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Posts Tagged ‘PTG Enterprises’

Porous Asphalt: Improving Stormwater Management

Friday, February 24th, 2012

We have a new, powerful tool to help improve stormwater management and water quality: Porous Asphalt.

In nature, rainwater is absorbed by soil, filters through it, and eventually seeps into streams, ponds, lakes, and underground aquifers. In urban areas, rainwater falls directly  on cement and asphalt pavements and has nowhere to filter out harmful contaminants. As a result, those contaminants are washed into waterways without undergoing the filtration that nature intended.

This is where porous asphalt can help!

Porous asphalt has an open-graded (porous) surface over an underlying stone recharge bed, allowing rainwater to drain through the asphalt, into the stone, and then the soil. If contaminants were on the surface at the time of the storm, they are swept along with the rainfall through the stone bed. From there they infiltrate into the sub-base so that they are subjected to the natural processes that cleanse water.

Benefits of Porous Asphalt

•      Conserve water

•      Allow for better use of land

•      Reduce runoff

•      Promote infiltration

•      Clean stormwater

•      Replenish aquifers

•      Protect streams, ponds, and other waterways

Porous asphalt pavements are being used successfully throughout the United States, in every type of climate and geography. They are recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as a best management practice for stormwater management.

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.

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:

Asphalt for Better Water Quality

Asphalt and the Environment

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

Believe it or not, asphalt is actually not bad for the environment. Don’t believe me, then check out the facts:

  • Between 1960 and 1999, while production of asphalt pavement material increased by 250 percent, total emissions from our operations decreased by 97%.
  • Asphalt is an environmentally sustainable pavement.
  • Once constructed, asphalt pavements have minimal impact on the environment. Studies show that asphalt pavements and stockpiles of reclaimed asphalt pavement do not leach.
  • Asphalt and the processes used to produce asphalt are green.
  • Asphalt pavements require about 20 percent less energy to produce and construct than other pavements.
  • Asphalt pavement is America’s most recycled product, with about 70 million tons of asphalt pavement material being reclaimed. And more than 99% of that total is reused or recycled. In 2010 alone, asphalt recycling conserved over 20.5 million barrels of asphalt binder.
  • Porous asphalt pavements offer a tool for storm water management with both environmental and economic benefits.
  • Warm-mix asphalt reduces fuel consumption, cuts greenhouse gas emissions, and enhances the quality of pavement.
  • Porous asphalt pavements have been shown to lower nighttime surface temperatures as compared to impervious pavements.
  • Asphalt pavements are faster to construct and rehabilitate.

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.

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:

Environment, Health, and Safety

Asphalt, The Sustainable Pavement

An Overview of the Different Types of Asphalt

Friday, February 10th, 2012

Asphalt is the most versatile pavement material, with mixes designed to handle any size load (from passenger cars to heavy trucks), absorb noise, reduce splash and spray during rainstorms, and even to help treat rainwater. The different types of asphalt pavement include:

Warm-Mix Asphalt: This is the generic name of the technology that allows producers of hot-mix asphalt to lower the temperatures at which the material is mixed and placed on the road. This afford asphalt contractors many benefits, including:

•      Increasing safety for asphalt workers

•      Cutting fuel consumption

•      Decreasing the production of greenhouse gases

•      Better compaction of pavements

•      Extending the paving season

•      And the potential to be able to recycle at higher rates

Quiet Pavement: Today’s busy world is filled with more noise than one typically cares to deal with. But quiet pavement actually reduces the noise experienced both inside and outside homes and businesses. Resurfacing a noisy road with stone-matrix asphalt (SMA) or open-graded friction course (OGFC) mix can reduce noise by 3 to 5 dB(A) or more (the same as doubling the distance between you and the noise source).

Porous Asphalt: These pavement surfaces allow rainwater to drain through the asphalt into a stone recharge bed and then into the soil, eliminating potentially harmful standing water.

Perpetual Pavement: This advanced, multi-layer paving design process (along with routine asphalt maintenance) extends the useful life of a roadway.

Whether on the road, in a parking lot, or at an airport, asphalt pavements add up to the best value for your pavement needs, with the lowest life cycle cost and the highest residual value. 

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.

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:

Types of Asphalt Pavement

The Interesting History of Asphalt Pavement

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

It doesn’t matter is you call it asphalt pavement, blacktop, tarmac, macadam, plant mix, asphalt concrete, bituminous concrete, or just asphalt, today, it is everywhere! Asphalt is used in everything from shingles and sidewalks to driveways and, of course, roads (and more). But where did asphalt come from?

Asphalt Timeline

  • Asphalt occurs naturally in asphalt lakes and in rock asphalt and the first recorded use of this natural asphalt was in 625 B.C. when the Babylonians used the material to build their roads.
  • Even the ancient Greeks and Romans used asphalt. In fact, the word asphalt comes from the Greek word “asphaltos”, meaning “secure.”  The Romans, who used asphalt to  seal their baths, reservoirs, and aqueducts, later changed the word to “asphaltus.”
  • In 1595 Sir Walter Raleigh wrote about using natural asphalt to re-caulk his ships.
  • Still, hundreds of years passed before asphalt was widely used as a building material.
  • In the mid 1800’s John Loudon McAdam used broken stone and hot tar to bond the stones together.
  • In the late 1860s, “asphalt” came to America! The first bituminous mixtures were used for sidewalks, crosswalks, and roads.
  • In 1852, French Highways utilized natural asphalt pavement.
  • Then in 1870, Edmund J. DeSmedt laid the first true asphalt pavement in America, a sand mix in front of the City Hall in Newark, New Jersey.

Since that time, asphalt has taken off. Today, over 750 million tons of asphalt is poured and rolled every year…JUST in the USA.

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.

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:

History of Asphalt

Recycled Asphalt Pavement: What You Probably didn’t know About Asphalt

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

Here is something you probably don’t know about asphalt. It is America’s most recycled material. That’s right. Not aluminum cans or plastic bottles…asphalt! In fact, asphalt pavement is now being recycled and reused at a rate over 99%. In 2010 alone, asphalt recycling conserved over 20.5 million barrels of asphalt binder.

Here are a few highlights from the National Asphalt Pavement Association’s (NAPA) report titled, Asphalt Pavement Mix Production Survey: 2009-2010 (NAPA Information Series 138):

Reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP): With 96% of asphalt contractors and asphalt companies using RAP, the amount of RAP used in asphalt pavement was 56.0 million tons in 2009 and 62.1 million tons in 2010. This represents over 3 million tons of asphalt binder conserved over that time.

Warm-mix asphalt (WMA): Total tonnage of WMA is estimated at 19.2 million tons in 2009 and 47.6 million tons in 2010, a 148% increase in that one year alone.

RAP and WMA conserve raw materials; conserve energy; cut emissions from production and paving operations; and improve conditions for workers.

To view/download the full report Asphalt Pavement Mix Production Survey: 2009-2010click here.

To view/download State-by-State Use of RAP and WMA, click here.

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.

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:

New FHWA Survey Finds Asphalt Recycling Reaches 99 Percent; Warm Mix Usage Skyrockets National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA)

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.

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:

4 Keys to Quality Commercial Parking Lot Paving

Asphalt Cleaning Tips: How to Remove Oil Stains from Parking Lots

Friday, January 13th, 2012

A clean parking lot says a lot about your business. It says you care about the little things. It gives your customers/clients that extra sense of calm knowing that you will take care of them the same way you take care of your parking lot.

Seems crazy, doesn’t it. Well, it is not far from the truth.

Like the cover of a book, the exterior of your building and your parking lot are what your customers base their first opinions on. I know, I know…don’t judge a book by its cover. Well, guess what? People still do. That is just the way it is. And you only get to make one first impression, so it is important to make it a good one. After all, who wants to lose business because their parking lot is a mess? So if you find an oil stain on your parking surface, act quickly.

Here are 10 unique ways to remove oil stains from asphalt surfaces:

1. Soap and Water: If you come across a fresh oil spot, emulsify it with a mixture of liquid soap and water. This will keep the oil from drying and staining the asphalt. The soap surrounds small droplets of grease and does not allow it to congeal into a solid.

This will not remove the oil all together, but it will make complete stain removal significantly easier.

2. Kitty Litter: First mop up any excess oil. Then cover the oil stain with a bag of kitty litter. Begin stomping on the kitty litter (this will help absorb the oil). Leave the kitty litter out overnight. Then come back the next morning and scoop up the kitty litter and dispose of the waste. Remember, the kitty litter now contains oil, making it a bihazardous material.

Kitty litter is effective method on wet areas, not on established oil stains.

3. Baking Soda: Baking soda is great for absorbing excess oil. Sprinkle baking soda onto the oil stain and scrub with a stiff brush. Allow the baking soda to sit for a half hour and then rinse it away with a hose.

Once again, this method is only effective with fresh oil spills.

4. Coca-Cola: No, not because getting rid of an oil stain works up a thirst! Coke can actually be used to remove oil stains. First, wipe up any excess oil. Next, pour a couple cans worth of coke onto an oil stain and allow the soda to sit overnight. Then clean the area with a clean cloth.

While this is not the MOST effective method to remove oil stains, it is economical. So why not give it a shot before moving on to more expensive solutions.

5. Steam Pressure Washing: The heat of the steam will liquefy the oil as the pressure whisks it away.

This is one of the most effective methods of removing oil stains!

6. Tri-Sodium Phosphate (TSP): This substance can be quite dangerous, so use caution.

First, make a paste using TSP and water. Then scrub the paste onto the oil stain with a scrub brush. Let the paste sit for thirty minutes to absorb the oil and then rinse it away.

7. Laundry Detergent: Sprinkle the powdered laundry detergent onto the stain, add water, scrub with a stiff brush and then let the solution sit for at least 30 minutes. Then, wipe the surface clean!

8. Commercial Degreasers: Commercial degreasers for asphalt surfaces work by breaking down the oil into a bio-degradable substance that is safe for the environment and your driveway.

9. Muriatic Acid: Muriatic acid should be a last resort as it will harm your skin and eyes. Wear protective eyewear and gloves when using this substance.

Mix a mild solution and allow it to sit for about a minute. Then rinse with a pressure washer.

10. Sealcoating: If you come across a stain that seem impossible to remove, asphalt sealer may be your best option. Cover your parking lot with a fresh seal coat and move on.

If you have any questions, then 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.

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:

10 Ways to Remove Oil Stains from an Asphalt Driveway

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.

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:

Asphalt Pavement Maintenance 101

A Few Frequently Asked Sealcoating Questions

Wednesday, December 28th, 2011

It dawned on us that many of our customers have questions about the sealcoating process. So we have compiled a list of some of the most frequently asked sealcoating questions we could find. These include:

Why are two thin coats of sealcoat better than a single thick coat?

The answer is quite simple. Applying two thinner coats allows the sealcoat to dry and cure much faster than one thick application. Sealcoating is water-based and cures through evaporation. Because of this, the top layer dries faster than the bottom layers. If applied in one thick coat, sealcoating has a tendency to hold water and stay soft for a long period of time.

One thin coat of sealcoat looks good enough; why do I need a second coat?

Aesthetics is only part of the reason for sealcoating. The larger purpose for this process is to protect the asphalt underneath. One thin coat only provides half the necessary protection.

Applying one thin coat also means that you will have to sealcoat more frequently.

Why does sealcoat fail or peel?

Oil spots and other contaminants, like grease and dirt, will prevent the sealcoating from properly bonding with the asphalt. This is why the pavement should be thoroughly cleaned before the sealcoating process begins.

Why are there white streaks in the sealcoating?

This could be a sign that there is a problem with your base. The limestone from the base may be making its way through pre-existing cracks in the pavement.

Hopefully these FAQs have answered some of your sealcoating questions, but if you still want to know more, contact the asphalt experts at 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.

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources

Sealcoating Performance: Frequently Asked Questions

Safe Snow Removal for Your Asphalt Parking Lot

Friday, December 23rd, 2011

Although the weather is unseasonably warm for December, the odds are that it will not stay that way for very long. Winter is right around the corner. And in Maryland, that means one thing; snow is on the way.

While this is more than enough reason for school children to jump with joy, the thought of snow and thus snow removal is enough to give any business owner a headache. Not only is removing snow from your parking lot an expensive endeavor, it can also damage your asphalt, costing you even more money down the road!

Here are some things to keep in mind this winter:

1. Safety: Proper snow removal is not just recommended; it is required. The last thing you need is for a customer or client to slip and fall outside of your store/office, because you failed to properly clear the walkway and parking lot. If this happens, you could be held liable.

What’s worse, a snow removal bill or lawyer fees?

2. Quality: While you can try to tackle snow removal on your own, it is probably best to leave this job to the professionals. They have the knowledge and equipment to get the job done right. Plus, a professional plowing service is far less likely to damage your parking surface.

If damage still occurs to your asphalt parking lot, leaving it in desperate need of a little TLC, then contact an experienced asphalt company today – a company like PTG Enterprises. The asphalt experts here have managed hundreds of pavement repair 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.

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!