Parking lots take a beating around here. Between the relentless coastal sun, occasional heavy downpours, and constant traffic from delivery trucks, your commercial pavement has a tough job. If you own or manage a property in Long Beach, waiting for potholes to swallow a tenant car is a very expensive strategy. Diamond Asphalt has paved and patched lots all over Signal Hill and down near the port, and Diamond Asphalt can tell you that a little preventative care goes a long way.
Asphalt is a flexible pavement, which is great until it is not. Here in Southern California, we do not deal with the brutal freeze-thaw cycles that crack up driveways in the Midwest. Instead, our biggest enemy is UV radiation. That hot sun bakes the essential oils right out of the liquid asphalt binder, leaving the surface brittle, gray, and prone to raveling. Add in the heavy marine layer moisture we get rolling in off the Pacific, and you have got a recipe for rapid oxidation if you are not paying attention.
What Regular Maintenance Actually Looks Like
You do not need to repave every few years if you stay on top of the small stuff. A solid maintenance routine keeps repair bills manageable.
- Sealcoating every two to three years locks out moisture and blocks the sun from stripping away oils.
- Parking lot sweeping keeps abrasive dirt, debris, and chemical spills from breaking down the binder.
- Crack filling is your best defense against water getting into the sub-base and causing alligator cracking.
If you skip sealcoating, that dark black surface turns gray, and within a few seasons, tiny hairline cracks start webbing across the lanes. That is when water sneaks into the foundation.
Warning Signs You Should Not Ignore
Most property managers do not call Diamond Asphalt until there is an emergency, but the pavement usually sends out warning signs months ahead of time. Keep your eyes peeled for standing water after a rare winter storm. If puddles are sitting on your asphalt for more than 24 hours, you have got drainage issues or sub-grade settlement. You will also want to watch for crumbling edges near landscape planters, faded striping that invites fender-benders, and those spiderweb cracks we call alligator skin.
Oil and gas drips from delivery vehicles are another silent killer. Over time, petroleum softens the asphalt binder until the surface turns mushy. If you notice dark, gooey patches near loading docks, you need to scrub and treat those areas before they turn into full-blown holes.
When to Call a Professional
Sure, you can grab a jug of crack filler from the hardware store for a small do-it-yourself patch job, but commercial lots require a different scale of work. When cracks grow wider than a half-inch, or when sections of the asphalt start sinking and shifting under heavy truck traffic, it is time to bring in some backup. Diamond Asphalt looks at the root cause of the failure rather than just slapping temporary patch material over a soft spot. Sometimes you need infrared thermal patching, other times you need a full mill and overlay.
Diamond Asphalt provides Asphalt Contractor services for homes and businesses in Long Beach.