Asphalt is a huge portion of the paving process. When you are looking to repave or change up your property’s layout, there’s a lot to consider about the material’s longevity. Here are a few tips and a bit more insight on what to expect from asphalt’s durability and functionality.
What contributes to asphalt durability?
The crucial factors of maintaining asphalt are scheduling maintenance from professionals, periodically assessing any damage or issues yourself, and keeping up with how your property has been affected by inclement weather. Also, overgrowth from plants and gardens can affect asphalt’s lifespan as well.
Garden growth – when tending to a variety of different plants, general upkeep with your garden will in turn affect any nearby asphalt foundation. Unless safely separated, roots and overgrowth can cause intense moisture build-up in the soil, which unfortunately is a leading cause of asphalt cracks breaking out.
Inclement weather – This will generally be determined by your area and what climate you live in. Extremely hot summers and freezing winters are the only real seasons to worry about, aside from constant rain/snowfall that will contribute to moisture build-up. In contrast, heat has the potential to actually melt asphalt on extremely hot days. This is something to be aware of especially with children and pets.
For pets primarily, it’s important to keep in mind how this heat can cause pain or even severe injury. A quick and simple test to check the heat of your surfaces is to place an open palm on the surface. If you are unable to keep your hand there for more than a few seconds, it’s far too hot for any pet to walk on without protection. Asphalt at times can get up to beyond a temperature of 130 degrees.
How does this affect the lifetime of asphalt?
Your asphalt should last somewhere around three decades. Concrete can hover around fifty years in some cases with the proper maintenance, but either are strong options depending on how you contribute on your end as the property owner.
Asphalt’s lifetime value will be directly determined by these factors, as well as how you maintain it yourself. If you are more of a do-it-yourself (DIY) person, you can amend minor damage completely on your own. This will take a bit of practice and preparation, but you certainly are able to seal minor damage without much trouble. However, you will be taking on the risk that if any issues come up in your own sealing that they eventually cause more issues down the road. Even with minor professional assistance, you can make sure that doesn’t happen.
Moving forward and getting started
If you are weighing your paving options with your property, give us a call today to learn more. We can take a professional assessment to ensure that you are provided with the most optimally customized service available. Then, we can move forward with ensuring that the lifetime value of your asphalt paving is maximized as well. We’re looking forward to hearing from you soon!
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