Do you live in an area where you experience heavy snowfall? We are no strangers to tough winters here in the Washington DC area of the Mid-Atlantic Region. When ongoing and frequent snowplowing services are needed for your commercial, industrial or government facility, the smoother the surfaces are, the better the snow and ice can be cleared. Protecting asphalt surfaces from freeze-thaw cycles, snow plow damage, and abrasive salt is something that you need to be mindful about. This is where we encourage you to repair the surfaces before you proceed with snow removal next season. It can deliver outstanding results to you at the end of the day.
How to repair surfaces before snow removal?
Here are some of the methods available for you to repair surfaces before snow removal and snow relocation. Make sure that you focus on these repairs in the off-season, so that you can get the long-term benefits of better snow removal results. In other words, the amount you spend on these repairs can deliver profitable returns to you in the long run.
- Fill all cracks and seal them
The very first thing you should do is to do a careful inspection of the pavement on walkways, roads and in parking lots. This is where it’s common in the Mid-Atlantic to discover cracks. After taking note of all cracks, they should be filled and sealed as soon as possible. This is something that you need to do before it starts to snowfall. In case you don’t fill up these cracks and seal them, you will face challenges with snow & ice management. On the other hand, these cracks can even lead you to major problems as year round precipitation infiltrates the cracks and erodes soil below the surface.
The cracks in the pavement are left unattended, there is a high possibility for them to freeze and thaw during the winter months. Cold temperatures during winter would make the crack widen. Along with that, the cracks will also branch out. This will eventually lead you to more potholes and cracking and eventually the pavement will need to be completely removed and replaced. If you don’t want to deal with such problems, you should learn how to repair the surfaces.
- Focus on pavement restoration
Snowplows can create minor damage to your pavement when the surfaces aren’t even. This is where you should take appropriate steps to ensure pavement preservation. Then you can make sure that scraping and dragging of the snowplow blade would not cause any major problems. Repeated scraping of the surface from a snowplow blade would strip its sealer. As a result, you will be leaving behind the pavement unprotected. Such a pavement would quickly deteriorate as well.
To make sure that you don’t end up with such damages, you will need to purchase a proper pavement preservation or sealant solution and apply. Then you can get your pavement restored to a smooth surface. This is something that you should do before and after the winter, depending on the nature of asphalt pavement surfaces that you have. This sealant will not just help you to preserve the surface but can also provide assistance in rejuvenating it.
- Focus on getting the best snow removal solutions
When it comes to snow and ice management, you should hunt for the best service provider available out there. You should not try to plow snow on your own or hire a simple guy in a truck. Instead, you can seek the assistance of a professional snow and ice management company that has the experience and expertise to offer the level of service you want. In some instances, seasonal work would come along with inexperienced talent. You should be careful not to work with such a snow removal company. Even if you have to spend some extra money, you should get the help of the best snow removal service.
Get the help of an expert for snow removal at all times
Any property with moderate to hard winters needs professional snow removal. While snow clearance is necessary and lifesaving, it may have some unpleasant consequences for your asphalt and professionals have the equipment and knowledge to reduce the risk of damage. Unfortunately, every piece of equipment which scrapes on the pavement can cause it to deteriorate. Snowplows will do the greatest damage to your pavement on uneven terrain. A plow generally leaves flat surfaces intact when run by a professional who is experienced and uses the best equipment for the job.
Hiring a professional to remove snow from your driveway is the best way to avoid damage to your asphalt. When snowplows are used improperly or carelessly, they may do much more damage to your pavement than is required, such as totally scraping off the upper surface. When plowing, professional snow removal firms will most likely utilize one of two approaches to prevent damaging the asphalt surface:
- To reduce the impact on your asphalt driveway, they use a trip edge plow that will prevent hard hits to uneven surfaces.
- They will keep the blow blades around half-inch above the surface of the ground
It’s crucial to keep in mind that these safety measures will almost certainly leave a coating of snow on your existing pavement. However, when professional snow plowing is combined with the professional knowledge of which ice melt chemicals to use and how much to use, it’s a recipe for success. Hiring professionals will help in minimizing the overall damage that your surfaces will encounter during snow removal process. On top of that, you can also make sure that you end up with getting better results with snow removal services. This will help you to get the most out of the money you spend on the snow removal service as well.
Learn how to minimize curb damage
Broken or damaged curbs are another frequent area of damage when plows pass through the parking lot. This is often due to a lack of visibility, or from drivers that are unfamiliar with the area. Placing markers along the curb, paths, and planted areas so snow clearing companies are aware of places to avoid is a fantastic method to minimize serious curb damage.
While snow clearance may need some asphalt repairs, the freeze-thaw cycle is the most common cause of winter pavement deterioration. Because of the frequent temperature variations in the winter, moisture is constantly freezing and thawing, contracting, and retracting. When water freezes & compresses within fractures in the pavement, it may stretch the pavement beyond its capacity, resulting in wider cracks and potholes.
Final words
Make sure that you plan how to smoothen snow removal before winter. You just need to adhere to the steps we shared, and you will be able to end up getting outstanding results. In the meantime, we also encourage you to seek the assistance of an expert snow removal company like Rasevic, which can deliver amazing results at a price that you can afford.