WHY MAINTAIN YOUR ASPHALT

Asphalt pavement is basically sand, gravel and glue. The glue that is used to keep the sand and gravel together is asphalt, a heavy by-product of oil refining. While sand and gravel do not deteriorate significantly, the asphalt binder does quite rapidly due to oxidation, solar radiation, pollution and chemicals spilled from vehicles.

No pavement has been constructed that doesn’t require maintenance. Many community associations find out too late that proper maintenance could have prevented costly replacements or new construction.

Maintenance is the art of keeping pavements in full service, with minimum expenses, and the least inconvenience to the public and/or the residence. Improper asphalt maintenance is usually worse than none at all. Preventive maintenance is a wise investment.

There Are Several Basic Forms of Asphalt Maintenance

REJUVENATOR

Applying Rejuvenator to your asphalt will protect your asphalt against oxidation and spills, replenish the lost oils from oxidation, make your asphalt last 2-3 times longer all while making the asphalt visually attractive. This application should be applied every 4-6 years. It actually makes your asphalt “young” again. Lone Star Paving can help!

SEAL COATING

This procedure will protect your asphalt against oxidation and spills while making the asphalt visually attractive. This application should be applied every 2-5 years or more frequently if use is heavy and deterioration is apparent. Applied at proper intervals, it will prolong the life of your pavement at a fraction of the replacement cost. Lone Star Paving is fully equipped to seal coat small retail centers all the way to large shipping warehouses and office complexes. Helping to protect your asphalt from water, oxidation, and petroleum products. For seal coating in Nashville, TN, contact Lone Star Paving today!

CRACK SEALING

Cracks are caused by either a failure of the base, water damage or excessive weight on the pavement surface. Installing a hot pour mix to fill the cracks can easily repair them. The crack sealer provides a waterproof bond and is rubberized to give support while the pavement expands and contracts in changing temperatures. Cracks that go unsealed will continue to allow water into the base, causing severe damage to the pavement as the base deteriorates. A pavement crack inspection and correction should be done annually.

ASPHALT REPAIR – PATCHING

If significant deterioration has taken place, removal and replacement of certain areas may be needed. If excessive ground water or poor soil conditions have aggravated the problem, corrections should be performed to the base before applying the patch. All surfaces fail at some point due to stress and mother nature. Whether it is potholes or full depth failures, Lone Star Paving provides quality asphalt paving and asphalt repair in Nashville, TN, Middle Tennessee and the Southeast United States.

PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE

A well planned and funded preventive maintenance program will minimize your lifetime parking lot costs in Nashville, TN. Allowing minor blemishes in your pavement to grow into major problems will both increase your costs and lower customer satisfaction. No customer likes to hit potholes or step into a puddle of water.

Sun, rain and wind age your parking lot. They harden the pavement, making it more brittle and likely to crack. Friction from tires rolling across the surface wears away the asphalt binder and line striping from the top of your pavement. Sunlight oxidizes the asphalt, both hardening it and drawing the oil out of the surface material, which reduces the effectiveness of the asphalt binder and allows aggregate to break away. Improperly drained water is the most harmful weather-related factor.

Once water penetrates a paved asphalt surface it begins to wreak havoc on the pavement base. Water usually penetrates a pavement surface through cracks. If a trouble spot turns into a pothole, the volume of water entering and damaging the base layer grows substantially. The longer cracks and holes are left uncorrected, the greater the damage to the base and the greater likelihood of future cracks and potholes. Naturally, the more cracks and potholes, the greater the asphalt repair cost. The earlier the signs of wear, especially cracking, show up in your parking lot’s life, the more likely your lot suffers from a serious problem that will require repair and replacement at some point in the future.

Signs of parking lot – pavement wear include:

1. Fading color
2. Oil spots
3. Rough surface texture
4. Loose or missing aggregates in mix
5. Cracks that are several feet apart and give the appearance of large rectangular blocks
6. Transverse cracks, running parallel to the main traffic flow
7. Bird baths
8. High spots and/or rutting

WHAT IS YOUR PAVEMENT TELLING YOU?

As the sun’s affect begins to accumulate, the original dark black color of your new asphalt will turn to a light black/dark gray color. Typically, your line marking will be fading out at the same rate. The loss of color tells you that significant amounts of oil have left the asphalt surface material. Oil spots are not signs of wear, per se, or indicators of future failure. Motor oil harms the performance of asphalt binder and, therefore, the strength of the surface. Oil spots indicate an unhealthy accumulation of oil, which left unchecked, will lead to more serious problems. Rough surfaces and lost aggregate (rocks) are indications of raveling. Raveling is magnified by vehicle traffic and fast moving water from rain or sprinklers.

Miscellaneous small cracks may be telling you many things about the condition of your asphalt. Usually, they are simply the result of pavement surface or base contraction and expansion. Two things to keep in mind: cracks allow water to penetrate and damage the subsurface, and the frequency and pattern of crack development will indicate whether they are the sign of a serious problem requiring repair of the base and replacement of the existing surface layer.

Solutions:

Rejuvenator

Pavement replacement is a huge expenditure. By utilizing the CPR™ Asphalt Treatment Program, the life of your pavement can be extended. Costly replacement or repetitive overlays can be eliminated while maintaining a like-new appearance of the asphalt pavement. Asphalt Rejuvenation is based on the measurable parameters of the following: Viscosity Reduced, Penetration Increased, Ductility Increased, Asphalt Content Increased, Skid Resistance increased, Durability Increased, in wet conditions the skid resistance increases and returns to normal when the pavement is dry. The CPR™ rejuvenation process restores the asphalt pavement to a near-new condition based on its original viscosity, penetration and ductility values. CPR™ waterproofs and imparts a chemical resistance to the upper layer of the asphalt. CPR™ can be applied to a variety of pavement surfaces such as hot-mix asphalt, chip-seal, micro-surfacing and slurry seal. Pavements and roadways treated with CPR™ Rejuvenator can be opened up for traffic after a short period of time without fear of delamination or tracking. All of this with minimal downtime and a 2 year warranty.

Seal Coating

To maintain its visible impact and protect against the other effects of weather, you should have a protective surface coating applied to your pavement every few years in accordance with weather, and traffic conditions. Many different types of seal coats are available in Nashville, TN. Each one works well for some applications and less well for others. Using the lowest priced sealcoat is not necessarily the best investment for your asphalt or your long term budget. Sealcoats do not stop cracks. They do not add strength to an asphalt pavement surface. They do reduce the impacts of sunlight on the parking lot. They help the pavement hold onto its oils and aggregate. Cracks need to be cleaned out and filled prior to applying a sealcoat. The parking lot should be swept clean of any dirt. Oil spots should be heated and/or treated prior to sealcoating. Saturated oil spots should be removed down to solid asphalt and filled with an asphalt mix or permanent repair product.

Crack Sealing

The primary reason for sealing cracks is to prevent water from entering the subsurface and causing damage. A second situation, which calls for crack filling, is when preparing the surface for the placement of a fabric or an overlay. Cracks can be filled and sealed with two different techniques. The best approach is to use an injection nozzle that leaves the sealing fluid slightly below the top of the pavement. The more economical approach, and most common, is to spread the crack sealer with a spray nozzle/squeegee that leaves a three inch wide band centered over the crack. The principle advantage of the injection nozzle is that tires do not come into contact with the sealer and, therefore, will not be able to pull it up, which can happen with the banded approach. The injection nozzle also increases  the probability that the sealer/filler penetrates the crack well to better withstand the shearing forces and will likely form a crack in itself over time. In order for either method to work well, small cracks must be routed out to at least 1/2″. The sealer used should have an adhesive quality to it so that it will provide a superior water barrier. The crack should be cleaned out with compressed air. Crack filling should not be performed during wet weather. Cracks less than 1/8″ can be properly covered with a sealcoat.

As a property manager or owner, here is something you need to remember – asphalt wears out. This is a given. It loses its color, it cracks, it hardens and it has occasional potholes. Asphalt is an asset that requires consistent maintenance to ensure reliable service.

Maintaining an attractive and smooth asphalt parking lot requires investment in asphalt preventative maintenance and repair. The speed at which your pavement wears out will be a function of vehicle traffic volume, quality of design, quality of installation, weather, and, last but not least, quality and timeliness of asphalt maintenance. Combining any one of the first four elements with poor asphalt maintenance is a recipe for pavement failure.

Your asphalt parking lot will eventually show signs of deterioration from one or more of the following conditions:

1. Pavement wear
2. Pavement distress
3. Pavement failure

Allowing pavement wear to continue unchecked will lead to distress. Ignoring distress greatly increases the likelihood of failure of the pavement. Timely response to your parking lot’s warning signs is the most cost effective approach. It also signals that your company is interested in its clientele’s well being and that it pays attention to even the small details of superior customer service.

ASPHALT REPAIR NASHVILLE, TN

Your customers and employees expect a smooth driving pavement surface. Therefore, pavement distress must be addressed quickly. Pavement distress in parking lots is common after several years of moderate to heavy use. Pavement distress comes in many different disguises, but ultimately results in pavement surfaces that no longer drain properly, have potholes or have a rough texture in places.

The principle difference between pavement distress and pavement failure is the frequency of the problem. Relatively isolated problems can be resolved by spot repair. Non-structural problems can usually be patched and overlaid without digging out the existing asphalt. If your asphalt needs a new surface and the water drainage cannot be properly worked out, then removal of the existing pavement surface will be required prior to putting down a new pavement surface.

Once pavement becomes distressed, it should be repaired. If these areas are not repaired, it will lead to more serious pavement failure and damage to cars and drivers. Potholes and rutting are two types of pavement distress signals.

Failed pavement requires removal and replacement. If pavement problems were caused by poor design, improper installation, or material deficiencies, distress symptoms will keep returning and it is likely that more extensive repairs will be needed to correct the problems permanently.

Signs of Pavement Distress:

1. Waves in the pavement surface
2. Ruts in the wheel paths
3. Water or mud pumping to surface
4. Potholes
5. Alligator cracking in isolated areas
6. Wrinkling or tearing of the surface layer.

If you need paving, seal coating, asphalt repair or new construction in Nashville TN, contact Lone Star Paving today! Lone Star Paving can help keep your pavement smooth. We offer services including paving, asphalt repair, seal coating, striping, signs and many others. Proper property maintenance is vital to maintaining your building’s tenants and property value. Your building’s first impression starts in the parking lot.