Although water is a pure substance, it can cause some serious damage to pavement. When pavement is exposed to an excessive amount of moisture, it will lose strength and durability, which could eventually lead you to lose your parking lot. Without a functioning parking lot, you could lose business. This is why it’s important to keep the asphalt sealed and maintained all year round. The following are a few things April showers can bring, other than May flowers.
Cracking
This is perhaps one of the more serious problems that could occur due to water mixing with pavement. When there’s even a tiny crack and water gets down in it, the water will cause the crack to expand and contract with the temperature. Unfortunately, this causes many cracks to get larger until the damage is extensive.
Bleeding
Water bleeding is when the water is able to seep through the surface of the asphalt, affecting joints and other cracks. This is especially common in asphalt pavement, and even more common when the asphalt doesn’t get properly compacted or is quite porous. Water bleeding looks as though the pavement is stained, while causing it to crumble.
Stripping
It’s important you ensure your pavement has proper drainage. Without it, you could experience stripping. This is when the asphalt binder film separates from the aggregate surfaces. It is caused by an excessive amount of moisture, and could also occur due to water vapor. The surface could weaken quite quickly, which is why an anti-stripping agent should be used during installation.
Contacting the Professionals
As you can see, it’s important to take good care of your pavement. If you are wondering what you can do to avoid some of the negative effects of water, contact the professionals at NVM Paving & Concrete by calling 703-423-0471 or sending us an email.
