How does rain water affect your parking lot asphalt?
Even though April showers bring May flowers, rain on asphalt can also do a lot of damage to your parking lot. This damage may be intensified if your parking lot maintenance is behind schedule. Keep reading to learn more about the impact of rain on asphalt in your parking lot (and what you can do to help).
Rain Can Erode Asphalt Paving
When the rain hits your asphalt, it penetrates any cracks in your asphalt. Even small cracks are susceptible to the damage caused by rain on asphalt. As the rain falls, it enters these unprotected areas of your parking lot.
Once the rain penetrates your parking lot, it breaks down the bonds that create your asphalt. This process may be even more severe if the rain freezes. The frequently expanding water hastens the deterioration of your asphalt.
Over time, the rain can increase the number of your parking lot’s cracks and fissures. Moisture will continue to seep through these damaged areas and affect the sub-base of your parking lot. If there’s no asphalt repair to fix the damage, this damage will eventually sacrifice the structural integrity of your entire parking lot.
Standing Water Also Impacts Your Parking Lot
Falling rain isn’t the only danger to your parking lot. If the rainfall accumulates in your parking lot, this poses an additional risk to the asphalt. The longer moisture remains on your parking lot, the higher the chances that your asphalt will incur moisture-related damage.
Not only do areas of standing water pose a liability risk to customers and visitors, but they shorten the lifespan of your parking lot. Lots of puddles also decrease the number of usable parking spaces; customers don’t like to step in or over puddles when entering your property.
How to Prevent Water Damage from Rain
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to protect your parking lot from the damage caused by rain on asphalt. You should adhere to a consistent schedule for your parking lot maintenance.
Check that you promptly complete any asphalt repair. This will prevent small cracks and potholes from turning into larger, more expensive problems. Have larger areas of damaged asphalt? Consider an asphalt overlay to add strength and an improved appearance to these portions of older asphalt. Asphalt paving is another option to restore a smooth, undamaged surface to your parking lot.
Parking lots also require regular sealcoating. Sealcoating is a maintenance task that involves applying a protective top layer to your parking lot’s asphalt. This layer protects your asphalt paving from moisture, including rainwater, oil, and gasoline. Your parking lot’s sealcoating will slow the rate at which moisture penetrates the asphalt.
Have your parking lot inspected to see that it has sufficient drainage. This will prevent rainfall from accumulating on your asphalt and creating areas of standing water. Parking lots may have drainage issues for multiple reasons, including past repairs that have impacted the flow of water and insufficient ground underneath the parking level. If there isn’t ample ground under your parking lot, this can contribute to depressions that cause water to pool.
To improve your asphalt drainage, it’s necessary to fix any old repairs that may be contributing to the water pooling. Some lots need a different drain system that better directs water away from the asphalt and enhances the overall parking lot drainage.
Or, if your parking lot has a catch basin, you need to check that the pipes and entry points to the basin aren’t clogged. This will slow the rate at which water drains or even prevent it from draining at all.
Contact ACPLM to Learn More about Rain on Asphalt and Sealcoating
Concerned that your parking lot isn’t ready for heavy rainfall? Contact ACPLM to get caught up on your asphalt maintenance and repair tasks and schedule a no-cost consultation today!
