Why Summer Is the Best Time for Asphalt Sealcoating
Just about anywhere you look in the Treasure Coast area, you will find asphalt pavements. There are valid reasons for the popularity of this paving material, including its economical cost, installation time, and aesthetic appeal. Property owners who want their asphalt pavements to look their best, require fewer costly repairs, and provide a lengthy service life have their pavements sealed periodically with a high-quality sealcoat. Although it might seem as if the weather in South Florida is perfect for year-round asphalt sealing, any contractor with experience in asphalt sealcoating Treasure Coast pavements will tell you that summer is the best season for the task. The key to understanding their preference for the summer months is to understand how sealants cure.
Why Summer Is the Best Time for Asphalt Sealcoating
How Does Sealcoating Cure?
By volume, a typical sealcoating mix is about 70% water when it is applied to a pavement. In its liquid state, a sealant offers no protection for the pavement. Instead, it must shed the water that it contains so that it can form a hard, well-bonded, solid shell over the pavement. The way that a sealant sheds its water is through evaporation. Exposure to sunlight, the humidity level, the wind, and the temperature are all factors that influence how quickly evaporation will occur, but the most critical of these factors is the temperature. In turn, the temperature is affected by the sun’s heat and the humidity level. Low temperatures, high humidity levels, and clouds all contribute to longer curing times for Treasure Coast asphalt sealcoating. However, the hotter it is, the easier it is to counteract the effects of clouds and humidity.
Why Does the Curing Time for Asphalt Sealcoating Matter?
Whether you are having a contractor apply driveway, street, or parking lot sealcoating, you cannot allow vehicles on the pavement until the sealant is fully cured. Giving vehicles premature access will ruin the sealant, but it can also result in vehicles carrying the wet sealant on their tires or splattering it on other cars, structures, or landscaping. When sealcoating parking lots, businesses naturally want to reduce the time that the area must remain closed so that the procedure will have the least impact on their operation and cause the least inconvenience to their customers, guests, employees, or tenants. In the summer, you can typically reopen your parking lot in less than 24 hours. In other seasons, you could be looking at two or three days. This is especially true when you require your parking lot maintenance company to apply your stripes and pavement markings after applying the sealant. When sealcoating parking lot pavements, contractors typically apply two coats of sealant, and the first coat must dry before the second can be applied. The second coat must then dry before the striping and marking can take place. Between the higher temperatures and longer hours of sunlight provided by the summer months, your parking lot maintenance company can accomplish more in a single workday.
For Superior Treasure Coast Asphalt Sealcoating, Trust Asphalt Care Services
We are an experienced, well-respected asphalt company that is a family-owned and family-operated business. We specialize in asphalt maintenance and repair for commercial clients throughout the Treasure Coast region and beyond. We offer a variety of services, including parking lot sealcoating, thermoplastic line striping, asphalt paving, bollard and bumper block installations, parking lot striping, speed bump installations, asphalt repairs, and traffic signage. We have earned an exemplary reputation for exceptional workmanship, extraordinary customer service, true professionalism, and notable integrity. To request a free quote, submit our online form today. If you prefer, you call us at either 561-855-1336 or 772-888-2840.
