7 Common Parking Lot Issues Apartment Complexes Face

Common parking lot issues apartment complexes usually face.

The parking lot is one of the most important yet easily overlooked areas in an apartment complex. Since this is often the first-place people see in a property, it can influence their decision to become tenants. So, you should stay on top of your routine maintenance to keep your parking spaces clean and organized. With a proper parking lot maintenance plan, you can ultimately prolong the life of your pavement and maintain your apartment’s curb appeal to attract residents. So, to help you keep your asphalt in its best condition, check out these seven common parking lot issues in apartment complex parking lots. At the first sign of these problems, you should call professionals immediately to address them. This will help you avoid costly repairs or severe damage.

Raveling

If you notice loose debris while walking around your parking lot, this may be a sign of raveling, which is one of the most common parking lot issues. It refers to the gradual disintegration of the asphalt from the surface downwards. This may be caused by moisture, heavy traffic, aggregate segregation, or loss of asphalt bonder.

Generally, the proper asphalt repair for raveling depends on the severity. If the problem is limited to a certain area, you can apply a simple patch. You may need to call professionals for an asphalt overlay or full-depth removal in more severe cases.

Depressions

Depressions are indentations or sections that are lower than the surrounding pavement. They are often caused by poor compaction, resulting in inconvenient puddles around your pavement. Generally, the best way to fix depressions in your parking lot is to remove the affected area and replace the sub-grade with a new layer.

Rutting

If there is heavy traffic in your parking lot, you will likely notice rutting as a common issue. Ruts are surface depressions or indentations that form due to the impact of traffic movement. Generally, this problem is due to a weak subgrade, insufficient pavement thickness, moisture penetration, or lack of compaction.

You can address minor rutting with crack filling, but more serious cases may require removal and replacement. If you are unsure of your parking lot’s condition, you should call experts to assess your asphalt pavement.

Alligator Cracking

Alligator cracking occurs due to structural problems. This can include a weak base, overloading, or a combination of different factors. It looks like interconnected cracks that resemble the pattern of alligator scales, as suggested by its name. If left ignored, alligator cracking could lead to more severe parking lot issues like potholes or structural failure.

You should not delay fixing these cracks when you spot them on your pavement. Some short-term solutions include sealcoating and crack filling. To address the root cause of these cracks, you should get experts to remove the damaged area and replace it.

Block Cracking

Block cracking is another common type of distress you will often find in parking lots. It looks like a series of large rectangular or square-shaped cracks that vary in size. Unlike alligator cracks, block cracks are not load-associated. They can appear even on pavements without much traffic. Common causes for these cracks include age-related hardening or asphalt shrinkage.

The smaller the block cracks are, the easier they are to fix. If your lot only has small cracks, you can cover them with crack sealing and sealcoating. However, you may need an asphalt overlay to address larger cracks more than ½ inch wide.

Longitudinal Cracking

Longitudinal cracking is precisely as its name suggests—it is a type of cracking that occurs in the same direction as the asphalt application or parallel to the pavement’s centerline. This problem may arise from tension stress, asphalt shrinkage, a weak subgrade, pavement fatigue, etc.

Like block cracks, longitudinal cracks are minor and mild if they are ½ inch wide or less, then anything more counts as large and severe. Therefore, while you can fix small cracks with a sealant, you must call a professional to recommend an appropriate solution for bigger cracks.

Potholes

Potholes are large bowl-shaped depressions on your pavement. They always start as small cracks and gradually become more extensive and deeper from external factors like weather conditions and constant use. Over time, water, moisture, and debris can seep into your pavement and cause more severe problems.

As much as possible, you should fix cracks in your parking lot to prevent them from turning into potholes. However, if your parking lot already has potholes, the best solution will be to call professional contractors for pothole repair. Applying a patch may work as a temporary fix, but you ultimately need to get a full-depth reclamation to repair the pothole and your parking lot.

Call the Professionals at ACPLM to Resolve Your Parking Lot Issues

With so many parking lot issues in your parking lot complex, you must stay on top of your apartment complex parking lot repair and maintenance. Here at ACPLM, we provide a wide range of asphalt solutions to ensure that your parking lot remains in its best condition. It is our goal to establish a long-lasting relationship with all of our clients for parking lot and sealcoating services.

Whether you notice some problems on your pavement or want to get preventive parking lot maintenance, we are here to help you. Call us today at 888-959-9637 to get in touch with our team and discuss your needs and schedule a free consultation.

ACPLM Admin