In the fall, the weather begins to cool and can lead to many changes around your home or business. While many people are checking their houses to ensure that everything is ready for the winter, most people forget to check their driveways or parking lots. If they are made out of asphalt, then the fall weather changes can affect them too. Here is what you should do to maintain your asphalt surfaces for the fall.
General Cleaning
The first step in maintaining your asphalt surface is to clean it thoroughly. Begin by removing loose debris across the entire surface. It is especially important to remove biomatter, like leaves and weeds, that can get into the cracks and cause problems in the spring. You also want to get rid of as much dirt as possible. All of this debris on the surface makes it difficult to do an accurate inspection and can become a slipping hazard later on.
Inspect
The next thing that you want to do is inspect the entire surface. You are looking for obvious problems, like cracks and holes, as well as some invisible problems. Cracks and holes make it possible for plants to survive the winter and grow out in the spring. They grow with enough force to break the asphalt and make the cracks bigger, slowly destroying your driveway or surface over time.
Aside from obvious problems, you want to look for changes in the surface that are hard to see. This will let you see if there are dips in the surface where water collects. This will be a problem area when it rains or if it freezes outside. Take note of these areas so that you can deal with them when the time comes.
Repair
If you have problems with your asphalt surface, then get them repaired right away. Cracks can easily be treated and filled so that they don’t continue to expand. Holes are easily repaired as well, which can avoid a lot of dangerous situations. Dips on the surface can also be fixed with a bit more extensive work to smooth it over. While they may not seem like major problems now, waiting to get any of them fixed will make the problem worse later on.
Sealcoat If Possible
If you are able to, apply a sealcoat to the asphalt surface. Sealcoats apply a protective layer to the asphalt that is both wear-resistant and weather-resistant. It will waterproof your surface so that water can’t get in to feed buried plants or crack the surface when it freezes. Sealcoating is easy and does not take long to do, so it is something you should consider renewing every year. It will drastically decrease the wear on the surface and save you on repair costs.
Ready to Get Started?
Getting asphalt repairs done may seem like a major undertaking, but the right team of asphalt specialists can get the work done without any problems. Give us a call at (604) 857-3126 for assistance with your asphalt maintenance needs. We can do repairs and sealcoating quickly to keep your surface safe during the winter.
