When it comes to improving your place of business, the first things that come to mind are typically related to building maintenance, such as cleaning, painting, reorganizing, making repairs, and so on. While all of these tasks matter, it’s equally as important to consider the exterior of your property, and not merely your building’s envelope but also its landscape and parking lot. An old, beaten up parking lot can become a major liability, damaging cars, increasing the likelihood of slips, trips, and falls, and reducing the amount of space for viable parking. If nothing else, the condition of your parking lot says a lot about your business as a whole, so if you want to maintain a stellar reputation, you’ll want to maintain a stellar parking lot.
Resurfacing your parking lot is a great way to revitalize your business without needing to replace the entire thing. Are you wondering if it’s time to resurface your lot? Let’s go over the benefits of resurfacing your parking lot and how you can decide whether it’s time to invest in a fresh overlay.
What to Know About Resurfacing a Parking Lot
Why Resurface Your Parking Lot?
The reasons for resurfacing your parking lot might seem self-explanatory. Still, here are some concrete advantages of this particular renovation:
- Extend the lifespan of your parking lot
- Minimize accidents and complaints, maximize safety
- Attract and retain customers by (increase your business’ curb appeal)
- Boost your property’s market value
How Long Do Parking Lots Typically Last?
The benefits of parking lot resurfacing notwithstanding, how can you know if it’s time to invest in this renovation? For starters, consider the average lifespan of a parking lot — most parking lots remain viable for 20-30 years if well-maintained (i.e. regular parking lot cleaning, debris removal, snow removal, etc.). After this point, resurfacing might not be enough to restore your lot, and a complete replacement might be necessary. If your parking lot is under 20 years old, however, resurfacing might be the most efficient way to maintain your lot’s beauty and integrity until a replacement is required. In fact, if you want your lot to last as long as 30 years, you’ll need to resurface it at certain intervals.
Signs that Point to Parking Lot Resurfacing
While the above information is helpful in some ways, it still doesn’t cue you into when it’s time to resurface your lot. In order to determine this, you’ll want to regularly inspect your parking lot and keep an eye out for certain signs of wear and tear, such as cracks, pits, spalling, and so on. As long as the lot’s foundation is still sturdy, less than 25-30% of your lot requires repair, and the cracks present in your lot don’t exceed a few inches in depth or a quarter of an inch in width, resurfacing is usually recommended. Less severe damage can usually be patched up while more severe damage may indicate the need for a parking lot replacement.
How Frequently Will You Need to Resurface Your Parking Lot?
After your lot has been freshly resurfaced, you might wonder when you’ll need to invest in this process again. The required frequency of resurfacing will depend on multiple factors, such as the size of your lot, the amount of activity (i.e. the typical amount of vehicle and foot traffic), your regional climate (temperature, precipitation, sunlight, humidity), and more. Generally speaking, a well-maintained overlay can endure for 10-15 years, so you may only need to resurface your parking lot twice or three times during its entire lifespan. Of course, if you neglect regular maintenance, fail to hire snow plowing services during the harsh winter, leave cracks and potholes unfilled, and so on, you might need to resurface your lot much more frequently than this.
The Verdict
The information above should help you decide whether your business’ parking lot is in need of resurfacing. If you’re not quite sure, though, or you need a partner to tackle this project for you, The Budd Group is here to help. We offer a wide range of property maintenance services to ensure the longevity of your business and its assets. To learn more about our parking lot cleaning and resurfacing offerings along with everything else we do, give us a call today at 800-221-8158!