There are many material choices for paving a parking lot - how do you choose? How do you know which is right for your business? Before making any decision, take time to think about the needs of your budget, the space itself, and your weather. We personally are partial to asphalt - and here’s seven reasons why asphalt may be the best material choice for your parking lot.

Do you constantly wonder when pothole season is? Sometimes it feels like it’s all the time. Even though it feels that way, it really isn’t.

While sealcoating or fixing cracks can sometimes be a way to bring new life to a parking lot, sometimes a new paving job is needed. Reasons for a new paving job may be extensive damage, alligator cracks, or any damage to the sub base. With these kinds of damage, it quickly becomes more cost efficient to do a new paving job, rather than sealcoat. 

You want your asphalt parking lot or driveway to last decades. How do you ensure that it lasts as long as it can? Proper maintenance can extend the life of your paving project - but asphalt maintenance isn’t as tricky as it sounds. Asphalt is affected regularly by weather, heavy loads, oil and many other normal substances it may come in contact with. 

Clean your asphalt.

Remember when your mother said keeping things clean helped them last longer? Well, she was right  - in the case of asphalt at least.  Keep it clear of excess water, and yard clippings.

Parking lots are a necessary evil. For a nation built on personalized mobility, rather than the mass transport that is ubiquitous and well-loved across Europe, we need places to store our cars while we’re off shopping, working, and exercising at the gym (since cars are immobile 95% of the time). Yet for all of the societal, environmental and aesthetic ills pinned on the forlorn parking lot, recent innovations in parking lot design may just pave the way for a more positive relationship between people and our parking spots.

How do you know when its time for parking lot resurfacing? The answer will help inform budgets, planning calendars, and construction timelines. Are there visual cues such as cracks or dips? Or is there a reliable timeframe for standard parking lot resurfacing, such as every 10 years?

Simply because a parking lot is showing wear and tear, serious cracking, or standing water does not necessarily mean it needs to be replaced. Resurfacing a parking lot is a great way to boost curb appeal without investing a lot of money.