Tips to prepare your parking lot for winter

It’s important to prepare your parking lot for winter. You’ll be surprised how helpful

it is when spring rolls around and you don’t have the usual number of repairs that

need to be made and there are no sections to replace.

Follow these tips to prepare your asphalt for winter:

Snow removal

Clearing snow from your parking lot does more than freeing up space for cars to

park. Snow is very heavy, and it puts lots of pressure on your asphalt. The weight

will cause it to crack and fall apart. Whether you do it yourself or would like to get

a quote for snow removal from us, be sure to remove those piles of snow.

Snow removal tools

Take a good look at your snow removal tools at the beginning of the season. Plows

often become damaged and snow blowers get real work-outs when they’re in use

so they require regular maintenance. You want to have your tools in the best shape

possible before that first flake falls to avoid heavy pile-ups later.

Gaps, cracks and holes

These easily fill with snow and water. When moisture freezes inside of cracks it

expands and makes them even worse. Water can also seep under your asphalt causing

even larger holes and significant damage. For these reasons it’s important to fill

any cracks and to add sealant before winter comes along. This kind of preventative

maintenance may help you avoid needing a whole new parking lot in the spring.

Proper ice melt

Everyone thinks that ice melt is all the same, but that is just not the case. We recommend

that you only use ice melt that has a calcium base. You should never use one

that includes ammonium or any type of fertilizer.

Properly preparing your parking lot for winter will pay-off with less maintenance

and repair costs when the warm weather returns. If you need help to determine

best practices to maintain your lot, whether it is new paving, repairing, sealing,

striping or snow removal, Hall Paving has the experienced team to keeping your

parking areas at peak performance. Call us today at 502.367.6151. We’ll send one of

our Asphalt U. faculty members to give you a FREE assessment and solutions.