SEALCOATING

Pavement maintenance contractors are not the only people who understand the importance of an aesthetically pleasing parking lot. Property managers, business people and visiting customers, homeowners, and the general public know it as well.

Sealcoating as part of a Pavement Management Plan
However, it is usually only the contractor who understands that the best way to maintain a parking lot is with a Pavement Management Plan (see our Pavement Management Services). Pavement Management Planning can vary in scope, but the final goal is the same: to increase pavement life.

A Pavement Management Plan usually includes cracksealing, pothole repair, and sealcoating.

Sealcoating is one of the most important elements of a pavement maintenance plan because it slows pavement deterioration.

A sealcoat consists of either coal tar pitch (derived from coal, a by-product of the steel production process) or asphalt cement mixed with inert fillers, water, emulsifying agents, or additives.

Applied in thin coats, this surface treatment is used to protect off-highway pavement surfaces, such as parking lots, driveways, runways, service stations and heliports.
However, a sealcoat, like all pavement maintenance repairs, is a temporary means of inhibiting pavement deterioration and needs to be applied on a regular basis, about every 2-3 years.

Benefits of Sealcoating
If applied properly at the right time, sealcoating benefits the pavement In many ways:

Beautification
Fresh sealcoat brings a dark black color to the pavement, making it look and wear like new. A black parking lot has a clean, rich look that presents a positive image of the company, facility, or residential complex. Striping also enhances the beauty of a newly sealcoated parking lot.

Slows oxidation and water penetration
Exposure to oxygen hardens asphalt binders and results in a brittle pavement surface that soon cracks. These cracks permit water to penetrate into the sub base, weakening it and reducing pavement strength. This in turn, leads to more cracks, which can eventually expand and become potholes. Sealcoats fill surface voids, reducing exposure to oxygen and water and prolonging pavement life.

Resists gas and oil spills
Gasoline dripping from a topped-off fuel tank during hot weather can soften and break down asphalt pavements. This is because asphalt is also a petroleum-based product. Because coal tars aren't soluble in gas or oil, it is impervious to gas and oil spills. By filling surface voids, sealing also reduces the depth to which oil or gas can penetrate the pavement.

Resists ultraviolet rays
Ultraviolet rays from the sun break the links between carbon bonds within asphalt, but these rays don't damage the aggregate within asphalt concrete. Although the sealcoat does not repair any damage that has already occurred to the asphalt, it does prevent ultraviolet rays from further damaging the asphalt pavement.

Reduces the effects of the freeze-thaw cycle
Another reason why sealcoating is so important to maintaining structurally sound pavements is because of Peoria's freeze-thaw weather cycle. This wreaks havoc on the parking lot. A cold climate enhances the danger of water being caught in the pavement and freezing. As the water freezes it expands causing individual pieces of aggregate to break apart, or it can break out large sections. Sealcoating reduces these affects by making the pavement much more waterproof. The jet black color raises the temperature of the pavement making water evaporate more quickly and makes ice melt more quickly in the winter.

Easier to clean and maintain
Sealcoats fill surface voids while coating the pavement surface. The resulting smooth and even texture makes surfaces easier to maintain year-round. For example, snow is easier to remove from a smooth surface, and sweeping is far more effective on a smooth surface.

Increase pavement flexibility
A sealcoat keeps a parking lot black. The blacker it is, the more heat it draws from the sun; the more heat it draws from the sun, the more pliable it is; the more pliable it is, the more able it is to withstand traffic volume changes without cracking.

Protects asphalt from pressure washing
Restaurant parking lots often extend to areas near dumpsters, where food-processing machines are pressure washed. Food waste near the dumpsters may also need to be washed away if it can't be swept away. Sealcoating protects asphalt cement from the high-volume water pressure and detergents used in pressure washing.

Cost effective in the long run
The price of asphalt concrete will always be affected by crude oil prices, which fluctuate when supplies vary. According to manufacturers, during the recent Gulf crisis, asphalt prices in the United States went up 15% to 40%. It's less expensive to sealcoat a parking lot every few years using a coal tar or asphalt emulsion than it is to overlay or replace a new lot. Sealcoating preserves asphalt for pennies per square foot.

Preparation and Application
In order for sealcoating to do its job, any structural failures or cracks must be repaired in advance. All potholes must be removed and replaced, cracks cleaned and filled, and oil spots cleaned or primed (see our asphalt Resurfacing and Repair and Cracksealing Services).

We can then proceed by thoroughly cleaning the asphalt pavement. We use mechanical blowers and brooms to make sure that all dirt and debris is completely removed.
On the average, 36 square feet of asphalt will be covered per gallon of emulsion.
Next, we sealcoat your pavement with a latex coal tar emulsion (which exceeds Federal Specification RP355e) using a Seal-Rite tanker machine with a pressurized spay system with sand pump.

We then add 2-3 lbs. of sand per gallon of emulsion to increase the solids content while also creating less liability against slips and falls. In addition, we include an acrylic-based hardening additive for additional strength and longevity.  We then apply our sealcoating formula using a two coat process.  The second coat will be applied after the first coat is dry.

Facts You Should Know About Your Newly Sealcoated Lot

Sealcoating should only be performed under the proper weather conditions.
The recommended air and pavement temperature is at least 50 degrees F and rising during sealer application and for 8 hours afterward.

Traffic should be kept off a newly sealed surface for 24 hours to allow for drying (curing) time. We understand that such time frames are not always practical. However, as part of Perdue' Sealcoat & Paving commitment to its customers, we are equipped to provide our clients with an alternative solution by sealcoating their lot in sections.
And finally, it is also important that you do not turn sprinklers back on, hose down or wash the area for 48 hours after work is completed.

Summary
You cannot do structural repairs with a liquid.
We have all painted our houses at one time or another and when confronted with an area of wood siding that is rough and is in need of replacement, we are tempted to reach into that bucket and put a huge glob of paint on that area to smooth it out and make it disappear. It usually works but not for long.
Now, not only do you have an area with big pieces of paint peeling, but you will have to remove them first before you can paint the wood underneath.
Such is the same with sealcoating.

Sealcoating: Not a replacement for asphalt
Sealcoating was never meant to replace asphalt, only to protect it. If an area is in that bad of shape then replace it. As in all types of contracting there is the right way to do the work and the wrong way.