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Posts Tagged ‘Oxidation’

Asphalt Maintenance Overview (For Your Parking Lot)

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

In order to keep your asphalt parking lot looking as nice as the day it was first installed, you will have to perform (or better yet, have a professional perform) periodic maintenance. Asphalt maintenance can be categorized into five areas: patch repair, asphalt overlay, inlay, pulverize in place and seal coating.

Patch Repair: This is the most common form of pavement maintenance and involves isolated areas of asphalt. The pavement is cut away from this area and is then replaced with fresh asphalt.

Asphalt Overlay: This affordable method of asphalt maintenance provides a new wearing surface of asphalt over your entire parking lot.

Inlay: This maintenance method is accomplished using milling machine, which removes a specified depth of existing asphalt and allows contractors to restore the parking surface to its pre-inlay elevation.

Pulverize in Place: Just like the Inlay method, Pulverize in Place utilizes a milling machine. But this method actually reduces your parking lot to base-rock-size particles. The resulting product can be graded like new base rock and the roadway reshaped to improve drainage.

Seal Coating: This process seals the asphalt, preventing moisture from penetrating the surface of the pavement and protecting the top layer of asphalt from oxidation and wear.

Seal coat should be applied to new pavement every 6 months to a year. After that, seal coat should be applied every 3-5 years.

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

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

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Sources:

Asphalt Maintenance

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Tis’ The Season of Sealcoating

Friday, October 14th, 2011

Summer is long gone and winter is right around the corner. You know what means, right? No? Well, it means that this is your last chance to sealcoat your parking surface before the weather gets too cold. 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. A proper seal is important for avoiding parking lot cracks and potholes.

So if you think it may be time for a fresh coat (should be done every 2-4 years), contact your local asphalt pavement specialist. While you can attempt a sealcoating on your own, a do-it-yourself sealcoat is never the best idea. You should put your trust in a company with a proven track record of success, professionalism, like PTG Enterprises.

What types of problems can I expect if I do not sealcoat?

Raveling is the most common problem caused by unsealed asphalt pavements. Raveling is the loss of aggregate from the asphalt pavement surface. This results from an “abrading” action of vehicle wheels and oxidation from the sun. Raveling will appear as a rough texture on the pavement surface, or “craters” in the surface left as the coarse aggregate pops out of the surface. Raveling is most evident in the parking lots that have a gray or white color to the asphalt surface. This indicates the asphalt binder has dried out and the surface is now brittle. Even though raveling is aggravated by vehicle traffic and the sun, it is a material problem, not a structural defect, of the pavement system.

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

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Sources:

‘Tis the Season of Football and Driveway Sealcoating WolfPaving.com

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The Deterioration of Asphalt Pavement and its Causes

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

Even the most durable paved surfaces, like asphalt pavement, are susceptible to deterioration, distress, and cracking. However, knowing what causes these problems can help you prolong the life of your asphalt. This article from PaveManPro.com can help. It outlines the major causes of pavement deterioration.

Overtime, the materials that make up asphalt begin to break down and become more easily affected by the elements: rain, sunlight, snow, etc. Furthermore, the liquid binder that holds the asphalt together begins to lose its natural resistance to water, allowing liquid to seep into the pavement. Once this happens, the surface can quickly be affected.

Yet, while pavement will naturally breakdown over time, there are a few outside factors – poor construction or human error – that may speed up this process, causing premature deterioration.

The factors leading to asphalt deterioration include:

•      Insufficient or improperly compacted base below the asphalt

•      Over or under compaction of asphalt

•      Improper temperature of asphalt when applied

•      Poor drainage

•      Water – over time and especially without proper maintenance water penetrates the asphalt, washes out the base underneath it, causing it to crack, break down and collapse.

•      Sunlight – Oxidation breaks down and dries out the once flexible liquid asphalt that holds the aggregate together. This causes raveling and shrinking cracks, which allow water to penetrate beneath the surface.

•      Chemical/ petroleum exposure – the introduction of chemicals to asphalt, including gas and oil, can soften the asphalt and cause it to break down more rapidly.

When asphalt pavement is constructed and maintained properly it wears out slowly and can last up to 25 years or more. Proper maintenance is key to protecting it from the external factors that wear it out.

If you notice your driveway, parking lot, or any pavement displaying any signs of deterioration, it is probably time to call a professional to patch your asphalt and prevent further damage. Do not put this off and let small cracks become big problems. It is far better to pay for a little patching now than to have to pay for a total re-paving down the road.

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

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

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Benefits of Preventative Maintenance Pavement Sealers

Wednesday, July 6th, 2011

Even the best pavement will crack and deteriorate after time. But there are ways in which you can extend the life of your pavement. One of these ways, as this article from PaveManPro.com explains, is Pavement Sealer.

Asphalt hardening is an oxidation process and is a function of its exposure to air on the surface and within the pavement. If circulation of air through the interconnected void spaces in the pavement can be prevented or reduced, the rate of hardening of the asphalt will be slowed and the life of the pavement extended. Pavement sealers are used to do just that – close the surface pores to lengthen the life of the pavement.

Pavement sealers come in two basic formulas: Refined Tar-Based Sealer and Asphalt Based Emulsions.

Refined Tar-Based Sealer

Refined tar is a by-product of the distillation of crude coal tar. Refined tar differs from crude coal tar in that during the distillation process, the lighter end oils are removed from the refined tar. Refined tar based sealer is resistant to attack from petroleum based products. This property makes it ideally suited for parking lots or other locations where concentrations of oil and grease leaks are common. Refined tar-based sealer is also highly resistant to ultraviolet light bleaching. It is stable, homogeneous, easy to apply, and has been handled safely by professionals and do-it-yourselfers for decades. Refined tar based sealer has traditionally been used at gas stations, truck and bus terminals, airport aprons and taxiways as well as on residential driveways and commercial parking lots.

Asphalt based emulsions

Asphalt-based emulsions have many of the same beneficial properties as refined tar- based emulsions, but they are less resistant to corrosion by petroleum-based products, ultraviolet bleaching, and salts. An asphalt emulsion is a mixture of liquid asphalt and water. Manufacturers add special chemicals and pigments to the asphalt emulsions to improve performance but they remain susceptible to the damage caused by petroleum products.

Pavement sealers allow homeowners and businesses to maintain their asphalt effectively and economically. Research has shown that when asphalt pavement is maintained properly, the owner can extend the life of their pavement and delay costly reconstruction.

If you have any questions or if you think asphalt pavement might be right for your next project, contact PTG Enterprises aka My Pavement Guy by calling 410-636-8777 or click here

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

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