Asphalt Management
WEBINAR
Our educational asphalt and concrete webinars are to help Property Managers, Community Managers, and General Contractors streamline the bidding process, save time/money from costly mistakes, and gain better project outcomes. Topics include:
- On-site/off-site work: G.C. tips for better scheduling of grading, concrete & asphalt.
- The cost impact of failing subgrade; options to stabilize it.
- Asphalt 101 - Understanding pavement failure and repair options within budget.
- Job walk tips, getting the right scope of work, and ensuring apples to apples bids.
- Concrete 101 - Installations and repairs; guidelines, scheduling, and curing times.
- Recommendations for addressing A.D.A. compliance needs.
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT:
This free webinar will help you get better bids and project outcomes. The content is designed to help property managers and owners resolve key paving issues, make the bidding process more effective, and increase project satisfaction. Our paving experts are eager to enhance your asphalt and concrete performance knowledge and optimize your project management skills. Attend solo or sign up your group. Classes are held via Zoom and in person upon request. Content covers:
- Job walk tips to help you discover your pavement's real needs
- Understanding root cause of asphalt failure and addressing subgrade stability
- How to get better scopes and competitive, apples to apples bids
- Steps to streamline bidding and clarify expectations for success
- Recommendations for tacking A.D.A. compliance issues
- The most valuable time of year to complete your paving projects
Email Tracie Moran at [email protected] with questions or to sign up. We look forward to your participation!
Is choosing the lowest-priced bid a concern?
While price is a concern to us all, keep in mind that the lowest bid may cost you more in the long run. Did the paving contractor forget to include important items like demo'd asphalt haul off costs and dirt dump fees, or phasing a project in enough moves to maintain access for residents, tenants and patrons? Don't let the cheapest bid mean shutting down your entire retail center until the project is complete; the more expensive bid might be covering 2 additional moves so that your patrons can get their medications from the Drug store and the lunch crowd can pick up their 12 o'clock drive thru spread. You definitely don't want angry tenants and back charges for loss of business. These can account for significant costs. Ensure the bidder has accounted for these things in the proposal.
Did the paving company bid the appropriate repair for that failure type? One that will last? Are you comparing apples to oranges bids? Is the paver insured for your property type? There are many questions to consider, but rest assured that with a proper Request for Proposal process, you can ensure the scope of work will meet all your needs and the competition will provide apples to apples bids.
Comparing apples to apples bids is key to helping you compare costs and choose the most qualified contractor. A paving company that has the right type of insurance that keeps you covered and top performing equipment to get your project completed correctly and efficiently affects price and value.
Sometimes, to get the job done right you will need to invest more up front. There is little sense in spending money on a cheap fix when having to repeat the same repairs will end up costing you a lot more. For example, when you have severe alligator cracking throughout your parking lot, and it receives a 1" overlay without any preparatory treatment to the existing pavement, you should expect to see the cracks reflect through the new surface within months. Preparatory treatment may include removal and replacement of base material and asphalt in failed areas such as potholes and grinding down the remaining surface which can reduce the width of the surface cracks to prepare it for the overlay. Adding hot oil and a mat/paving fabric on top of this prepared surface before doing an asphalt overlay of a compacted 1.5" of hot asphalt is another appropriate step in constructing the right repair and maximizing the lifespan of your new surface.
Keep in mind that about 95% of all pavement failure is due to issues with the subgrade; what's underneath the pavement. Your surface repairs can only be effective if the foundation it is constructed on is stable. Your contractor needs to consider the root cause for failure and address it to repair the pavement properly. Building on top of stable, compacted subgrade is crucial, as is providing routine maintenance to your asphalt to protect the subgrade from water saturation and becoming compromised. With asphalt failure, it may take more than just removing and replacing the asphalt; it may take the additional removal and replacement of the weakened subgrade that is no longer suitable for the structure.
THE IMPORTANCE OF FLOWLINE, CURB, AND GUTTER in protecting your pavement
Asphalt's biggest enemy is water! Protect your asphalt pavement from erosion by ensuring (seal coating maintenance and) proper water flow; in a direction off the pavement and one that doesn't allow water to pool.
Concrete structures such as flowlines, curbs and gutters help carry water off the pavement. A flowline or gutter that is heavily cracked cannot perform its duty to collect and carry away water from the bordering asphalt. The standing water erodes the surface and contributes to it drying out, cracking, and raveling. Also, leaving cracks in the concrete structures allows water to seep into the subgrade and really weaken it. This effects it's ability to support the pavement and withstand the pressure of heavy traffic loads. Compromised subgrade leads to severe cracking of the asphalt surface. The worse it is, the more you will see alligator cracking (interconnected cracks) and potholes (severe asphalt failure where asphalt pieces are misplaced). Once concrete has major cracks, it is best to completely remove and replace the sections; there is no effective and aesthetic patch for concrete that will last.
Protect your pavement and subgrade by keeping up with routine seal coating and secured concrete structures for water flow.
ASHALT IS NOT MEANT TO ACT
AS A BRIDGE
A damaged flowline can allow water to create a void of material underneath the Asphalt, in effect leaving a bridge. Asphalt is not meant to act as a bridge and is only as strong as the foundation beneath it. It requires an effective sub-base and sub-grade to support its weight-bearing traffic. When the foundation beneath asphalt is compromised, the surface is destined for issues like potholes and alligator cracking. These are typical causes for expensive removal and replacement costs.
ARE TRASH TRUCKS TRASHING YOUR ASPHALT?
Have you found that the asphalt in front of your dumpsters is getting crushed and broken by your city dump trucks? Trash trucks are the leading cause of asphalt damage. Generally, parking lots are not constructed to handle heavy truck traffic. It has been discovered that one trip of a trash truck has the same effect on an asphalt parking lot as 9,600 trips of a car! This extremely heavy load can severely damage asphalt and may cause the need for costly removal and replacement early on.
INSTALL A CONCRETE TRASH TRUCK PAD
You may save money from repetitive asphalt repairs by installing Concrete Pads in front of the dumpsters. The Concrete Pads are much more capable of withstanding the intense pounding and shuddering of a trash truck than the typically used thickness of asphalt. Talk to your United Paving representative to consider this option as well as an option to construct an asphalt thickness to handle such a heavy weight-bearing load.
SIDE WALKS AND TRIP HAZARDS. NOT TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY.
While cracks or elevated sections in your sidewalk may appear to be no big deal, keep in mind they may be trip-hazards. Trip-hazards are major risk factors for lawsuits and high insurance premiums. Trip-hazard repair costs are almost insignificant to the cost of a major lawsuit!
WHEN LOOKING AT YOUR ASPHALT, FACE THE SUN.
(See Below)
FACING THE WRONG DIRECTION
(with the sun on your back)
Asphalt problems tend to hide. The asphalt shown above is dirty, but it appears to be in good condition.
FACING THE RIGHT DIRECTION
(TOWARD THE SUN)
Now the asphalt problems, including alligator cracking, are easier to see. Can you believe this is the same area of asphalt only viewed from the opposite direction? Now you can see the need for repairs.