How to Plan and Prepare for Building a New Parking Lot

Commercial Paving

Spring is right around the corner and paving is most recommended during warm weather! Constructing a new parking lot or driveway for your property can often be a large project with many tasks. This decision can make your property more appealing and safer for visitors or even customers. If you plan to pave in the upcoming season, it is essential to make the proper preparations ahead of time. You have to develop a plan for a new parking lot or driveway that is cost effective, durable and built in a timely manner. Here is a checklist for making sure that your property is ready for a brand new pavement!

1. Evaluate Your Asphalt

It is most important to inspect the whole surface of your parking lot to determine if it needs to be completely reconstructed or undergo minor adjustments. When observing any flaws in your current driveway, you must first take heavily into consideration the amount of cracks and potholes. When these faults exist, water is able to penetrate the surface of your pavement. If not handled, problems will only increase.

It is also key to check if there are pools of water collecting throughout your parking lot. Water pooled up like this will become ice during the winter. This can be dangerous for guests, customers, and employees. Along with this, make sure to check if there has been any sinking and shifting in the sub-base.

2. Develop a budget

You have to remember that every paving project is different and costs can variate depending on what needs the most maintenance and repairs. Preventative maintenance can be done beforehand to avoid large costs for the whole parking lot. Its soil, usage, and size all affect the cost of new pavement.

The type of soil that is being paved on can affect the price. Some types of soil will need to be compacted, which involves removing excess air from the soil to make a more stable base. The type of soil used in the base may sometimes also need thicker asphalt than others.

The amount of heavy trucks that have driven over your pavement will also affect how much money you will be spending. If no trucks ever drive through your parking lot, it will only need to be paved just a few inches thicker. If trucks frequently drive through your property, you may have to make the asphalt really thick so that it is more durable. Size can also be a determining factor of costs, as it lays out how much work actually has to be done.

3. Find a Contractor

Make sure to find a contractor that uses the best equipment and high quality asphalt. Look out for any contractors that offer extra asphalt at a cheaper price because it can often be poor quality. If you are looking at a particular company, make sure to use references by looking at past sites that they have worked on. Also, find out if the business handles repairs, just in case there are any cracks or faults in the future.

4. Find a Time

The time that you decide to pave your property is crucial. You want to ensure that there are the right conditions to pave in. 70 Degrees Farenheit is the best time of the year to pave asphalt. For most people, this timing is late spring and early summer.

5. Pavement Removal & New Build

If you are completely reinstalling a new pavement, the last step would be to remove your current parking lot. Make sure to break up existing concrete or asphalt. Also remove any loose gravel and grease or oil stains. In order to add asphalt, the surface has to be completely clean.

Drain the parking lot until the soil is completely dry then make sure that it is compacted. After these steps, your contractor should be ready to add crushed rocks. After allowing this to settle for at least a week, your driveway or parking lot should be ready for pavement.