For some people, the winter season truly is the most wonderful time of the year! However, a harsh winter can damage your asphalt pavement if you aren’t prepared. Home and business owners can minimize winter’s impact by understanding how winter weather can affect your asphalt.
Baby, It’s Cold Outside
The worst part of winter for your asphalt is the frequent cycling of freezing and thawing. Asphalt shrinks when temperatures plunge below freezing. As the temperatures rise, the asphalt begins to expand. This expanding and contracting can cause cracks in the pavement. And once a crack starts, winter’s other elements can cause further damage.
It’s Raining, It’s Pouring
Water can be asphalt’s worst enemy. Water will find its way inside if there is even a tiny crack or hole in your asphalt. Since water freezes and thaws much faster than a solid, it will cause even greater damage in asphalt cracks as the temperatures fluctuate.
Let it Snow!
We don’t see beautiful blankets of snow here in Texas very often, and that’s a good thing for your asphalt pavement. Like rain, melting snow will find and penetrate all cracks. Besides snow, our friends in the North also have to worry about damage caused by snowplows. Inexperienced drivers may set the blade too low and accidentally create gouges in the asphalt – causing even more damage.
Ice Ice Baby
Ice on your asphalt driveway or parking lot can lead to dangerous slips, falls, or crashes. But toxic chemicals increase the speed of deterioration – especially if your asphalt hasn’t had a recent sealcoating or is starting to show signs of age.
What Can You Do to Help?
Even though we can’t control what the winter weather will bring this year, you can take action now to minimize any damage.
- To prevent wet weather and freezing temperatures from harming your pavement, make sure all cracks, holes, and breaks are repaired as soon as possible.
Read More: How to Fix Cracks in Your Asphalt Driveway
- If you need to melt ice, sand is a planet-friendly option that won’t negatively affect the area around your asphalt like chemicals and salts can.
- The most important thing is to make sure your asphalt pavement is in good condition going into the winter. By doing this, you can avoid any serious issues next spring. However, if your parking lot or driveway has open cracks or potholes, you may have to make costly repairs next year.
Partner with Premium Asphalt Paving & Sealcoating
These tips will help you preserve the value of your property and prevent winter weather from damaging your asphalt pavement. Our services include asphalt repair, asphalt paving, sealcoating, and more. We deliver high-quality results at competitive prices throughout Bryan, College Station, and the surrounding Brazos Valley. For more information or a free estimate, contact us today.
