A business owner with an unpaved parking lot may wonder whether to spend the money to have the area paved with asphalt or concrete or leave it as is. Although some expense is required, there are important advantages to hiring a Paving Company in Middletown CT to do this work. In addition, asphalt has some important advantages as compared with concrete.
Pavement vs. Gravel or Dirt
To answer the first concern, the property owner must consider how crowded the lot gets and how customers feel about an unpaved lot.
People tend to park much further apart when there are no painted lines defining spaces. When the business is exceptionally busy, that makes the lot fill up when it technically could still hold many more vehicles.
An unpaved area also can make a place look less professional and create inconvenience for customers. They may choose to take their business elsewhere on rainy or snowy days because they don’t want to deal with mud and uneven surfaces. During long stretches of dry weather, the lot becomes dusty with dirt blowing around in the summer breeze. That’s another reason customers may decide to patronize a different business.
Asphalt vs. Concrete
Hiring an asphalt Paving Company in Middletown CT also has advantages. First, concrete is more expensive to place. Later, if it cracks, and the only way to repair this flaw is to have part of the slab removed and replaced. Asphalt cracks can be filled and resealed.
Asphalt is generally better for winter weather. Frost heaves can cause cracks in concrete and uneven surfaces that must be repaired. Asphalt is more flexible. Even though holes and small cracks may develop due to repeated freezing and thawing, these can be fixed easily. The material also holds up better against corrosive road salt that vehicles track in.
Asphalt, as installed by a contractor such as such as Sullivan Paving, lasts a very long time. The top will need resealing as maintenance, and resurfacing will eventually become necessary. The bottom and middle layers are considered permanent, while the top layer deals with weather elements, vehicle fluids, heavy traffic and substantial weight of vehicles. You can also visit them on Google My Business.
