Importance of Sealcoating for Saskatoon’s Asphalt Parking Lots

Your parking lot is vital to tenant/customer service and maintaining your property’s value. As a result, investing in ongoing upkeep is essential to protect it from damage. Here we look at why your Saskatoon business parking lot needs sealcoating as part of your ongoing property maintenance plan.  

What is Sealcoating?

Asphalt sealcoating protects paved surfaces against UV rays, oxidation, chemical spills, and weather. Once applied, it restores the asphalt binders required to improve the durability and longevity of paved surfaces. With regular applications, you can slow deterioration by rejuvenating the protectants found in asphalt.

What are the Challenges of Saskatoon Parking Lots?

Canadian weather takes its toll on paved surfaces, especially roadways and parking lots. When water is trapped below the pavement surface, it expands and extracts as changing temperatures cause the water to freeze and thaw. In Saskatoon, constantly fluctuating temperatures create a heaving motion that weakens the pavement’s integrity, causing cracks. It is an endless cycle causing more damage, allowing more water to penetrate the parking lot surface, and causing increasingly more severe damage.

The result is a parking lot riddled with cracks, uneven areas, and potholes. However, car and truck traffic add to the challenge as their weight cracks damaged pavement, breaking it into pieces and creating hazardous holes.  Without proper maintenance, the holes get more extensive, allowing water to penetrate the entire foundation leading to the risk of sinkholes.

How Does Sealcoating Overcome Saskatoon Parking Lot Challenges?

As mentioned, sealcoating provides a protective coating and helps keep pavement pliable. As a result, it remains more flexible, making it less likely to crack as it expands and contracts. It also protects against the sun’s harmful UV rays that cause asphalt to fade and break down.

How Sealcoating Reduces Parking Lot Maintenance Costs

Sealcoating creates a more durable surface, prolonging the life of your parking lot. Regular seal coating is so effective that you can often significantly prolong your parking lot’s life.  Because your surface becomes more durable, you avoid the damage caused by traffic and weather. As a result, you invest less in repairs, as the damage is less severe. With ongoing maintenance, you create a safe, even surface without costly repaving.

What are the Benefits of Sealcoating?

Asphalt sealcoating provides many benefits, including:

• Improved ROI: Sealcoating is an excellent, low-cost investment with superior returns. You reduce the need for costly repairs over the parking lot’s life with increased life expectancy to avoid expensive repaving.  
• Improved safety: Weakened asphalt makes parking lots dangerous with potholes, cracks, uneven surfaces, and faded striping. As a result, you increase the risk of vehicular damage and personal injury. However, sealcoating restores flexibility, reducing the risk of harm while protecting against UV ray fading.  
• Improved curb appeal: Sealcoating keeps parking lots a consistent colour for a unified appearance that improves curb appeal.  
• Improved durability: Protecting your parking lot’s surface improves durability, increasing life expectancy. You also protect against contaminants like oil and transmission fluid.

How to Prevent Asphalt Deterioration

On top of sealcoating, there are a few budget-friendly maintenance tips to help prevent asphalt deterioration, including:

• Sweep and remove trash: Waste on your parking lot surface, including natural waste like leaves and dirt, can hold onto moisture, increasing the risk of deterioration. Regular sweeping and trash removal will reduce the risk of moisture damage.
• Remove vehicle leaks: Vehicle fluids like oil, gas, windshield wiper cleaner, antifreeze, etc., all contain chemicals that will deteriorate the protective coating of the asphalt. Inspect your lot for oil leaks and remove them right away to reduce damage.
• Check basins for clogs: Proper parking lot pads have basins to help manage water runoff. Check the basins regularly to remove debris that can cause clogs and contribute to water pooling, puddles, and floods.
• Make repairs quickly: When you notice damage, such as cracks, always call in the pros to make repairs right away. This will keep moisture from reaching the foundation below.
• Hire professional asphalt repair services: Hiring professional asphalt repair services (like EverLine Coatings Saskatoon!) ensures your parking lot is maintained correctly using the right equipment and materials to reduce deterioration and prolong life. They can identify issues and provide on-the-spot repairs for complete protection.

Professional asphalt sealcoating is necessary for business and property owners who want to make positive first impressions, provide a safe environment, and enjoy significant long-term maintenance cost savings.

Find out more about EverLine Coatings’ asphalt sealcoating services in Saskatoon!