How Does Weather Affect Damaged Asphalt?

You might be looking at your concrete pavement and thinking-“That is pretty tough! Nothing will affect that!” Though we agree that asphalt has extremely durable ingredients, it might not exactly be as tough as it looks. The weather in your city is the culprit. Read on to know more.

Effect of Climatic Changes on Asphalt Surfaces

Asphalt can be strong enough to withstand many tons of weight and pressure that are piled on it day in and day out. However, it might be affected by weather changes. A city like Oklahoma enjoys a subtle variation in seasons throughout the year. And even though each season has its ups and downs, pavements can significantly be affected by these changing weather patterns.

Summers in Oklahoma can be bright and sunny. And the heat might not end up doing a bulk of the damage. But concrete surfaces often develop cracks during summertime. These cracks can potentially damage asphalt surfaces from within.

Now let’s see what happens in winter. Asphalt that expands in summer contracts during colder weather, making the sub-surface brittle. Most commercial concrete contractors would warn you that winter is the wrong time to perform asphalt maintenance. However, an expert would know how to use appropriate tools and techniques to reinforce your asphalt parking lot or driveway.

Lastly the rains can do by far the worst damage to asphalt as rainwater seeps in through cracks and either freezes or thaws depending on the subsequent temperature, making these surfaces fragile. This effect leads to the need for road repairs.

What Are the Steps You Can Take?

With immediate action, you can reduce the damage to your pavement. This could be holes or cracks on the surface of pavements or your parking lot.

> Seek the help of concrete contractors in Oklahoma City for cleaning and repair work of an affected parking lot or for carrying out pavement sealing work.
> For a sturdy concrete pavement and driveway, conduct asphalt resurfacing. While this will add to installation costs, it will prolong the life of the pavement. During resurfacing, the top layer of the cement or asphalt is stripped-off and a fresh layer is applied. If deeper cracks are present, it is necessary to fill them up before resurfacing these areas.
> Pavement sealing is another activity which helps protect these surfaces for a longer duration.

A Few Other Things You Can Do Are:

> Seal and maintain your asphalt regularly
> Install a proper drainage system to prevent pooling of water
> Opt for new technology in asphalt engineering like installing porous asphalt.

When you are getting asphalt resurfacing done, you must look for an experienced and reputed contractor that would be able to provide high quality services. You will find that we offer the best commercial concreting services in Oklahoma City at very cost-effective price points. If you're looking for asphalt installation, maintenance, or parking lot repairs OKC, we at First Water Contracting can help. Give us a call at 405 664 6200, and we'll help.