By Kelly Combot, Commercial Estimator, Marketing Manager
We’ve all seen parking lots around Winnipeg with crumbling edges, potholes, and cracks, but it’s even worse when that commercial parking lot is your very own. Your customers get annoyed and may just avoid your lot until it’s fixed.
Unsure of the scope of work involved with fixing your asphalt paving or concrete parking lot? Here’s how Superior Asphalt can get your lot back to tip-top shape so that it’s smooth sailing for both your customers’ cars and your business.
Cold asphalt
This is the least expensive, though least secure repair method and is used for quick, temporary jobs. It essentially consists of shovelling cold asphalt into a pothole and tamping it down. It isn’t pretty or long-lasting, but it will get the job done until a more permanent repair can be done. Superior Asphalt will only use this option in our off-season, when hot mix asphalt is not available and an emergency repair is required.
Hot asphalt
Superior Asphalt uses hot mix asphalt (HMA) for the bulk of asphalt repairs because it allows for a more permanent fix, which can be used to patch damaged asphalt and concrete or to build up low areas that are holding water or creating trip hazards. Other hot mix asphalt applications are avilable for larger damage, like alligator (or crocodile) cracking — interlaced cracks in pavement that end up looking like crocodile skin. The broken section of pavement can be resurfaced with HMA or the damaged area can be saw-cut out, removed, and replaced with HMA just like a new asphalt parking lot or road. The type of repair will depend on the amount of existing damage to the pavement and the budget available for repair.
Infrared (IR) asphalt repair
This cost-effective repair method is also the most technologically advanced. The pavement gets heated to between 300 and 400 degrees for a few minutes, depending on the depth and age of the asphalt. Once it’s heated up, the asphalt can be raked and graded to the correct level. Then, just like laying a new lot, the asphalt is rolled with a vibratory roller or vibratory plate. Superior Asphalt will typically use the infrared heater to “shave down” areas that have heaved due to the extremes of our climate. For areas that are too small to fit the infrared heater, like doorways and other tight areas, we use a tiger torch to heat the asphalt, so it becomes malleable enough to remove the heaved area that is causing a tripping hazard or preventing proper drainage. Superior Asphalt’s main use of the infrared heater is for our asphalt stamping operation. Find out more about our stamped and coloured asphalt by reading our blog post.
We’ve got your parking lot covered!
If your commercial parking lot is in pieces — from small potholes to needing complete resurfacing — call Superior Asphalt at 204-254-3737. Our expert team can assess the damage and determine an action plan that minimizes downtime and keeps traffic rolling through your lot. Feel free to also email us for a consultation and quote.
