Asphalt Repair

All asphalt surfaces will need repairs at one time or another. Asphalt parking lots usually last five to seven years before needing repairs, depending on the quality of the initial construction. In the early stages, repairs should be minor, such as minor patching, crack filling, and sealcoating.

However, small problems will eventually start bigger and the remedies start to get more complex and more expensive. Budget constraints and other considerations will also weigh into the immediate and long-term solutions.

Below are the different types of asphalt repair and when you need them.

Surface Patching

Surface patching is an asphalt repair that is limited to the top 1-2 inches of the existing asphalt surface layer. It is an affordable option, but it’s often a temporary fix for a small surface area. Overland Park Asphalt will only recommend surface patching for minor asphalt repairs or for dealing with drainage issues.

Surface patching tends to work only on surface problems, as it requires a stable base to support any repairs. Adhesion issues that need to be addressed can also limit the effectiveness of any repair. Tack coating and grinding are two ways to improve adhesion to the existing surface before applying the new asphalt patch.

Overland Park Asphalt can also patch over a cracked surface, but the original cracks will commonly reflect through the patch within two years.

We recommend asphalt pricing for customers who:

• Need a temporary solution to minimally-damaged areas
• Need a cost-effective solution
• Have minor damage like several small potholes or a small area of cracking
• Have surface drainage issues

Asphalt Removal and Replacement

Asphalt removal and replacement are also known as peel and pave. Peel-and-pave is a far more durable solution than surface patching and will tend to resolve any reflective cracking problems caused by paving over distressed asphalt.

The process starts by marking out the distressed area and saw-cutting along these lines for a smooth edge. Then, either with a skid steer, backhoe or excavator, the asphalt is removed down to the existing stone sub-base. The sub-base is usually tested to make sure it can handle the weight of the common vehicle load before new asphalt is laid.

The depth and number of courses of the repair will vary depending on the severity of the existing damage, the anticipated vehicle load, and traffic frequency. When specified and performed properly, peel-and-pave can extend the lifespan of your asphalt surface for up to ten times longer than surface patching.

Overland Park Asphalt recommend asphalt removal and replacement for customers who:

• Need a longer-term solution for their asphalt damage
• Have distressed areas of asphalt with damage that goes under the surface and penetrates to the stone base
• Have failures due to the weight or frequency of vehicular traffic load

Full Depth Repair

Full-depth repairs are repairs that utilize asphalt as a complete structural system. Generally, asphalt is combined with a course of stone to provide the strength required to form the structural matrix that makes up the permanent system. Sometimes simply removing the asphalt down to the existing stone base is not sufficient to make a durable, long-lasting repair.

When the stone base below the asphalt yields to the weight and frequency of traffic, the asphalt will need to be thickened to make up for the deficient stone base. However, if you thicken the asphalt, you will need to remove more stone bases, further weakening the system. If you want to compensate for this weakness, more asphalt should be added until the new full-depth system exceeds the original structural strength of the asphalt and stone system.

Asphalt Milling

There are times when large areas or the entire parking lot show signs of distress, which may justify bringing in more efficient means of removal to allow for a more durable, long-term fix. One of those alternatives is asphalt milling.

Asphalt milling grinds up layers of damaged asphalt into small, gravel-like chunks suitable for reuse to a predefined depth. The material is automatically conveyed into trucks for removal and can be hauled back to the asphalt plants for recycling purposes or go to new construction sites for the construction of new roadways and parking lots.