The quality of your parking lot affects the experience of tenants and other occupants on your commercial property. That is why concrete parking lot maintenance is vital.
Concrete parking lots are popular among businesses because they are durable, easy to maintain, and look good.
Proper parking lot maintenance helps maintain your parking lot’s appearance and prolongs its lifespan. This article discusses four main tasks involved in concrete parking lot maintenance.
Cleaning and Restriping
Several factors determine the level of maintenance your concrete parking lot requires. Among the most important is how you use the parking lot and the types of vehicles that drive and park on it. Parking lot cleaning tasks include
- Power sweeping to remove loose debris
- Power washing to eliminate oil, grease, and other chemicals
- Vacuuming stormwater drainage structures to remove debris
- Jetting stormwater lines
Maintaining a clean parking lot benefits your business in several ways:
- Improves safety because markings on the concrete are visible
- Brightens parking lot at night because a clean parking lot reflects light effectively
- Improves the parking lot’s durability
- Reduces the risk of slip and fall accidents due to oil and grease
You can also restripe your pavement markings to improve their visibility in low light, making the parking lot easier to navigate.
Pavement marking paint options include everything from affordable waterborne products to highly reflective and durable sprayable thermoplastic products.
Pavement Sealant
Concrete sealants are available in two categories: penetrating and surface sealants. They benefit your concrete parking in many several ways:
- It reduces moisture infiltration
- Enhances stain resistance
- Minimizes deterioration due to the freeze-thaw cycle
- Reduces efflorescence formation and mildew/mold growth
Penetrating sealant is invisible because once you apply it, the concrete absorbs it. These sealants typically contain siloxane, silane, siliconates, or silicates. Penetrating sealants are susceptible to deterioration due to freeze-thaw cycles, so you need to reapply the sealant periodically.
Surface sealant products settle on top of the concrete, creating a layer that protects against traffic. They contain urethanes, epoxies, or acrylic resins and are typically used to accentuate a concrete parking lot’s colors and other decorative aspects. You need to reapply surface sealant periodically because it is susceptible to deterioration by traffic.
Joint Resealing
Joint sealants for longitudinal and contraction joints applied post-construction have a lifespan of 5–10 years. You can hire professionals to inspect your concrete parking lot and recommend a solution. Options include:
- Removing the existing joint
- Cleaning the joint
- Preparing for a new seal
- Replacing the sealant
Joint sealant typically contains preformed seals, silicone, and hot rubber. It helps keep the joints functional by keeping out debris and other impurities.
Filling Cracks
Concrete parking lot maintenance also involves sealing cracks. Doing so helps keep out water and prevent the crack from expanding due to the freeze-thaw cycle. Professionals recommend leaving hairline cracks alone because they are too small to seal effectively.
Keep in mind that the nature of the crack determines the type of materials used to fill it up. For example, you can fill static cracks with epoxy or other rigid fillers. If the crack is moving, you may need to use flexible filler.
Expert Concrete Parking Lot Maintenance
Keeping your concrete parking lot clean, applying the correct sealant, and filling in cracks are some of the essential concrete parking lot maintenance services you should get from a reliable contractor. Contact NVM Paving & Concrete today to request a quotation.
