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What are the Side Effects of Paving Asphalt over Concrete?

Many people who are looking for a new asphalt surface for their parking lot or driveway will simply pave over an existing concrete service. This can save time and money. However, many experts do not recommend it for a wide variety of different reasons. Asphalt paved over concrete tends to crack and be bumpy to the point where it could be dangerous for pedestrians and damaging to vehicles. This article lays out several reasons why you should consider having a concrete removed before the asphalt poured. To learn more about why professionals recommend the concrete be removed in the first place, read on.

The Surface Will Not Be as Smooth

The first and most obvious negative aspect of paving asphalt over concrete is that the surface will not be as smooth. You have no doubts seen when asphalt has been laid on over concrete and is bumpy and uneven. Even the best professional paving companies will likely end up with results that don’t meet your expectations due to the bumpiness of the surface. If the concrete itself has been poorly laid and is bumpy and cracked, this effect will be greatly exaggerated.

The Asphalt Will Be More Likely To Crack

Asphalt laid over concrete is also much more likely to crack. This is due to two main reasons. Number one, if the concrete is cracked or damaged below the asphalt it will not provide a stable surface and will likely cause cracks in the asphalt in the same places. Number two, concrete is known to expand and contract based on the weather conditions. This will cause cracks in the concrete as well as in the asphalt on top of it.

The Costs of Maintenance May Be Higher In the Long Run

The two above points, in effect, will cause the cost of maintenance to be higher in the long run. Maintaining asphalt is normally relatively cheap and not time-consuming at all. However, cracked and uneven asphalt will require a great deal more maintenance. While you may save a little bit of money by laying down asphalt over concrete in the first place, your cost will likely be higher in the long run.

The Surface May Actually Be Dangerous for Pedestrians

These days many businesses and even private citizens are worried about how dangerous surfaces could be a precursor to lawsuits. There is a small subset of people that are always looking for an opportunity to file a lawsuit. A poorly maintained or otherwise dangerous surface that causes a fall for a pedestrian could easily be the source of a lawsuit, as many different businesses have found out. For this reason and many others, you want your surface to be as even and smooth as possible.

The Asphalt May Have To Be Torn Up

Not only will maintenance of asphalt laid over concrete be higher in the long run, you may even have to tear up the asphalt due to damage from the underlying concrete. If this is the case, you will also have to tear up the concrete at the same time. This can be a very expensive proposition. This could easily be avoided by having the concrete torn up in the first place.

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How to Measure a Commercial Pavement Job

When it comes owning your own business, there are many factors to take into consideration. From the location of your business to the marketing methods you will take advantage of, all of these factors will come with a cost. One of the most commonly overlooked factors is how much it will cost to pave your commercial property. Fortunately, though, there are tips you can follow to help you develop an accurate commercial pavement cost. Let’s take a quick look at how you can go about developing your own pavement estimate. You can use this estimate when choosing between different commercial pavement companies.

Specific Factors that Will Impact your Take-off and Pricing

First and foremost, the project size, as well as the constructability, will impact the cost of paving your commercial property. For example, if your project requires the use of an unconventional paving method, this will likely drive up the overall total cost. Other factors that will impact the cost include:

  • The duration of the project
  • The acceleration progress of the project
  • The season in which the project is to take place
  • The time of day in which workers will be working
  • The potential for escalation

Additionally, you will need to take into consideration the types of permits that will be required to pave the commercial property. You may be required to obtain special permits from a number of regulatory agencies.

The five factors that will impact your commercial paving project the most are:

  1. The size of the parking lot
  2. The leveling that has to take place
  3. Cost of materials
  4. Labor prices
  5. The types of drainage that must be installed

Developing an Estimate

When it comes to estimating the cost of your commercial pavement project, you will first need to get an accurate estimate of how much area is going to be paved. If the area of your project is in a perfect square, developing an estimate of the area to be covered is going to be quite simple. All you have to do is take the length of the square and multiply it by the width of the square. For example, if width and length of the square are 150 feet by 100 feet, then the total area will be 15,000 square feet.

If, however, the area of your project is not a perfect square, then you will need to turn to the help of any existing blueprints. In fact, if you have an existing blueprint, the area of the project may already be listed. If you are measuring the area of the project by hand, you can use simple measuring tools. It is advised that you break down the area into geometrical shapes. Once you have calculated the area of each shape, simply add all of the totals together to get the total area of ground that is going to be paved.

Please keep in mind that in addition to the width and length of your project, you will also need to account for the depth of the pavement. Generally, the easiest way to come up with an accurate estimate is to use an asphalt calculator, which takes into account the width, length, and depth of the pavement to be laid. There are a variety of asphalt companies in Denver that use these calculators to develop project costs.

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4 Things You Should Know Before Your Commercial Asphalt Job in 2018

The new year brings brand new opportunities for professionals in the commercial asphalt industry. The slow, but steady five percent growth trends of prior years are expected to continue through 2018. As a result, you might be seeing an influx of work opportunities coming your way. When the work comes in, you will want to be ready to outperform your competitors and become the best asphalt company in Colorado. Thankfully, you can attend to the four following areas to make sure you are prepared for your upcoming commercial asphalt jobs.

Partner Strengths and Weaknesses

Your business partner is your greatest asset and also your greatest liability. You must know your partner’s strengths and weaknesses to make sure you can collaborate on all your projects. Assess your partner’s abilities along with your own to ensure your company can meet the challenges that come your way. If you cannot create a balanced team, consider restructuring your commercial asphalt companies before moving on with large-scale commercial asphalt jobs.

Lot Location and Restrictions

Numerous challenges can arise due to the lot size and location, so it is important to clearly understand the project limitations from the beginning. Look at all the possible scenarios and make sure to have several contingency plans on hand in case any of the identified potential challenges actually arise. You should also research the building restrictions in your target work areas to understand how to proceed with your projects. If you start jobs without paying attention to local regulations, you may end up having to redo portions of the project or even halt your work altogether.

Job Size, Start to Finish

You must adequately plan for small and large-scale projects to complete your jobs by the deadline. You can provide quality work for projects of all sizes by finding a way to easily scale your operations. You should have fluid access to a workforce and materials to projects of any size moving forward as expected. Open up your network of asphalt maintenance companies and professionals to have overflow workers available when the job demand extra hands.

Seasonal Weather Patterns

As an asphalt professional, you must pay close attention to seasonal weather patterns to avoid project disruptions. Adverse temperatures and conditions can affect the quality of your finished product, so you must know how to proceed when those situations arise. You can look at weather patterns from prior years to see when it would be best to start your outdoor projects. For this area, you also need to have contingency plans in case weather conditions rapidly change in the middle of your projects.

Starting Your Commercial Asphalt Job in 2018

By addressing the above issues ahead of time, you can achieve great results on all your commercial asphalt jobs in 2018 and beyond. Remember to readdress each category at the start of every project you receive to ensure you are on the right track. In the end, you will never be caught off guard and unprepared to complete the job by the deadline by taking a measured approach to your business activities. If you are ready to acquire support for your company’s endeavors, contact Superior Aggregates today.

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The process of laying concrete & asphalt

You may need concrete replacement or asphalt replacement. No matter how well-laid the surfaces are, they will eventually wear out. You also may need new asphalt or concrete on a substrate that previously did not have a prepared surface. This article will provide you with an easy to understand overview of these processes.

Laying Concrete & Asphalt: Preparing the Substrate & Remove the Existing Surface

The first step in laying both concrete and asphalt is to remove the existing surface. Obviously, if the surface is simply earth, this step is not necessary. However, many times when laying concrete and asphalt there is already a surface there. Removing the existing service often includes jackhammering it apart and removing it piece by piece. It is not as time-consuming as you might think, however.

Compact the Soil

Once the existing service has been removed, it is time to compact the soil. This will be the first step in the process if there is not already concrete or asphalt in the location where you’re laying the new surface. Compacting this soil may not seem like an important process to someone who is not familiar with laying concrete and asphalt. However, it is very important. It actually may be the most important part of the process. Properly compacting the soil will help ensure that the concrete or asphalt laid on top of it does not crack and does last a long time.

Cover Soil With Crushed Rock & Pack It (for Asphalt)

Once the soil has been properly compacted, the contractors will need to cover it with crushed rock and pack it tightly if they are applying asphalt. This step in the process is not necessary if concrete is being laid, but it is an integral part of the process for asphalt. This crushed rock substrate offers an excellent surface for asphalt to sit on top of. Just putting asphalt on top of the soil would not work because it would not adhere properly to the soil. This could lead to an unstable and even dangerous surface. Once the crushed rock has been applied, it must be packed. This is usually done with the roller vehicle. Next, the contractors will allow the soil to settle for roughly seven days.

Choose a Thickness

Before the concrete or asphalt can be laid, a thickness must be decided upon. The standard thickness ranges from one and a half to three inches. The decision is yours in the end, but it is highly recommended that you listen to the recommendation of the contractor you’re working with. They are highly experienced and trained professionals and they have done many similar jobs so they will know the thickness that will work best for your situation.

Pour the Surface

As you might have guessed, the next step is to pour the surface. Concrete can simply be poured out of a contract mr. into the ground and leveled out. Asphalt must be applied with the rocky material first and then that are on top of it. This makes a little more of an involved process, but it is not as time-consuming as you might expect.

Let the Surface Dry (Concrete) or Compact It (Asphalt)

Once the surface has been poured, it is time to let it dry, provided the surface is concrete. If it is asphalt, it does not take nearly as long to dry. However, it must be tightly packed to ensure that it is weather resistant.

Making the Right Decision for Your Asphalt and Concrete Needs

In many applications, getting a new asphalt or concrete surface can actually save you money. Residential and commercial asphalt resurfacing, for example, can be more expensive than replacement in some circumstances. Commercial and residential concrete maintenance can also be prohibitively expensive. Even concrete driveway repair expenses can add up.

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6 Ways Commercial Asphalt Paving Can Help Your Business Save Money

1. The first way in which commercial asphalt paving can help your business save money is that you will not have to worry about improper installation. One of the important factors in the lifespan of your asphalt paving is whether or not it was installed properly. Improper installation can drastically reduce how long your asphalt paving lasts, so it is worth to have the process done by professionals. Professionals will know how to properly install the asphalt, including the sub-platform, so that your asphalt paving lasts as long as possible. This saves money because you will not have to pay to have the asphalt removed and reinstalled by professionals, which is both time-consuming and expensive.

2. The second way in which commercial asphalt paving can help your business save money is to ensure your asphalt drainage is excellent. Poor asphalt drainage will force you to spend money on maintenance and or commercial asphalt repair. Meanwhile, it will cost your business even more money since you will likely have to close your business temporarily until the area is clean and dry again. If your asphalt drainage is adequate, you can keep your business open and continue making profit without worrying about this problem. Proper asphalt drainage also eliminates the problem of standing water accumulating close to your business thus maintaining its professional appearance.

3. The third way in which commercial asphalt paving can help your business save money is that you can find asphalt companieswilling to do a porous asphalt project. Porous asphalt is a green alternative to traditional asphalt and your business may receive a tax credit for using it. Additionally, porous asphalt is semi-permeable in that water can go through it and this allows water to go back to the ground easily. Porous asphalt also helps with stormwater in that it acts as a natural drainage system so you will not have to spend as much money to follow stormwater regulations about your drainage systems.

4. The fourth way in which commercial asphalt paving can help your business save money is with regular maintenance. Saving your business money and spending money on regular asphalt maintenance may sound contradictory, but this is not the case. Maintaining your asphalt regularly prevents serious problems such as potholes or structural compromise, which could require commercial asphalt resurfacing. Instead, have your asphalt company check for cracks and fill them as well as apply sealcoating in addition to other services your asphalt requires. This will cost your business far less money than solving more serious problems with your asphalt.

5. The fifth way in which commercial asphalt paving can help your business save money involves finding a reliable asphalt paving company. This saves your business money because interviewing and quoting many different asphalt companies every time you need a project done can prove costly and time-intensive. If you have a reliable asphalt paving company in mind, you can simply turn to them whenever you need work done on your business’ asphalt. Additionally, a reliable asphalt company will not overcharge you for repairs or maintenance which saves your business yet more money. A reliable asphalt company will also attend to any emergency repairs when you need it and thus reduce the amount of time you need to close your business, if at all.

6. The sixth way in which commercial asphalt paving can help your business save money is it prevents your business from paying for a satellite parking lot for your employees and customers. Commercial asphalt paving allows you to have your own parking lot and this eliminates the cost of maintaining a satellite parking lot. Having your own parking lot also helps you comply with safety regulations and prevents your business from paying fees for noncompliance. It also saves your business money by giving your customers a place to park and thus providing your business greater potential profit from those customers.

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