Building Management Hawaii December/January 2014 - (Page 27)

Seal The Deal Extend the life of your parking lot with regularly scheduled seal coats. By Chris Laird T here is some confusion about seal coating versus a well-run maintenance program. Seal coating will not make your neglected, old parking lot brand new; it will not correct cracking issues that originate from base course failure. Rather, it is meant for parking lots that still have life left in them. Seal coating will encapsulate your surface and give you a wearable surface, thus extending the life of your asphalt parking lot or street. The additional benefit is that it provides a fresh, black, new looking surface. Many unmaintained parking lots end up deteriorating beyond repair or being in a condition that is not feasible to seal coat. At DC Asphalt Services, Inc., we highly recommend getting your property or association on a maintenance program. * Assess what needs to be fixed. Examples are potholes, base course failures, tree root damage and oil spots from leaking cars or garbage trucks. * After repairs are done, seal coat and re-stripe. * Budget for a new seal coat and re-stripe anywhere from 3 to 5 years for the rest of its life. If the parking lot (like at a shopping center) is highly active with a lot of car and truck traffic, the lot should be re-sealed every 3 years. If it is less active like a residential association, plan on stretching that number out to a later date. * In between the years of seal coating set aside a small budget to address oil spots and other unforeseen damage. This simple, but often overlooked solution allows you to stay current on your property's condition and can keep your costs down. In addition, this annual budget number is very small and can be pushed to subsequent years. * If you have your parking lot or property resurfaced by either asphalt re-construction (removed to base course and put back new) or an overlay (new surface on top of old surface), DC Asphalt highly recommends that a maintenance program gets put in place. * After resurfacing, you will not need to seal coat for approximately 6 months to one year later. The reason for this is because new asphalt has a lot of binding oils when it is fresh. For example, when new asphalt is put down, you can see the "oil sheen" on it when it rains. The timing of when you seal coat a fresh parking lot depends on whether the lot is in a dry area or a rainy area where oils are washed away faster. * As time goes by, the oils and seal in the new asphalt begin to dissipate. Seal coating at this time is optimal. You have a clean, tight surface that the sealer will "grab" to. This begins the ideal seal coating scenario where new asphalt will outlast its normal life expectancy. In fact, on this maintenance program it can more than double its life. * After the initial seal coat, you then begin the 3- to 5-year seal coating cycle based upon the property's activity and location. This is a recent asphalt re-construction project. In about 8 months it will be seal coated and kept on a maintenance program to extend its life by more than double of the old standard. This property was overlaid with a new mat earlier this year, along with a concrete swale. This property will be seal coated soon and put on a maintenance program that will extend its life and protect the owner's investment in their property. www.buildingmanagementhawaii.com Chris Laird is president & RME for DC Asphalt Services, Inc. He is co-owner of DC Asphalt Services, Inc. along with Dene Schnaible. The two have more than 30 years of combined experience in the Hawaii asphalt industry. Located in Campbell Industrial Park, the company performs asphalt and concrete work throughout the Islands. BMH December 2013 - January 2014 27 Waterproofing Asphalt re-construction in progress. This asphalt is actually very old and if it were not for a very active maintenance program, it would have needed to be replaced long ago. http://www.buildingmanagementhawaii.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Building Management Hawaii December/January 2014

Signs & Safety How Do I Get Out Of Here?
Signs Of A Safe Building
A Sign From The Feds
Water Savings Coming Clean With Recycled Water
Water & Energy: Two-For-One Savings
Solar Hawaii’s Leaders In Solar
Waterproofing Cementious Coating Vs. Polyurethane Foam
Sky Arches
The $1 Million Mistake
Seal The Deal
Resin Injections Save Basement
Waste Management Keeping The Trash Industry Clean
Special Offer
Assistance Animals Making Room For Rover
Green Cleaning Be Green: Resources & Tips

Building Management Hawaii December/January 2014