commercial pavement maintenance company in Toronto to do it for you.

Sealcoat Your Asphalt Pavement

Your asphalt pavement is a major investment that needs to be protected. Sealcoating your asphalt pavement every two to three years helps to protect it from direct exposure to external elements that can deteriorate it over time. It also helps keep your asphalt pavement looking newer longer, extends the lifespan by at least 20 to 30 years, and saves you a great deal of money on repairs and prevents the need for frequent partial or total replacements.

Sweeping

Sweeping and removing debris such as organic matter and litter from your asphalt pavement keeps it looking and functioning like new. It also helps prevent long-term damages from occurring. Debris falling in cracks can only make them a lot harder and more expensive to repair. It can also cause extensive damages. Large amounts of debris and moisture that you allow to get into cracks in your asphalt pavement can have a tunneling effect. Eventually, this will weaken the structural integrity of your pavement and create several weak spots. Dips and depressions are major indicators of weak spots throughout your asphalt.

Over time, rainwater will start to collect in these dips and depressions, forming puddles of varying sizes and depths. Longstanding water slowly degrades the binding agents in your asphalt and penetrates the surface causing both external and internal asphalt problems.

Regularly sweeping and cleaning up your property by removing debris and oil or chemical stains can help you avoid all of these costly repairs and ensures that your asphalt pavement is always looking and performing at its very best.

Winter Maintenance

During the winter months, your asphalt pavement endures a sometimes-treacherous freeze-thaw cycle. If you thought your skin gets unbearably dry and brittle when it gets nippy outside, just imagine what your asphalt pavement goes through. Freezing and thawing on a loop throughout winter’s coldest and mildest days can cause your asphalt pavement to expand and contract. Eventually, this leads to surface and internal cracking.

Water that accumulates beneath and on the surface of your pavement also expands and contracts as it freezes and thaws. The additional weight of heavy snow and ice on top of heavy vehicles such as trucks and SUVs constantly driving on your property can cause the asphalt to buckle in some areas. The best thing to do is remove snow and ice immediately. Plow it over to an area of your parking lot that doesn’t get a lot of foot or vehicular traffic. That way, you can guarantee that undue pressure won’t be applied.

Once the snow and ice is removed, salt your parking lot thoroughly to prevent more snowflakes from sticking to the ground. This will help minimize the work for you and maximize results. Proper winter maintenance also reduces the risk of accidents or slip-and-fall injuries on your property.

Professional Commercial Pavement Maintenance in Toronto

Over the past 25+ years, Sure-Seal Pavement Maintenance Inc. has built a reputation for being one of the most reliable and affordable commercial pavement installation, repair, and maintenance service providers in Toronto and the GTA. Our customers love us so much that we have a solid A+ rating on BBB and get numerous recommendations and referrals. Contact us today to learn more about our services or to get a quote.