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Posts Tagged ‘asphalt’

Commercial Parking Lots, Paving Contractors, and Your Business

Friday, January 20th, 2012

Your business parking lot is the first point of contact your customers/clients have with your business. It is what they will base their first impressions on. Because of this, it is important to keep your parking surface free of oil stains, debris, cracks and potholes. But all the asphalt maintenance in the world won’t make a difference if your asphalt pavement was not properly installed by a qualified pavement contractor.

But before you call a potential asphalt contractor, educate yourself on the important qualities of any good commercial parking surface. These include:

  1. Smooth Integration: If you are expanding an existing parking lot, you want to be sure that your new parking surface blends seamlessly with the old asphalt. Feel free to ask your potential parking lot contractor for photos of a similar job he already completed.
  2. Good Base: Without a proper gravel base, your business parking surface will collapse under the weight of traffic.
  3. Drainage: Water and asphalt are not friends. Proper drainage prevents standing water and long-term damage to your parking lot.
  4. Attention to Detail: A good asphalt professional pays attention to the tiniest of details, ensuring that your parking surface is installed properly.

If you have any further questions, contact an experienced asphalt company today – a company like PTG Enterprises. The asphalt experts here have managed hundreds of pavement projects and have the experience you need. So contact PTG Enterprises aka My Pavement Guy today by calling 410-636-8777 or click here today!

Give me the opportunity to impress you. I can be your one stop ‘Pavement Guy,’ for any pavement project regardless of size or scope.

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Sources:

4 Keys to Quality Commercial Parking Lot Paving

Maryland Sealcoating Service: The Benefits of Sealcoating Your Asphalt Parking Lot

Friday, January 6th, 2012

Asphalt parking lot maintenance is important. But of all the precautions you can take to ensure your parking surface lasts for a long time, sealcoating is perhaps the most important. If applied properly and at the right time, sealcoating provides the following benefits:

Slows Oxidation and Water Penetration: Over exposure to oxygen will harden asphalt binders, resulting in brittle pavement prone to cracking. And cracking allows water to seep into the asphalt sub base, further weakening the entire parking surface. This leads to more cracks, potholes, and eventual total parking lot failure.

Sealcoats fill surface voids, reducing exposure to oxygen and water and prolonging pavement life.

Protects Pavement Against Ultraviolet Rays: The sun’s rays can break the links between carbon bonds and your asphalt. Sealcoat prevent ultraviolet rays from further damaging the asphalt pavement.

Protects Against Spills: Gas and oil spills can soften asphalt, making it more susceptible to other damage. Sealcoating reduces the depth to which oil or gas can penetrate.

Easy to Clean Pavement: Sealcoating results in a smooth, even texture allowing for much easier cleaning.

Increased Pavement Flexibility: Sealcoating keeps your parking lot black. This attracts more heat from the sun, which, in turn, makes your parking surface more pliable and increasingly able it is to withstand traffic volume changes without cracking.

Beauty: Well, this one is a given.

Cost Effective: It is far less expensive to sealcoat your parking lot every few years than it would be to overlay or completely replace your parking surface.

If you have any questions, contact an experienced asphalt company today – a company like PTG Enterprises. The asphalt experts here have managed hundreds of pavement sealcoat projects and have the experience you need. So contact PTG Enterprises aka My Pavement Guy today by calling 410-636-8777 or click here today!

There are many different options available to property managers and owners today than there were when I started in the Industry. This works to the advantage of the property and to the pavement. Now, depending on the current condition of the asphalt, I have the ability to recommend several different options depending on the condition of the lot, previous maintenance schedules and budgets. The cost of sealcoating is only pennies a square yard versus repairs and rehabilitation which can be as much as twenty times higher.

Give me the opportunity to impress you. I can be your one stop ‘Pavement Guy,’ for any pavement project regardless of size or scope.

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Sources:

Asphalt Pavement Maintenance 101

Asphalt Crack Sealing

Thursday, September 29th, 2011

Asphalt cracks do not form over night. They slowly grow, sneaking up on you until that tiny crack becomes a major problem. Asphalt cracks slowly elongate and widen during weather changes such as freezing and thawing or intense periods of heat.

However, if you monitor your parking lot carefully and catch these tiny cracks early enough, you can patch the problem before it gets any worse.

Asphalt crack sealing is the solution. Some fillers require special equipment for heating and applying and some are ready to go out of the box or can for the do-it-yourselfer. But to get that professional look, you should probably use a professional asphalt contractor, like PTG Enterprises.

They will be able to properly apply your sealcoat, ensuring your parking surface remains crack free for as long as possible. They will also be able to answer any questions you may have, such as…

What is Sealcoating?

Sealcoating is a widely used and accepted preventative measure that helps safeguard a parking lot against the harsh effects of gas, oil, salt, weather conditions and oxidation. This coating will significantly reduce the impact of these harsh effects. When applied properly, a sealcoat cures on your parking lot leaving a fresh black finish. There are many ways that sealer may be applied and material mixes may vary as well.

How often should you have your parking lot sealcoated?
One of the most important things you can do to ensure a long life for your parking lot is to fill cracks and seal it every two years.

A newly laid asphalt parking lot should be sealed within the first 12 months. Because of the ever increasing costs of asphalt, many business owners now seal every other year. This has proven to be an excellent approach to avoid expensive repairs and maintain an aesthetically pleasing parking lot. There are many factors to consider when deciding how often to sealcoat.

If you have any other questions, contact PTG Enterprises aka My Pavement Guy by calling 410-636-8777or click here today!

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Sources:

Asphalt Crack Sealing AsphaltSealCoatingPro.com

How Often Should You Sealcoat Your Asphalt?

Thursday, September 15th, 2011

There are several benefits to sealcoating, which we will address later. It does much more than just make your asphalt look like new.

When the liquid asphalt holding the aggregate together oxidizes, your asphalt becomes brittle and prone to cracking. Sealer helps to protect your parking lot or other asphalt surface from the harsh effects of nature.

So how often should you seal your asphalt? The general rule is every two years, but there are exceptions. For example, when an asphalt surface is new, it should be sealed the first two years (the first application doesn’t cover as well as the coats that follow). But be careful not to overdo it. When a surface is sealed too much, the sealer will build up and can begin to crack.

Your asphalt should look and feel like asphalt. If it starts to resemble a black skating rink, you’ve sealed to much.

The Benefits of Sealcoating Includes…

Beautifies Pavement
Regardless of the material that is chosen, the property manager or owner can expect instant curb appeal. As these photos show, the difference is quite remarkable. A fresh sealcoat will restore a fresh-black color to your lot and fresh paint will make it look new again.

Stops Weather Damage
Unsealed pavement allows water to penetrate in and through it. This leads to base erosion, freeze-thaw damage and ultimately pavement failure. sealcoating provides a protective barrier to stop water penetration.

The Asphalt Institute states: “The accumulation of moisture in pavement is probably the greatest cause of pavement distress.”

Prevents Oxidation
Asphalt pavement is made up of asphalt binder and little rocks called aggregate. As the pavement cures, the sun’s rays harden and dry out the asphalt binder and cause the surface to dry out. This causes the asphalt to become dry, brittle and break apart. This oxidation will cause accelerated raveling and erosion, and, if left untreated can reduce asphalt thickness by as much as half in five years.

If you have any questions, contact PTG Enterprises aka My Pavement Guy by calling 410-636-8777 or click here today!

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:

How Often Should I Sealcoat My Driveway? AsphaltAdvisor.com

Sealcoating Should be left to the Professionals

Tuesday, September 6th, 2011

Anyone who has had a bad sealcoating job can attest to the value of choosing a qualified contractor. Look for a professional to do the work and stay away from amateurs. With sealcoating work, you really do get what you pay for

This article from AspahltAdvisor.com explains the pitfalls of trusting your sealcoating to an amateur.

A new sealcoating business is fairly easy to start. Supplies are easy to come by, but experience takes time. It is important to be able to differentiate the professional pavement company from the guy who sealcoats asphalt on the weekends.

Be sure to look for a company that has insurance. If a problem does arise, they will be easier to find and more likely to have the problem fixed.

So do your research and next time you have a parking lot that requires a fresh sealcoat, trust the job to a company with a proven track record of professionalism and excellence, like PTG Enterprises, Inc.

Over the last 10 years PTG Enterprises, Inc. has thrived and owner Patrick T. Gillen III has…

• Prepared approximately 3,000 written Requests for Proposals (RFPs);

• Contracted and managed approximately $20 million in work;

• Supervised and performed quality controls of other contractor’s work;

• Assisted with budgeting and estimating for future and upcoming pavement projects, and

• Performed “Special Pavement Projects,” usually specific tasks within certain timelines.

If you have any questions, contact PTG Enterprises aka My Pavement Guy by calling 410-636-8777 or click here today!

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Asphalt Parking Lot Replacement vs. Resurfacing (Overlay)

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

Eventually, all asphalt parking lots become too deteriorated to maintain and require restoration or rehabilitation. The asphalt condition (as well as your budget) will usually determine the extent of the project. Some will require a total excavation and replacement, while others may only need to be resurfaced.

So how can you decided if your parking lot needs a surface overlay or a total replacement? This article from AsphaltAdvisor.com can help. It outlines the conditions of each procedure.

Total Excavation and Replacement

There eventually comes a time when every parking lot has outlived its useful life – it is more cost effective to excavate the entire lot and re-install a new one. The property manager or owner needs to evaluate the cost of maintaining the deteriorating pavement over time vs. the cost of replacement. Performing non-stop patching can be expensive.

Assuming the decision has been made to perform a total excavation and replacement, the process, in theory, is a simple one. The entire parking lot is machine excavated, usually by an asphalt milling machine, but this can vary with the size and shape of the lot. Once excavation is completed, the sub-grade stone is evaluated for its condition. Any soft spots will be undercut and new stone installed. Then the base and surface courses of asphalt are re-installed. With this option, the life cycle of the parking lot is reset to zero. The lot is brand new.

Surface Overlay
In some cases, if the sub-grade is good and there is no surface cracking, an overlay only is the proper fix. This is the correct option if the surface is dry, brittle, and raveling. In this situation, a new and additional layer of asphalt is installed over what is already there. It’s important to evaluate the project properly because the grade of the lot will change. Edge milling is required along gutter pans and transition points.

Resurfacing can be a viable option if removal and replacement does not fit your budget. But remember, if you are looking for a long-term solution, it is usually more cost effective to opt for the expensive total excavation and replacement. But in the end, the choice is yours.

If you would like a professional opinion or if you have any questions, contact PTG Enterprises aka My Pavement Guy by calling 410-636-8777 or click here today!

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Asphalt, Curing, and Sealcoating

Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

You have paid to have your parking lot re-paved with asphalt. So everything is perfect, right? Well, not quite. Replacing or repairing your asphalt parking lot is just the first step in the process.

It can take up to 12 months for liquid asphalt to fully cure. Until this time is up, you should use caution and avoid the following situations:

•     When driving on your new asphalt, be conscious that your car should remain in motion as you turn the steering wheel. Turning your wheel while the car is stopped will cause your tires to skid across and grab your new asphalt, causing the surface to scar.

•     You should also avoid parking in the same spot every day, as it could cause depressions where the tires sit.

•     Anything parked on the pavement with kickstands or trailer jacks can sink into the asphalt. Make sure the surface is protected with a board to displace the weight.

•     Gasoline, oil, transmission and power steering fluids can all penetrate into asphalt, softening it and causing structural damage.

Once the asphalt has been sealcoated a few times, the chances of penetration will be diminished.

Sealcoating is a widely used and accepted preventative measure that helps safeguard your parking lot against the harsh effects of gas, oil, salt, weather conditions and oxidation. This coating will significantly reduce the impact of these harsh effects. When applied properly, a sealcoat cures on your parking lot leaving a fresh black finish. There are many ways that sealer may be applied and material mixes may vary as well.

There are several different options available depending on the condition of the lot, previous maintenance schedules and budgets. The cost of sealcoating is only pennies a square yard versus repairs and rehabilitation, which can be as much as twenty times higher. The different types of sealer include:

1. Asphalt Based Sealer
This is the most common type of sealer. This is a tried and true method that has been around forever and is the most economical option. Asphalt based sealer is made from tar emulsion and clay and is applied at approximately 40% – 43% solids. Once applied to the parking lot it cures to a hardened, almost petrified state, and prevents water, oils, etc. from penetrating into the asphalt and deteriorating it. This type of material is best used for two reasons. If the lot has been sealed with coal tar in the past, there are advantages to staying with the same material. Secondly, asphalt based sealer is the least expensive material of the three. The material dries to a flat black and the client can expect a life cycle of 24-48 months depending on the current condition of pavement, volume of traffic and weather.

2. Polymer Modified Asphalt Sealer
Relatively new, this is an asphalt emulsion material that has distinct and ideal applications. It is blended with polymers and special surfactants for superior adhesion, flexibility and durability. Unlike conventional sealer, Polymer Modified Sealer is applied at 58-62% solids. The higher solids count produces several tangible advantages: it will last longer than standard sealers, and it dries faster with exceptional skid resistance in both wet and dry conditions.

3. Rejuvenator Sealer
This is a petroleum based penetrating material designed to absorb into the asphalt. It is best used when the asphalt has never been sealed. Pavement Rejuvenator/Sealer is applied in a one coat application. As pavement ages, essential oils are lost as they volatilize from the pavement leading to cracks and pavement failure. Rejuvenator penetrates the asphalt, restores essential oils, rejuvenates the asphaltic binder and repairs damage within the asphalt matrix.

Regardless of the material that is chosen, the property manager or owner can expect instant curb appeal. A fresh sealcoat will restore a fresh-black color to your lot and fresh paint will make it look new again.

If you have any questions, contact PTG Enterprises aka My Pavement Guy by calling 410-636-8777 or click here

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How to Repair Your Old Asphalt Driveway

Thursday, August 11th, 2011

Is your driveway in rough shape? Will repairs do the trick? Does it need to be resurfaced? Should you have it redone professionally? These are all questions that homeowners ask themselves when faced with a dilapidated driveway. Ultimately the best thing to do is the contact a professional like My Pavement Guy, but there are some things you can consider on your own.

According to this article on EzineArticles there are some important things to think about before consulting your contractor:

Maintenance is good medicine, but it’s not foolproof

Asphalt driveways don’t remain smooth and black forever. You can take steps to maintain your driveway by sealing and protecting it, but often the effects of heat, ultra-violet rays, and substances such as salt, oil, gas and grease take their toll. And if those don’t get you, then cracking and water penetration eventually will.

Your driveway may be corroded, worn out, or have cracks, which could all warrant a resurfacing job if the condition is severe enough. As a general guide, if repairs are needed on more than 25 percent of the surface, it is more cost-effective to do a hot mix asphalt resurfacing job over the entire driveway.

Say no to cracks!

Asphalt pavement is hard and brittle, and as a result, cracks will develop over time. Ranging from hairline to an inch wide or more, cracks are your driveway’s worst enemy because they let water in. In colder climates, freeze-thaw cycles can be very destructive, and can wreak havoc on your driveway if water penetrates the cracks, then expands as it turns to ice. And even in warmer climates, water penetration can cause serious damage. The larger the crack, the more serious the problem, and the sooner it needs to be fixed. Cracks that are left un-repaired will lead to serious deterioration of the pavement and even to the base layers, requiring complete replacement of the driveway – sooner rather than later in colder climates.

Can it be fixed or do you need a new driveway?

Whether you’ll need to rip out your existing driveway and install a new one, or if you can get away with resurfacing – or even some patchwork and crack-filling – depends largely on the condition of the base layers, or foundation. However, if cracking covers 3/4 of the driveway, the surface is too far gone to repair. The root of the problems may come from lower down, and a complete overhaul should be considered.

If your driveway has been resurfaced several times with hot mix asphalt and keeps deteriorating prematurely, it is likely a problem with the foundation, and you should consider installing a whole new driveway. Likewise, if there are areas that have depressions or mounds, they should be completely reconstructed from the base. If you have several of these areas, a new driveway might make sense.

For any of your asphalt needs or if you have any questions, contact PTG Enterprises aka My Pavement Guy by calling 410-636-8777 or click here

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Thicker is Not Always Better

Friday, August 5th, 2011

Remember the old adage, less is more? It applies to sealcoat as well, as this article from PaveManPro.com explains. Sealcoating is not meant to be applied in thick patches. So let’s look at some of the disadvantages of thick sealcoating. They include:

•     Thick coats don’t cure evenly

•     They are prone to tracking and can lead to surface cracks

•     A thicker coat takes longer to cure, which can lead to degradation

•     Thicker coats will reduce the life of your sealcoating

One of the easiest ways to tell if a parking lot has been over-sealed is if the lot has no texture. An asphalt parking lot should never look smooth, the texture of the below asphalt should be visible.

A thick sealcoating will not provide your parking lot with more protection. It actually has the opposite effect. Sealer manufacturers set specific mix designs for their product; when these specifications are not adhered to, the product will not perform as intended.

So trust your next sealcoating to an experienced pavement expert, like PTG Enterprises. If you have any questions, contact PTG Enterprises aka My Pavement Guy by calling 410-636-8777 or click here

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Crack Sealing versus Crack Filling

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

Your pavement will eventually fail. It doesn’t matter how well you maintain your paved surface, it will eventually deteriorate and crack. However, how you deal with those cracks will determine how long your pavement will last. Sealing and/or filling cracks in existing pavement is the single the most effective procedure that can be performed to extend pavement’s lifecycle. This will prevent water and other foreign materials – sand, dirt, et.c – from seeping down into the asphalt where it can cause major distress and failures by weakening the base and sub-base.

This article from PaveManPro.com explains how filling or sealing pavement cracks is the most cost effective way to extend the life of your asphalt pavement.

Crack filling and crack sealing, while similar in nature, offer very different benefits.

Crack filling is less costly and will require less initial investment, but this solution may only be a temporary fix. Once the crack begins to move or expand, the crack filling material will lose its effectiveness and the crack will need to be re-filled. For this reason, crack filling is more effective in milder climates with less temperature change.

Crack filling materials include liquid asphalt, asphalt emulsions and cutbacks.

Crack sealing is a more costly option, but provides a longer life expectancy than crack filling – lasting 8 years or more. Crack sealing – which utilizes a flexible, specially prepared hot pour rubberized sealant – is considered a permanent treatment and is the only effective treatment for active cracks that contract and expand between seasons.

Crack sealing materials include asphalt rubber, rubberized asphalt, low-modulus rubberized asphalt and self-leveling silicone.

So explain your situation and budget to your pavement specialist and come up with a solution that meets your needs and your budget. If you have any questions, contact PTG Enterprises aka My Pavement Guy by calling 410-636-8777 or click here

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