Why Asphalt and Concrete Repair are Critical Before Winter

Why Parking Lot Maintenance Should be Done Before Winter:
Asphalt and Concrete Preventive Maintenance Can Save You Thousands in the Long Run

Whether your facility gets soaked by rain, baked by the sun or frozen by feet of snow and ice, over time your parking lot, sidewalks and roadways will become damaged.

Weather elements, along with petroleum, oils and grease from cars and trucks, wreak havoc on your asphalt and concrete, causing cracks, crumbling and eventual breakdown.

What to do? Start with a NO-COST INSPECTION from Rudolph Libbe Group’s FM360 team.

Look for these warning signs if you’re not sure whether your parking lots and sidewalks need help:

• Fading asphalt: Fading asphalt indicates there may be a problem. Notice if your asphalt is changing into a light grey color.
• Cracks: Cracks and crumbling are an indicator of trouble brewing beneath the surface, and should be repaired before the winter freeze/thaw cycle.
• Catch basins: Observe the areas around the rim of the catch basins.  If there is any separation between the asphalt and the catch basin, there is likely an issue that needs to be addressed.

What causes asphalt failure? During the fall and early winter, there tends to be an increase of rain before the precipitation turns to snow.  This moisture can trickle down into the substrate where it eventually freezes during the cold winter months.  Because of differential settlement, one section might expand and the other might not.  You may have rock in one area of the substrate and clay in the other, and these differing substrates can cause failure in the asphalt.

What are the benefits of regular repair and ongoing maintenance?

• Safety: Cracked asphalt can easily become a safety issue if preventive maintenance isn’t practiced, causing people to slip, trip or fall.
• Cost savings: Repairs and ongoing maintenance will spare you and your business more expensive repairs in the future.
• Avoid downtime: Repairing a few cracks in a parking lot throughout the year is much better for business than tearing up a complete parking lot over the span of a many weeks. It’s less of an inconvenience in the long run.
• Worry-free: Annual maintenance means you don’t have to worry or wonder if your surfaces are going to hold up.
• Your image: It matters how your building looks, and having a poorly maintained exterior reflects poorly on your business. Both employees and customers notice, and it has an impact either way.

3 important steps to take now:

1. Request a no-cost inspection of your parking lots, sidewalks and roadways.
2. Follow-through on any recommended repairs.
3. Put an annual preventive maintenance program into place, to keep expensive repairs or replacements to a minimum.  (The FM360 team can provide details.)

FM360 offers total facility management, which includes inspection, repair and preventive maintenance for your sidewalks, parking lots and roadways. With FM360, this work can be provided as part of an ongoing service agreement, or as a one-time service.

The FM360 team has helped save customers thousands of dollars by conducting regular inspections, taking care of repairs as-needed, and providing ongoing maintenance on building exteriors.

Get started now with a no-cost inspection, before the weather wreaks havoc on your parking lot.

For more information about FM360:

• 1-page benefits summary of FM360
• Thorough description of the FM360 program
• On-site facility assessment request