Seasonal Parking Lot Maintenance Tasks
Maintaining your parking lot paving is a year-round task. Good maintenance can ensure your lot has a long working life without the need for major repairs.
Winter
Winter is the slowest season when it comes to parking lot maintenance. Generally, the main concern is to keep all drains clear around the lot so melting ice and snow water doesn't accumulate. Marking the location of drains with snow poles is also a good idea so that your snow removal service doesn't pile shoveled snow on top of a drain and block it.
As for snow removal, plowing is preferred over salting and chemical ice melts because plowing is less likely to damage the paving when done properly. If traction is necessary, sand can make a good alternative to salt products.
Spring
Spring maintenance typically begins with a thorough cleaning of the parking lot to remove the grime and residue of winter. Cleaning is followed by repairs. Potholes and cracks tend to form over winter when water seeps into the pavement and then freezes and expands. Spring parking lot repairs to fill cracks, repair potholes, and remove any weeds growing in seams will reduce the chances of greater damage.
The drain systems around the lot should also be inspected by your paving company, so any debris that washed in over winter can be cleared out before spring and summer rainstorms arrive.
Summer
Major repairs are best done in summer when warm and dry weather is more dependable. Seal coat applications may be necessary if the paving surface is beginning to show signs of aging. Your paver will coat the parking lot with a mixture of asphalt and polymer sealers, which creates a water-resistant surface that is less prone to damage.
Striping the lot is also a job best left until summer. Painting new stripes is often done right after seal coating, but you may need to re-stripe a faded lot even if a seal coat application isn't needed.
Fall
Getting your lot ready to weather winter conditions is the main focus of fall parking lot maintenance. Once again, the drains around the lot should be the main focus. They need to be kept clear of dropping leaves and other debris so that they can work properly going into winter.
A second lot cleaning is also useful to remove the dirt and pollution that has built up from summer traffic in the parking lot. Follow this with repairs of any small cracks or potholes that are forming so they don't become bigger when freezing weather arrives.
For more info, contact a local commercial paving company.
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