5 Sealcoating Benefits for Your Parking Lot
When you invest your money in a beautiful and smooth asphalt parking lot, you want to protect its appearance and treat it properly over time. Sealcoating your asphalt parking lot offers more than just a prettier aesthetic, as it also protects the layers underneath. As experts in asphalt and chip seal in Kerrville, TX, we offer everything from paving to maintenance to sealcoating to keep your pavement looking great and lasting long. These are a few of the many benefits of sealcoating.
Water Intrusion Prevention
Asphalt aging will show itself with hairline cracks. Sealcoating your pavement will fill these cracks in. Almost any sealer you could use contains silica sand or black beauty boiler slag aggregate. When you fill the cracks with these sealers, you are adding a protective barrier to the asphalt. This barrier will offer a level of water intrusion prevention. The longer the water stays out, the longer the asphalt will last.
Deterioration From Oxidation Will Be Slowed
Oxidation is one of those events that just happens. It can't be prevented. The exposure to air and ultra-violet rays will deteriorate the asphalt binder. Sealcoating appropriately will slow this effect. When pavement oxidizes, it becomes brittle. This will cause cracks to appear and quickly grow. This will lead to a chain reaction that will eventually expose your pavement to all the elements and factors that cause its life cycle to lessen.
More Than Water Protection
You don't just have to worry about the water and ice getting onto your pavement. Other chemicals that will accumulate will also be threats. Gasoline, oil, and other contaminants will leak from cars and get spilled on the ground. The same protective layer that prevents water intrusion can be used to help prevent the damage to the asphalt binder from other agents. That being said, if your parking lot has any black oil stains, you will need to repair these spots before sealcoating.
Easier Cleaning & Maintenance
When you keep your sealcoat on your asphalt, you are making it that much easier to clean off. While not a physical benefit to the pavement, it is a convenience that you shouldn't overlook. Where concrete will tug at brooms and make it difficult to clean, a seal coated asphalt surface will allow the broom to glide freely over the surface during clean up.
Extends Life of Pavement
Like we said, you can't delay the inevitable, but you can prolong it. Without sealcoating your parking lot, you are leaving a lot of factors that impact your asphalt's life cycle. If you maintain a well-constructed parking lot, the asphalt will last 10+ years easily. Sealcoating is a vital part of maintaining your asphalt parking lot.
Never underestimate the good it does to take care of your asphalt pavement. The biggest benefit of sealcoating is the long term savings. You save on repair costs, maintenance costs, and extensive cleaning costs. Sealcoating your asphalt pavement is the only way to protect your parking lot.