By admin Asphalt Paving • • • 0 Comments

Common Asphalt Paving Errors [How to Avoid Them]

When you have quality asphalt paving in your driveway, it makes a massive difference in the way your house looks. Asphalt is a durable material, and it can improve your curb appeal. However, when you or your contractor do not install it correctly, you will have problems later on down the road. Please continue reading to find out more about the common paving errors and how to avoid them.

1. Poor Project Planning

Proper planning is essential for the installation and maintenance of asphalt paving. Ensuring that you have all of the appropriate equipment and material is part of the planning process. You also want to have the best weather conditions possible and should consider that when planning. You want to spend the appropriate amount of time on the project. You do not want to rush through it. If you are not experienced with installing asphalt, you want to find a qualified asphalt contractor.

2. Paying Less for Poor Quality Work

Price is essential when searching for asphalt companies, but it should not be the only factor. While you may find a contractor that is affordable, it does not mean they will provide quality work. Therefore, you want to be cautious about selecting the asphalt contractor that offers the lowest price.

3. Choosing Low-Quality Materials

You may not realize it, but there are various types of asphalt paving materials available. They are not the same as they have varying quality. While we all want to save money where we can, you may not want to purchase more affordable material to decrease the price. When poor-quality asphalt is used, the results are often poor and less than expected. Instead, you want to purchase high-quality asphalt to ensure you have a smooth surface without any imperfections. Higher-quality asphalt holds up better to wear and tear and severe weather.

4. Rushing the Process

You want to take your time with your asphalt paving project. When you rush the project, there is a chance you will not follow the proper procedure. You also want to install the asphalt at the same speed the entire time. You do not want to speed up or slow down in different areas because it impacts how uniform the paving looks. Any asphalt contractor you select should use speed limiters to ensure you have a consistent and clean application of your asphalt.

5. Choosing the Wrong Asphalt Contractor

You want to select a highly qualified and reputable asphalt contractor. There are a number of asphalt companies available, but they are not all the same. You want one that is experienced and pays attention to the details because they matter, especially in paving. The contractor you select should plan well for the project, have the right equipment, and pay attention to the weather. You do not have to select the most expensive contractor, but you do not want to pick the cheapest. Adhering to your budget is essential, but you should not make your decision solely on cost. You also want to select a contractor that uses high-quality equipment and knows how to operate it.

If you keep these tips in mind when you are planning your asphalt paving job, you will have smooth, quality asphalt when you are finished.

By admin Asphalt Paving • • • • 0 Comments

How Long To Wait To Drive Over New Asphalt

There is nothing like driving on a smooth new asphalt surface. Even though it is hard to do, you have to be patient and wait before you can use it. There are some steps you can take to help speed up the process. Continue reading to find out more information.

Can I Drive on New Asphalt Right Away?

No, it would be best if you waited two to four days before you drive on new asphalt. If you drive on it while it is wet, you can cause damage to the surface. If you can, waiting a full week is best.

How Long Does New Asphalt Take to Dry?

While asphalt is durable and lasts a long time, some time is needed when installed to ensure it dries or cures properly. The amount of time asphalt takes to dry depends on several factors.

These factors include:

  • Air Temperature
  • Climate
  • Humidity
  • Paving Thickness

The more humid or cold the weather impacts the length of time it takes for asphalt to dry. Generally, it should take two to three days, but cold or humid weather could increase drying time to a week.

How Can I Speed Up The Drying Process for Asphalt?

Asphalt companies will explain several steps you can take to speed up the drying time for asphalt.

Apply Sealcoat

A sealcoat protects your asphalt and helps it last longer. A sealcoat gives you a barrier between the asphalt and the elements that impact it, such as UV damage and water. Seal coating can also fill in any cracks in the asphalt.

Heat Lamp

A heat lamp can help speed up the drying time when you live in a colder area. You can leave the heat lamp over the asphalt for several hours. This helps to absorb moisture, so it dries faster.

No Traffic

Keep both vehicles and people off the asphalt until it has cured. If you allow traffic on it too early, it damages the surface and may allow tire marks in the asphalt.

Complete Drying Process

It takes time for the asphalt to dry completely. The asphalt construction company will give you directions about how long you should wait, and you do not want to use it before that time has elapsed. You can expect two days to one whole week before your asphalt is ready for traffic. The air temperature, humidity level, climate, and paving thickness make a difference in the amount of time it takes to dry. You may have problems if you do not allow the asphalt to dry before you use it. You may have tire marks, cracking, and other damage to your asphalt. To speed up the drying process, you should consult professional asphalt companies to ensure you are not damaging the surface.

How Can I Tell When Asphalt is Cured?

You can tell when your asphalt is cured or dry because it is hard to the touch. It will no longer feel tacky or soft or give off any fumes. You will notice the color has changed from black to gray.

What Impacts How Quickly Asphalt Can Be Cured?

Several factors impact how long it takes asphalt to cure. These include climate, humidity, air temperature, traffic, professional equipment, paving thickness, and knowledgeable installation.

By admin Asphalt Paving • • • 0 Comments

5 Most Common Categories of Asphalt Damage

Asphalt is known for being one of the most versatile pavement materials. Most people choose asphalt for its durability, and you might also enjoy how smooth the material looks on large surfaces. While asphalt parking lots and other types of surfaces should last anywhere from 10 to 15 years, they do require some maintenance to reach their maximum life span. Watching out for these common types of asphalt damage helps you know when to arrange for repairs.

Cracking

Cracks can develop due to severe weather conditions, wear and tear from heavy traffic along with poor drainage. There are several different types of cracks that you might notice in the asphalt, and noting which kind you see can help asphalt companies determine the cause of the damage. For example, fatigue cracks involve lots of small ones that run together and create the appearance of an alligator’s skin. These tend to come from chronic excessive loads or poor drainage in a climate with frequent temperature changes. Meanwhile, linear cracks could be caused by general wear and tear.

Depressions

Kids may love how depressions in asphalt surfaces create the perfect puddles, but road maintenance crews know just how dangerous these can be for causing skids. If a depression is relatively shallow and small, then it might only need a surface patch repair. However, some of these can get pretty large, which means you might need to replace the paved area.

Potholes

Coming across a big one of these on a road can lead to popped tires and car accidents. Potholes are ultimately the end result of allowing alligator cracks to go without repairs. Over time, water gets into the cracks and starts to erode the asphalt. Eventually, the cracks begin to intersect and cause chunks to come out of the surface until there is a serious hole.

Rutting

Heavy traffic on asphalt drives can cause indentations to form where the vehicle tires constantly roll across the surface. Since rutting is caused by the surface layers getting compressed by the weight of the vehicles, it tends to be worse when there is already a flaw in the pavement, such as it being too thin or made from a weak asphalt mix. Failing to properly compact the material during the installation process is another reason why rutting might develop, which is why it is important to fully vet asphalt companies before you arrange for their services.

Raveling

Asphalt raveling is caused by the general deterioration of the surface. With raveling, the pieces of the material begin to dislodge, and you might see loose gravel coming up on the surface. On roads and parking lots, the surface can get quite rough, and the loose materials can increase the risk of skids. The good news is that raveling tends to affect just the top surface layer in the early stages, and you might only need to plan for an overlay to fix the problem. Keep in mind that having a loose top layer exposes the underlayers to more potential for damage, so you’ll want to correct the issue as soon as possible.

When caught early, many types of asphalt damage can be repaired before it requires a complete replacement of the surface materials. Whether you have an asphalt driveway, road or trail you’re in charge of maintaining, make routine checks for damage a normal part of your routine. Staying on top of the quality of the surface helps to keep people safe and preserve the appearance of your property.

By admin Asphalt Paving • • • 0 Comments

Do’s and Don’ts to Ensure the Longevity of Your Asphalt Pavement

There’s nothing like a fresh coat of asphalt pavent to make your property or business look inviting and taken care of. You want to keep that look for as long as possible, and that means taking proper care of the material immediately after the asphalt contractors have left. The following is a look at the do’s and don’t’s of maintaining your asphalt to maintain its fresh appearance until it’s time for maintenance or replacement many years from now.

The Do’s of Maintaining Your Asphalt

Asphalt has a lifespan of about 18 years before it needs a total replacement. The clock starts running the moment the asphalt work is completed, but it can take up to a year for asphalt to cure. It’s vital to protect your asphalt after the work has been completed, but you can start using it gently once the initial curing period has been completed.

In order to give your asphalt pavent a good start, be sure to do the following:

  • Block access to cars for the first 24 hours
  • Clean up debris to prevent it from damaging the surface

After the asphalt sets, you can drive and park cars on the driveway or parking spots. Careful use of the paved surface for the next 12 months is recommended, and it’s easy to engage in by making sure cars don’t sit in one place for more than a day or two. As time goes by, you’ll want to take steps to protect your asphalt. They include:

  • Keep it clean with regular washing and sweeping of debris
  • Patch cracks as soon as they appear
  • Seal the driveway on a regular interval, usually every three to five years
  • Make sure water is draining off the driveway and not pooling
  • Remove weeds from the edge of the driveway

The Don’ts’ of Maintaining Your Asphalt

Asphalt is tough, but it’s also malleable and compresses under pressure. It can also get damaged by oil leaks from a vehicle that sits in one place for too long. You definitely want to avoid parking your car in the same spot in the days immediately after the asphalt was laid, but you also shouldn’t park in the same place every time you come home. The same goes for keeping heavy objects on the asphalt for long periods of time, as you’ll wind up with divots forming in the asphalt that aren’t easy to repair.

Other don’t’s include:

Don’t let a car drip oil onto the asphalt

Vehicles are known to leak oil which isn’t always a serious problem in and of itself. It is a serious problem for asphalt as it can cause cracks to form.

Don’t seal coat for at least three years

The oil in the asphalt takes time to dry out and eventually needs refreshing in the form of a seal coat. This is a normal process that should be allowed to play out over time before having asphalt contractorsapply a new coat. The new seal coat should interact with the old coat as little as possible in order to provide the best protection.

Don’t let snow and ice build up on the surface

Asphalt is porous in nature and is easily damaged by frost-freeze cycles. Allowing ice and snow to build up increases the risk of damage to the asphalt from the top down to the bottom layer.

Proper maintenance of your asphalt helps it function for longer, prevents divots from forming, and requires fewer repairs over its lifespan. Use these do’s and don’t’s as part of regular property maintenance for a safe and attractive surface for people and cars to use.

By admin Asphalt Paving • • • 0 Comments

7 Pavement Preservation Treatments for Your Asphalt Surface

Constructing an asphalt surface such as a driveway, parking lot, or basketball court is a significant financial investment, so it only makes sense to protect it. That means regular maintenance should be performed to preserve the integrity of your asphalt surface and extend its lifespan.

We’re here to help you get the most out of your asphalt surface. In this article, we’ll discuss 7 pavement preservation treatments for your asphalt surface.

1. Routine Maintenance

Routine maintenance is necessary to prevent damage and staining. Fuel and oil from vehicles, as well as leaves and debris, can lead to permanent stains on asphalt surfaces. Oil and fuel spills can also seep into the pavement, leading to cracking and other damage such as potholes. Rock and gravel can also harm the surface when they’re run over by cars.

Asphalt surfaces should be swept frequently, especially after storms, to remove dirt and debris. Car oil and fuel, meanwhile, should be cleaned immediately using a long-handled brush and a mixture of water and either powdered detergent, dish soap, or baking soda.

2. Sealcoating

Sealcoating is another great way to preserve the integrity of your driveway or asphalt surface and make it “pop” again. Many people wait too long to sealcoat surfaces, which can lead to premature wear and a faded, gray color. Consider sealcoating every two years.

The benefits include:

  • Prolonging the surface’s lifespan.
  • Preventing water from seeping beneath the surface and causing cracks and other damage.
  • Restoring the black color.
  • Protecting the surface from harmful UV rays.

3. Crack Sealing

Cracks are bound to sprout up on asphalt surfaces over time, and if you wait too long to fix them with a crack filling or crack sealing, they’ll keep spreading. Although this service can be done throughout the year, one of the best times to contact asphalt companies is after winter. The constant freeze-thaw cycle can wreak havoc on asphalt surfaces.

4. Patching

Like cracks, potholes are also a common enemy of asphalt and can form when water seeps into cracks, freezes, and expands. Potholes are not only an eyesore, but they can lead to trips and falls, and vehicle damage. Patching these areas is an extremely cost-effective solution to improving the appearance and safety of your asphalt surfaces, as well as extending their lifespan.

5. Overlays

Asphalt overlaying is a method of applying about two inches of asphalt over areas of the existing base layer that have deteriorated due to significant potholes, cracks, or uneven surfaces. An overlay can extend the life of your asphalt surface by as much as 15 years depending on its age.

6. Slurry Sealing

Slurry sealing is a type of sealcoating used to protect asphalt and add value to asphalt surfaces. While normal sealcoating uses liquid asphalt, slurry sealing contains water, aggregates, and asphalt emulsion. Slurry sealing is commonly applied every five to seven years on roads that have received severe deterioration due to traffic.

7. Microsurfacing

Microsurfacing is an asphalt maintenance technique that can extend the life of blacktop roadways by an average of five to seven years. It’s a third less expensive than repaving and is commonly used by local governments for roads. Microsurfacing is the process of using a mixture of aggregate, water, and asphalt emulsion and adding it to an existing surface. Microsurfacing doesn’t rely on water evaporation in the asphalt emulsion, and, instead, uses chemical additives that can harden quicker.