Condo Media - October 2014 - 44

by David Chesky, PRA, RS, RCS

MAINTENANCE

POUNDING

the

Pavement
A Sound Maintenance Plan Is Needed

sphalt is subject to constant
abuse by the elements. Sunlight,
rain, snow, ice, and freeze and
thaw cycles along with salt,
plows, and traffic loading takes a toll on
a pavement system. Asphalt roadways,
parking areas, and driveways are expensive to install and, in many cases, they
can be one of the most expensive assets
in a community association. In northern
climates, typical asphalt roadways, parking areas, and driveways have a lifecycle
of approximately 15 years before expensive repairs and/or improvements must
be undertaken.
It is extremely important to have a
sound maintenance plan in place so these
pavement systems can reach their full
expected lifecycle.
As such, it is vital that pavement cracks
be filled with rubberized crack filler prior
to winter weather. This should be performed every year. Spring or fall temperatures are generally best for crack filling as
temperatures between 35 and 50 degrees
Fahrenheit allow crack channels to stand
partially open and at the middle of the
working range, thus minimizing the
amount of expansion and contraction the
crack fill material must tolerate.
Seal coating can be equally important.
44

Condo Media * OctOber 2014

Some community associations may wonder whether it is worth the expense of
seal coating the asphalt. When asphalt is
new, it contains oils that keep the surface
looking black, but as it ages, it becomes
oxidized due to exposure to ultraviolet
radiation such as sunlight. As a result, it
turns a characteristic gray color that we
typically attribute to asphalt roads.
In addition to and as a result of the
oxidation, asphalt becomes brittle and
can crack and does so fairly commonly.
This cracking occurs due to exposure
of the asphalt to UV radiation as well as
the conditions of the soils beneath the
asphalt material. Freezing and thawing
of a roadway that has a high moisture
concentration in the soils beneath during
winter causes the roadway asphalt to
move up and down as the ground moves
from the expansion of freezing and contraction of thawing. The aging asphalt
becomes fairly rigid and subsequently
cracks with this movement. Vehicle loading over time makes these conditions
more pronounced.
In addition to cracking, seams or
cold joints from when the asphalt was
installed may tend to open up over time
and resemble cracking. Cold joints are
unavoidable in asphalt pavements due to

the way that asphalt is installed at centerlines of roadways and limits of work each
day. Proper original installation methods
will lessen the severity and timing of the
opening of joints.
Asphalt has a relatively poor resistance
to UV radiation. Asphalt material is a
combination of aggregate such as rock
and sand and a liquid emulsion, which
works as "the glue" that binds everything together. In fact, typical roadway
asphalt is approximately 95 percent aggregate and 5 percent liquid emulsion.
UV radiation breaks this emulsion down
over time resulting in the loosening of
the aggregate. The most obvious sign of
this degradation is the changing of the
color of the asphalt from a dark black to
gray color.
Over time, this also can cause a condition called raveling, which is the loosening of the aggregate making the asphalt
look rough and uneven and may even
allow for the aggregate to become loose.
The UV radiation and resultant loss of
emulsion also makes the asphalt less ﬂexible and more prone to eventual cracking.
Asphalt also has a poor resistance to
salts, chemicals, and petroleum products.
Yes, that's correct, petroleum products.
How does asphalt, which is a petroleum

Condo Media - October 2014

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