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SEAL COATING AND LINE STRIPING

The product is the key in providing quality in the areas of seal coating and line striping. AFS uses a commercial grade coal tar emulsion base sealer, which meets and exceeds RP-355e specifications. AFS uses only latex striping paint, guaranteeing a professional look in which the sealer does not bleed through. Proper layout directs traffic safely and efficiently. We utilize the industry’s highest standards of equipment and materials on every job. As always, safety is a main concern as we barricade all access to sealed and striped surfaces.

ADA Compliance- In July 1990 the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law. ADA compliance is in affect for every business owner big or small. ABC Paving & Sealcoating has the knowledge to keep your company compliant with ADA guidelines on re-striping and new parking lot layouts.

Why Sealcoat?

Sealcoating Helps Protect Asphalt from the Harmful Effects of the Weather, as Well as Petroleum Based Products like Gasoline and Oil.

Unsealed - Oxidation dries out and deteriorates asphaltic binder. Pave loses flexibility and small cracks develop. Water, chemicals, etc. penetrate surface and pavement deterioration rapidly progresses.

Sealed - Sealcoating seals out the damaging effects of oxidation and the elements, greatly extending the service life of the pavement while enhancing the appearance.

STOPS WEATHER DAMAGE
Sealcoating prevents the damaging effects of oxidation and water penetration.

PREVENTS OXIDATION
The sun's ultraviolet rays harden and dry out the asphalt pavement surface. This accelerates raveling and erosion and can reduce asphalt thickness in just a few years. Sealcoating helps prevent this.

BEAUTIFIES PAVEMENT
Sealcoating restores original black color to asphalt and greatly enhances the overall appearance of property. The smooth even surface of sealed pavement makes sweeping, snow removal, and maintenance easier and less costly.

RESISTS GAS, OIL, AND SALT
Sealcoating resists the highly damaging effects of gas and oil seepage and all other road chemicals including alkalis and winter salt.

How Sealcoating works
Asphalt Pavement is a mixture of aggregates (crushed stone) and binders that acts as a glue to hold the mixture together. Over time the UV rays from the sun break down the binding materials holding together the aggregates, allowing moisture to fill the voids subjecting it to expanding and contacting impacting the integrity of the pavement. This breakdown of the binder can be seen as the color of the pavement turns from a rich black to grey. As this process continues the binding materials become weak to the point of releasing their bond to the aggregates, this is when cracks and potholes develop.

Sealcoating prevents the adhesive qualities of the binder from being broken down to the point of failure, keeping the aggregate properly adhered by the binder and brings the pavement back to black! The largest benefit of sealcoating is a cost effective means of preventing premature pavement wear for just a few cents per square foot!

How Sealcoating is performed
Prior to Sealing the pavement is cleaned with a sweeper or blower. The pot holes and cracks are cleaned and filled prior to sealcoating.

The Sealcoat material is applied to the proper thickness via sprayer or squeegee depending on location.
We use high quality sealcoat material with the proper ratio of additives and fine aggregate (sand) this makes for a durable, non-slip, quality Sealer that will properly protect the pavement for seasons to come.

Sealcoating Questions & Answers

1. Should seal coating be performed on an annual basis?
No. Sealing your asphalt too much can lead to many problems. Many seal coating installers will lead you to believe otherwise. However, the first two coats of sealer applied to your asphalt are what really protect it. Anything after this is usually for cosmetic purposes. Sealer applied annually tends to crack and flake after about 10 years of annual applications or less and may even crack the surface of the pavement. This may influence the owner to resurface prematurely. To sum up, too much maintenance is not a good return on investment. Other problems caused by over sealing are tracking, creating slippery surfaces, and a creating a smaller balance in your checkbook.

2. Is it better to apply sealer in hot weather?
No. While this is true for paving, it's not appropriate for sealing. Remember, asphalt can get so hot under the hot summer sun; it can nearly burn your skin. This also causes the sealer to dry too quickly. When sealer dries too quickly it can peel, flake, or get a streaky finish. If you must apply sealer in temperatures above 90 degrees, a good installer will spray the surface with a light mist of water first. This will cool the surface considerably. Ideal air temperatures are between 60 and 90 degrees.

3. Sealer is all the same, why shouldn't I choose a less expensive bid?
There are far more variables to the sealcoating industry than consumers realize. Most directly influence the differences in quoted prices. First off, there are different brands and differences in the quality of sealers available to contractors. A good contractor will choose a good product even if it'smore expensive that he knows will give years of good protection and value. Second sealer is water-borne (also called emulsion). Therefore it can be easily over-diluted with water to save the "contractor" money, or not over-diluted as specified by the manufacturer to provide a superior, durable, product. Unfortunately, there is hardly any way for a consumer to tell what the water content is in sealer (unless it's so over-diluted it looks "watery" or "runny" Sealer should have a consistency like a pancake batter, maybe thicker. Most good applications will have an average of 10%-25% water dilution rate. This is acceptable. This is a big reason consumers should choose a reputable contractor with a good guarantee and who has references over a year old in your area.

Usually a good installer will be more expensive because he doesn't over dilute his material, he will use a better quality product, he may use specialty additives which greatly improve the sealer, he will always add silica sand or other specialized aggregate so the sealer isn't slippery when wet and lasts longer, he has all the required insurances and licensing to be in business, pays his well-trained employees a fair wage to do a good job, and will stand behind the work with a guarantee.

Shoddy contractors almost never have any insurance, offer a low price to get a large volume of work, hire cheap inexperienced labor, dilute the material heavily and will never offer any guarantees once paid...

4. Surface cracks always seem to come back, so why bother filling them?
Inexperienced or unethical contractors will shy away from filling cracks. It is important to seal cracks especially in climates that are subjected to freezing temperatures with a quality, usually hot-applied (375°F) product made especially for crack sealing BEFORE seal coating. Even after seal coating unsealed cracks will allow water in that can cause damage to pavement if permitted to get down into the pores of blacktop or worse into the base under the asphalt causing "frost heaving" requiring expensive repairs. Qualified installers will know exactly the best solution to treat cracks before seal coating and will be glad to explain it to you. Proper crack sealing will last the life of the sealcoating and the cracks won't "come back".

5. Why do I need to seal my surface? After all, the interstates don't get sealed.
Although your surface may be comprised of similar materials as the highway, it is subjected to much different uses than a highway. Highways don't get sealed because they carry a large volume of high-speed single direction traffic. This has a polishing effect on the surface, which will naturally repel water from soaking into the pavement. Your driveway or parking surface is subjected to slow movement, heavy loads, and/or constant maneuvering of vehicles. Asphalt can realize a longer lifespan by sealing because it keeps water and damaging chemicals from penetrating into its pores and slows the process of oxidation from sunlight and pollutants in the air and exhaust.

6. Can I save some money by doing it myself?
At one point, some courageous homeowners (and very few commercial property owners) will try to personally sealcoat their pavement. Stop for a second and add up the total costs you will incur by undertaking this project. Sealer by the pail costs 4-5 times more at improvement stores (and is not of the same quality as properly mixed commercial sealer). Tools available to homeowners are often expensive and not up to the performing the task properly. Also proper cleaning is a major component of a good sealcoating job. A leaf blower or garden hose just can't do the job professional blowers or washers will. (There are also other factors like the possible need for priming of oil spots or other "specialty products" that do not have "homeowner" grade equivalent products available)Figure on ruining a whole outfit from your shoes all the way to shirt & gloves. You may have to persuade somebody to help you, which could cost additional money. On average this will take you at least four to five times longer than a professional. On a 1,200 square foot driveway you can expect to fork out around $300.00+ for the supplies listed above. That doesn't include your labor (what you would make hourly at your job?).

Plus it is highly doubtful that you would do half as good a job as a professional. By today's rates, most professional jobs will cost less or only a few dollars more than doing it yourself. (depending on the cost of other needs like crack sealing which you couldn't do yourself.)

7. Should the sealer be applied by spray or squeegee?
Here is another reason you should rely on a real professional to come up with a solution for your specific needs. Both application types are suitable under the right circumstances. There is no "one size fits all" method of seal coating. A true professional will determine the process based on of age, degree of deterioration, climate, expected use, budget, term of ownership, obstacles, and how many coats already exist on the pavement and suggest the method best for your pavement. It can be one method or the other or sometimes both!

The main purpose of this article is to influence the consumer to research and make an educated decision when maintaining asphalt surfaces. Do not make an impulsive decision based solely on price. The first thing you should do is be sure your contractor has an upstanding report with the BBB. They should be "known" in your area. Make sure they are well established by investigating whether they have a local address, a advertisement in the yellow pages and a website. It also wouldn't hurt to get several bids, and actually check references on all of them. Keep in mind you usually get what you pay for.

A well-paved asphalt surface can last 20-40 years if maintained at proper intervals. Save money by hiring a reputable, paving or sealing contractor. They can develop a strategy to maintain your pavement. Spending a little more now, can save you a lot down the road.

Source of information
www.pavementpro.org/sealyearly.htm

AFS provides interior/exterior commercial building services such as:

• Sweeping Services
• Porter Services
• Janitorial Services
• Pressure Washing Services
• Sealcoating & Line Striping Services
• Asphalt Repair Services
• Parking Lot Maintenance Services
• Building Maintenance Services
• Painting Services
  

American Facility Services provides its many services to…

• Shopping Centers
• Malls
• Office Parks
• Industrial Parks
• Apartment Complexes
• Condo Associations
• Homeowner Associations
• Hotels
• Theme Parks
• Commercial Property Mangers & Owners
• Developers
• Construction Companies

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