There’s nothing like the sight of a brand-new parking lot. The deep black of freshly laid asphalt contrasted against the bright paint of new parking stripes is always a thing of beauty. If you’re a commercial building owner, it’s the equivalent of rolling out the red carpet. And why not? You’re proud of your investment, even though it certainly cost a pretty penny!
That’s why you decided to skip the asphalt sealcoating. Just another unnecessary expense tacked on to an already big investment in your building’s future, right? Well, maybe not. The truth is that asphalt sealcoating is one of the best ways to protect that investment for years to come.
How Asphalt Sealcoating Works
Applying a sealcoat to fresh asphalt is one of the best preventative measures ever. Doing so does a couple of things that benefit you as a property manager. First, it protects the aesthetics of your lot from fading over time. Without a sealcoat protecting your lot from the effects of a hot sun beating down on it for hours every day, that lustrous black asphalt slowly fades to a more uniform gray. This makes your parking lot, and, by extension, your commercial building, a lot less welcoming to visitors.
But a sealcoat does more than just keep your lot looking like new. In fact, its most important function is how it acts as an additional barrier against wear and tear. A good sealcoat can extend the lifecycle of your lot by anywhere from three to five years by keeping moisture from seeping into its surface, preventing cracks and potholes from forming and ruining your day — and anyone who tries to park in your lot!
Why A Good Sealcoat is a Bargain and a Half
It’s absolutely true that getting your new lot sealcoated costs a little bit extra. This can be hard to swallow if you’ve already forked over a good chunk of change for a new or repaved parking lot. You’re already stretching your maintenance budget as it is, and that makes it hard to justify an additional cost. The truth is, though, that the added cost of that sealcoat will pay dividends in the long run: with your asphalt sealcoating protecting your new lot, you won’t have to have it repaired or maintained nearly as much as one that hasn’t been sealcoated.
A protective sealcoat means you’ll place fewer calls to your friendly neighborhood paving contractors — and fewer invoices you’ll have to pay. This makes managing your property that much easier, as you won’t have to make room in your operating budget for crack and pothole repair; in essence, a sealcoating pays for itself. Not only that, but keeping a sealcoated lot is a snap: you can periodically clean off the dust and dirt with a simple leafblower and be left with a pristine-looking lot the likes of which will keep visitors coming back for more.