{"id":450,"date":"2016-10-04T09:16:11","date_gmt":"2016-10-04T09:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nvmpaving.com\/?p=450"},"modified":"2018-03-29T18:26:23","modified_gmt":"2018-03-29T18:26:23","slug":"how-standing-water-may-be-slowly-eating-away-at-your-parking-lot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nvmpaving.com\/how-standing-water-may-be-slowly-eating-away-at-your-parking-lot\/","title":{"rendered":"How Standing Water May Be Slowly Eating Away at Your Parking Lot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paving your property\u2019s parking lot with asphalt can be a terrific remedy to water percolation issues. A well-developed layer of asphalt covered with an effective sealcoat essentially serves as a waterproof barrier. However, simply because pavement helps protect the underlying ground from becoming saturated doesn\u2019t mean that it is not subject to water damage itself. Water, for all that it\u2019s relied upon, is also one of the most destructive elements in nature. The trouble is that it\u2019s often easy to overlook it in its most destructive forms.<\/p>\n

Common Causes of Pooling Water<\/h3>\n

Walk outside after any rain storm, and you\u2019re likely to see a vast collection of puddles. The immediate presence of standing water immediately after precipitation falls shouldn\u2019t be all that alarming. If those puddles remain after a couple of hours, however, the potential for water damage increases significantly. Water can pool in certain areas in your parking lot for any number of reasons. If your parking lot experiences a high volume of heavy equipment traffic, those vehicles can leave ruts in the asphalt. Shifting in the soil underneath your pavement can result in uneven surfaces that can lead to pooling. Gasoline and oil residue causes asphalt to soften, which can lead to divots. You also could be experiencing drainage issues.<\/p>\n

How Water Damages Asphalt<\/h3>\n

Whatever the reasons are that are contributing to the pools of standing water in your parking lot, the constant presence of puddles should not overlooked. While on its surface, a puddle may not appear to be particularly troublesome, it\u2019s not the surface you have to worry about. The underlying water will eventually eat away at the sealcoating, allowing the water to then percolate into the pavement itself. There, it begins to oxidize, which then causes the asphalt binder to deteriorate. While this water damage may be slow at first, cracks soon begin to form, which hastens the destruction by allowing more water in. If it\u2019s late in the year, that water may then freeze and cause further damage as it expands.<\/p>\n

What You Can Do About It<\/h3>\n

If left unchecked, this deterioration can lead to large cracks in your parking lot or even areas of crumbling asphalt, which could require costly repairs or even a complete replacement. Fortunately, there are steps to can take to curtail water damage. These include:<\/p>\n