Here are Three Solutions to Suggest When Sealcoating Isn’t Enough

You’ve probably encountered property owners who want a pretty new coating on their parking lots and residential streets, but they may not understand underlying problems won’t be resolved by a quick spray of sealcoat. There are times when sealcoating simply isn’t enough to repair pavement damage. As the asphalt professional bidding the job, it’s your job to educate customers on when sealcoating is and is not effective, and to present other options.

Here are three potential solutions to consider instead of or in addition to sealcoating when pavements have more problems than a sealcoat can resolve.

• Patching
• Overlay
• Replacement

Patching tends to work best for surfaces with minor potholes or isolated areas of damage. It’s an easy solution for customers to understand because it addresses the physical deterioration of the surface. Depending on the severity, you may need to remove some asphalt and perform base work, you might need to perform mill patching, or you may need to do skin patching.

For mildly aging or moderately damaged asphalt, a thin overlay can restore the parking lot without having to mill anything up. This middle-of-the-road option can appeal to customers who are wary of a complete replacement.

Replacement is for property owners with excessive damage. If you’re seeing long cracks, deep potholes and crumbling surface areas, you want to talk to the customer about replacement. A parking lot replacement generally involves removing the old asphalt surface and repaving the area in one or two lifts, depending on the amount of use. By removing the old asphalt, you can solve base failures for your client.