Services
Which of these does your lot actually need?
Five services, one sequence. This page is about working out where your lot sits in it, not about listing what exists.
How to read this page
The question is not which service, it is where your lot is in the sequence
A parking lot fails in a predictable order. The surface ages and opens, water gets through it into the base, the base softens, the pavement above it flexes, and flexing pavement breaks apart. Each of the services below intervenes at a different point in that sequence.
So the useful question is not which one you want. It is how far along your lot already is, because that decides which ones apply and which order they have to happen in. A lot with potholes and a lot with faded lines have almost nothing in common except the invoice they both eventually generate.
The order
Repair, crack seal, sealcoat, restripe
These four are a sequence, not a menu. Each one undoes the one before it if they happen in the wrong order, and getting that wrong is the most common way a property pays twice for the same square metres.
Repair first, because sealcoat cannot bridge a hole and paint cannot bond to broken pavement. Crack sealing next, because sealcoat over an open crack hides it briefly and then it comes back through. Sealcoat third. Striping last, because sealcoat covers markings completely.
- 1. Asphalt repair. Structural. Fix the failures and, where visible, what caused them
- 2. Crack sealing. Structural. Close the routes water uses to reach the base
- 3. Sealcoating. Protective. Shield the surface from sun and water
- 4. Striping. Visible. Repaint the layout onto the finished surface
The four core services
What each one is for, and when it applies
In sequence order. If more than one describes your lot, they happen in this order rather than in the order you noticed them.
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There are potholes, or the pavement has broken up
Asphalt repair. Failed material is cut out and replaced, and where we can see what caused it we will tell you, because a repair that ignores the cause fails in the same place.
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The surface is sound, but it is cracking
Crack sealing. It closes the route water uses to reach the base. It does not put strength back into pavement that has already lost it, and interconnected cracking needs repair instead.
-
It is going grey and starting to open up
Sealcoating. A sacrificial layer that takes the sun and water so the asphalt underneath does not. It wears down by design and gets reapplied on a cycle.
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The lines have faded or the layout is wrong
Striping. Markings are how a lot tells people what to do, and a faded lot stops instructing. A restripe is also the moment to change a layout, because the surface is coming back blank anyway.
Outside the sequence
Accessible spaces, access aisles and fire lanes
This one sits outside the four-step sequence. It is usually marked in the same visit as striping, because the lot is already blank and the crew is already there.
The counts and dimensions come from the 2010 ADA Standards rather than from any contractor, and we publish the federal table in full. Fire lane requirements come from your local fire code. General information, not a compliance opinion.
What is the same on all of them
Scheduling, and what we will not put a number on
Whichever of these your lot needs, two things hold across all of them, and they are the two questions that actually decide a job on an occupied property.
The lot is staged in sections so part of it stays open, and crews work nights and weekends so the closed section is closed when fewest people need it. And we will not publish a cure or drying figure for any of these services, because it moves with temperature, sun, humidity and airflow. You get the window for your lot and the conditions we are working in, in writing, before the first day.
- Staged in sections, so the lot keeps operating throughout
- Nights and weekends, so the closed section is closed at the quietest time
- The reopening window given for your lot and your conditions, in writing
- A call if the weather moves the schedule, rather than a crew that does not turn up
Questions
Working out what you need
How do I work out which of these my lot needs?
Start with what water is doing. If there are potholes or broken pavement, that is repair and it comes first. If the surface is sound but cracked, that is crack sealing. If it is sound and grey but not yet cracked much, that is sealcoating. If the markings have faded, that is striping. Most lots need more than one, and the order matters more than the individual choice.
Do I have to do all of them?
No, and most properties do not in the same year. What matters is that whatever you do fund does not get undone by what comes next. If you are funding part of it, work from the structural end down: repair and crack sealing protect the base, sealcoat and striping are the visible half and they can wait without the lot getting worse underneath.
Which one is most urgent if the budget only stretches to one?
Whichever one is keeping water out of the base. Water reaching the base is what turns a surface problem into a structural one, so an open crack or a failed patch outranks a faded line every time. A lot can look bad and be structurally fine, and it can look acceptable while failing underneath.
Can you do more than one on the same visit?
Yes, and it is usually the sensible way to run it. The four core services are one sequence rather than four visits, and doing them on one mobilisation avoids paying to bring a crew back. Tell us what you are planning and the written scope will put them in order.
What if I do not know what I am looking at?
That is the normal case and it is what the walk is for. Tell us the property and we will come and look, tell you what we found and what is causing what, and send a written scope with the work in the order it should happen, including anything we think can wait.
Request a quote
Not sure which of these it is? That is what the walk is for
Tell us the property and roughly how many spaces it has. We will walk it, tell you what we found and what order the work should happen in, and send back a written scope.
Rather talk it through? (512) 289-8415