Asphalt pavements are constantly subjected to natural wear and tear that are usually due to usage or oxidation so no matter how much care and maintenance you put into your pavement, it’s still going to deteriorate eventually whether you use it or not and especially if you have a commercial parking lot where you have lots of both foot and car traffic going in and out of your property.

That said, expect that it’s going to go through distress and sooner or later you’ll have to deal with repairs.

Along the course of 7 to 10 years or so depending on the load of traffic that passes through, your asphalt parking lot will start to show some abrasions or damages.

What you can do when this happens is to continue following industry’s best practices to slow down its deterioration. While you can DIY some minor repairs, it is still best to leave major ones to professionals.

Types of Damages

Potholes

Potholes are the depressions on the pavement that are largely a result of water penetration. Potholes happen when there are long-term unsolved pavement issues such as cracks where water has passed through thereby eventually undermining the surface underneath and ultimately resulting to the top layer caving in or it could also be because of a base failure.

Potholes are a safety hazard and should be repaired as soon as possible else so as to avoid accidents or damaging your customers’ car tires.

Alligator Cracks

Alligator cracks are large interlaced cracks resembling the patterns of an alligator’s skin. Alligator cracks occur when minor cracks are not addressed immediately, when there’s excessive loading, insufficient pavement thickness or when water accumulates further into the cracks crossing through the layers beneath weakening the compacted aggregates below.

It is then further aggravated by natural elements of oxidation, freeze-and-thaw cycles, and heavy foot and car traffic from above.

This is especially common to parking lots particularly since trucks and delivery vans constantly batter the pavement.

Raveling

Raveling is a common asphalt pavement problem that occurs when loose aggregates are knocked out from the top layer of the surface.

This results in a progressive disintegration of the aggregate particles beneath. Loose debris will expose inner layers thus forming holes and fissures that would collect rainwater and consequently soften the surface and the subgrade below.

Rutting

Rutting is a permanent deformation on the asphalt that is characterized by engraved wheel paths usually caused by heavy loaded trucks that exert more pressure onto the surface. Other causes are inadequate compaction during construction or insufficient…
 
Continue reading the article and learn more about asphalt repairs on Paul Verbiton’s blog.