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NVM Paving & Concrete, Inc.

Northern Virginia Paving Company

parking lot

Summer Maintenance Tips for Your Parking Lot and Driveway

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Summer Maintenance Tips for Your Parking Lot and Driveway

Research shows that about 5% of US urban land comprises parking spaces. Having a clean area to park and a well-maintained driveway boosts the appeal of your home.

Also, maintaining your lot and a driveway is crucial to reducing injuries. The presence of cracks and potholes in such areas can lead to flat tires. People are likely to slip and fall on ill-maintained parking areas and driveways.

Regular maintenance is vital since summer heat expands asphalt and widens cracks. Here are summer tips for maintaining your parking lots and driveways.

Sealcoat Your Parking Area

Sealcoating involves covering your asphalt with a durable layer that improves your driveway’s resistance to sun rays. Applying a sealcoat in your parking lot reduces damages like cracking and staining. Sealing the spaces where people can park every three to five years keeps it intact and lessens injuries.

Although sealcoating may seem like an unnecessary expense, it saves you money eventually. Your lot and driveway will regain a fresh new look. Besides, sealcoating gives your driveway flexibility to handle traffic without creating potholes.

Repair Cracks and Potholes

High summer heat causes your asphalt to become malleable and soft. Summer temperatures can rise to 1490F, and this high heat damage causes depressions on the wheel paths. Such depressions then turn to potholes and cracks.

It’s crucial to repair your driveway and parking lot as soon as you notice any cracks and potholes. To prevent cracking from becoming extensive, ensure you fill them with asphalt or crack fillers. Hiring an expert helps you fill the potholes to limit injury cases and damages to your car.

Perform Regular Cleaning

Regular cleaning is a summer maintenance tip that ensures your parking lot and driveway retain their value. Sweeping every morning helps your remove leaves and debris, making your home look occupied.

Besides, cleaning removes oil stains and any unnecessary trash that may cover cracks or potholes. Having a clean driveway helps you conduct a faster inspection to assess any cracking and uneven surfaces.

Remove Stagnant Water

Water can cause significant damage to your driveway or parking lot. Pooling water weakens areas where you park, causing water to seep into the sublayers. During summer, the sun’s heat causes water to have air gaps that weaken the asphalt from within the sublayers.

Since a weakened driveway can’t handle weighty objects, it can become uneven and quickly develop potholes. Also, allowing water to settle on your lot eases mildew growth, affecting your parking space’s quality. You can avoid further asphalt repairs by draining water and keeping your driveway space dry.

Maintain Your Parking Lot and Driveway During Summer

Maintaining your parking lot and driveway helps you reduce repair costs. Moreover, regular maintenance improves your home’s curb appeal. It also enables you to prevent injuries to people and damage to your car.

At NVM Paving & Concrete, we provide asphalt repair and sealcoating. We can also construct and repair your parking area with concrete or asphalt. Reach out to us for all your parking lot maintenance needs.

How a Concrete Parking Lot Benefits Your Commercial Property

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How a Concrete Parking Lot Benefits Your Commercial Property

A concrete parking lot may sound like the least exciting thing on the planet, but it’s integral to the success of your business. Don’t underestimate how much a customer parking lot can influence people’s first impressions. Within seven seconds, they’ll make a judgment about the legitimacy and professionalism of your business. Still not convinced? Keep reading to find out how a concrete parking lot can benefit your commercial property.

It Looks Professional

As mentioned above, your customer parking lot says a lot about your business. 

Your parking lot should not be riddled with potholes, bumpy spots, or cracks. The parking lanes should be freshly painted and easily identifiable. 

Beyond that, pay attention to the finer details. Ask yourself these questions about your concrete parking lot:

  • Is it easy to access from the road?
  • Are there identifiable arrows or signs that indicate “In” and “Out” lanes?
  • Are the parking spaces big enough?
  • Is there sufficient space to back out of parking spaces?
  • Do you have any handicap spaces?
  • When applicable, do you have enough cart returns?

If you’re a small business on a strip with other businesses, maybe your parking options are limited. If so, consider staking your claim on a few spots with “Customer Only” signs.

It Keeps Everyone Safe

Parking lot safety may not be the first thing on your mind when it comes to this topic, but you can’t ignore it. Think of all the potential accidents that could occur in a poorly-designed parking lot.

Two cars could drive into one another because the space between parking lots is too narrow. One car could back into another while reversing out of a space. Cars entering or exiting the parking lot might not yield to traffic.

These are only a few examples of possible disasters. In fact, twenty percent of car accidents happen in parking lots. 

Don’t forget to include good lighting and a surveillance system in your parking lot safety plan. You don’t want thieves ransacking your customers’ cars.

It Prevents Infestations

If you neglect parking lot maintenance, you may run into a pest or rodent problem. Your custodial team should regularly change out garbage cans and pick up trash in the parking lot.

Otherwise, these pests may find a way inside.

It’s Eco-Friendly

If you have a concrete parking lot, you’re doing the environment a favor. This material is completely recyclable and saves us from dipping into gas, water, and oil resources. 

Installing concrete is easier, and it will last years longer than asphalt. Lastly, a concrete parking lot will reflect light, keeping the surface cooler in the summer and reducing energy costs.

Freshening Up Your Concrete Parking Lot

Updating the concrete parking lot for your customers is an easy and eco-friendly way to keep people coming back. It ensures parking lot safety and keeps your energy cost down.

Ready to repave your customer parking lot? Click here to fill out a contact form.

The Common Reasons Asphalt Cracks

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The Common Reasons Asphalt Cracks

You’ve seen it a hundred times. A parking lot that looks as though it has been neglected for decades, with potholes and cracks everywhere. More than likely these problems began with smaller issues, with something called alligator or spider cracks.  A couple of questions come immediately to mind. Why did these cracks form? How do they get repaired? Excellent questions indeed, and both go to the heart of good parking lot maintenance. After all, you certainly don’t want your property to be known for its lack of upkeep. It’s always better to be remembered for a well-maintained building and grounds.

How Cracks Form

In the northeast, including the Baltimore area, weather can be a big factor in the formation of cracks. The relentless heat of the sun and the corrosive effects of moisture create tiny cracks in the asphalt surface. If these aren’t quickly addressed, they grow into larger cracks and imperfections through the following mechanisms:

  • Foreign materials such as rocks and other debris, chisel away at the asphalt
  • The cycles of freezing and thawing open up bigger cracks
  • Plants and tree roots gain a foothold and weaken the asphalt
  • Failure to maintain the parking lot results in growing cracks
  • Improper installation and maintenance techniques reduce the longevity of an asphalt job

Once the cracks have started, it’s time for some proper maintenance and repair of the surface. This is the only sure way to get the parking lot back to where it should be.

How Cracks Get Fixed

A professional paving company can fix cracks through several measures. If the situation is caught early, sealcoating can put down a protective layer over the surface and make it look like new again. This is a simple, inexpensive fix that should be done every three to five years. More serious problems may require additional work. To get a free estimate on parking lot repairs, contact NVM Paving & Concrete by calling 703-423-0471 or sending us an email today!

Start Your Plans for A New Asphalt Parking Lot

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When you’re thinking about replacing your asphalt parking lot, it is never too early to plan. There are a lot of considerations and factors that go into making sure that the job is done correctly. Here are the things you need to consider when planning your asphalt parking lot.

Consider Current Asphalt

Your first step should be to inspect your current asphalt. You should look for pooling water, cracks and potholes, or sinking in the pavement. These are issues that you need to have taken care of right away and they often indicate the need for an asphalt replacement.

Consider Size

In order to understand the plans that need to be made, you must have a clear idea of the scale of the project. The size of your parking lot, in addition to any complications, will change how large the project is. Be clear about the size of your parking lot so that your contractors will know how to prepare.

Consider Usage

To prepare for a large-scale parking lot project, the type of asphalt you need depends on what you use the lot for. For instance, if you use heavy trucks regularly, you may need a thicker pavement. If you rarely use heavy trucks, a few inches of pavement will suffice.

Consider Soil

The soil under the pavement matters. Some soils have to be compacted more than others. A company will have to remove excess air from the soil to make sure that the base is stable. In other cases, the soil may require the asphalt to be thicker.

When it comes to asphalt plans, you have to take a lot of details into consideration. The more that you prepare ahead of time, the more likely you are to receive a quality parking lot that you can count on. It’s never too early to prepare. For more information on paving a parking lot in the DC and Baltimore area, contact NVM Paving & Concrete at (703)-423-0471 or email us today!

Asphalt Checklist for Summertime Maintenance

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At times it might seem as though your parking lot will last forever. Then, the next time you look closely at it, you begin to see cracks, buckling, blisters, and raveling.  Time is rough on just about everything under the sun and parking lots are no exceptions. The hot months of summer are among the hardest on your pavement, so it pays to make frequent inspections.  Here’s a checklist of things to do for your parking lot this summer.

Inspect Your Parking Lot Weekly

Take a stroll around your parking lot at least once a week. You should pay close attention to the color of the asphalt. Can you see any difference in the color, such as fading or dulling? What about the lines painted on the surface?  Have they faded or are they still visible, even at night? It might be time to order a sealcoat or a new paint job.

Analyze the Level of Cracking

A few cracks in the surface might be acceptable, but anything beyond that should be addressed. If there is considerable crumbling and loose materials, the asphalt will look unsightly and leave a bad impression. Potholes are a sure sign that some repairs need to be scheduled soon. Failure to address potholes can lead to vehicle damage and accidents by customers and employees. This could leave your business vulnerable to lawsuits.

Scrutinize the Amount of Chemicals Present

If your parking lot contains significant oil spills and other corrosive chemicals, it could be a good time for a sealcoat. This is a cost-effective method to restore the appearance of your pavement and add some protection from the sun’s rays at the same time.

If your parking lot is in need of repairs, contact NVM Paving & Concrete and receive a free estimate. We can answer any questions you have about repairs and paving options. Reach out by calling (703)-423-0471 or sending an email today!

The Pros and Cons of Adding Curb Stops to Your Lot

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Properly utilized curb stops can provide a great deal of utility to your parking lot or garage. Unfortunately all too many lots feature curb stops which are used at inappropriate times or are inappropriately installed, and this instead leads to a great deal of frustration for drivers on the lot who see more harm than good coming from the stops. If you’re considering adding curb stops to your property, here are some important considerations to ensure that you get the best possible results.

Good Uses of Curb Stops

A curb stop which is being used correctly should be in place in order to prevent greater harm from occurring than the stop would cause on a car which strikes it. There are three primary situations in which adding a curb stop is extremely helpful:

  • When a parking spot is up against a wall, adding a curb stop reduces the chances of a vehicle striking the wall. This protects the car as well as the building and anyone inside the building on the other side of the wall.
  • Oftentimes permanent structures like metal poles are protected by curb stops. This is particularly helpful if the pole is sturdy and could cause massive damage to the car or elements attached to the pole.
  • When a parking spot abuts a pedestrian path, a curb stop is an essential safety tool to reduce the chances of a vehicle accidentally striking a person.

Bad Uses of Curb Stops

The main concerns when installing a curb stop come down to errors in the installation process.

  • Improperly aligned curb stops can cause more risk than they prevent. Placing stops with narrow gaps between them creates too small of a pedestrian lane and are a hazard.
  • Choosing the wrong size for your stops is another safety risk. While too large stops are likely to reduce pedestrian access, a stop that is not wide enough for the expected vehicles may fail to stop the vehicle sufficiently.

For the best curb stop installation contact NVM Paving & Concrete today at (703)-423-0471.