Unsealed cracks allow water to enter. Let them get away from you and they will cause more and more damage (usually resulting in alligatoring, potholes, and the general demise of the pavement) to the point that finally your parking lot cannot be repaired; it must be replaced. Stay ahead of them and you can help to extend the life of your parking lot.
Obviously then, a key component to a well-maintained parking lot is keeping water out of the base layers of asphalt where it is likely to cause the most damage. An effective asphalt crack sealing procedure is the key preventing huge parking lot repair costs. Southern Striping & Sealcoating offers a well-tested, effective and econimical way to seal cracks in your asphalt.
Crack sealer is an elastic material designed to seal joints and cracks against this moisture infiltration into the subgrade. Moisture below the surface of your parking lot is one of the leading causes of pavement failure, so it is essential that asphalt cracking is attended to promptly in order to extend the life of the pavement and save money long-term.
The crack sealer we use at Southern Striping & Sealcoating, CrackMaster Supreme, which is the highest grade of hot-applied, polymer-based material on the market today. Our experience in the parking lot maintenance industry has made it clear to us, as a best practice, to use a hot sealer as opposed to a cold-pour sealer. A lot of the crack assessment has to do with depth, width, pattern, frequency, etc. Those factors will help our crack sealing experts determine the most appropriate material and methods to utilize.
Since crack sealing is a preventative maintenance measure, the type of cracks is the main determining factor as to how, or even if, a crack or cracks can, or should, be properly sealed. Of course, most should be sealed, but again, as previously mentioned, if the cracks are due to structural failure, another repair / replacement method would prove most beneficial
