Proper timing of seal coating will enable you to extend the life of the asphalt by 300%. By seal coating within 18 months after asphalt installation, you will seal in the essential binder of the hot mix asphalt which is the glue that holds the stone and sand together for a smooth asphalt surface that is easy to sweep and will aid in melting snow and ice faster.
“Ok, I seal coated the parking lot 12 months after it was paved, everything should be okay now, correct?”
Would you buy a new car with a perfect metallic paint finish, wax it one time and then never wax it again? Probably not.
The reason seal coating is viewed by some property managers as only cosmetic is due to the fact no seal coating contractor has ever taken the time to explain the benefits of seal coating and never HELPED the property manager DESIGN a Preventative Maintenance SYSTEM.
There is so much more to seal coating than just mixing up some tar and spraying it on the pavement. Although, as a property manager you are at a great disadvantage because 95% of seal coating contractors look at seal coating as just that; mixing up coal tar emulsion or asphalt emulsion with most times water ratios which far exceed the manufacturers recommendations and then sending a couple guys in a pick up truck pulling a tank on a trailer, throw up some cones at your entrance, do a substandard job of cleaning the pavement and then proceed to spray a thin coat of what resembles dirty dish water onto your parking lot, curbs, sidewalks, building, dumpsters and everything else which is not supposed to be coated with overspray. This in a nutshell is “the seal coating business model” as executed by 95% of seal coating contractors who call themselves “professionals.”
In all honesty, if I had that type of experience I wouldn’t put much stock in seal coating either!
In order to experience the budget saving “delay the mill & pave” benefits of seal coating, seal coating has to be part of a Preventative Maintenance Plan. A Preventative Maintenance Plan is the furthest thing from spraying some dirty dish water onto a parking lot in hopes it lasts till the check clears or worse; your boss see the finished product and says “you didn’t approve that invoice for payment, right…?”
As you can see above, there is much more to seal coating than just spraying tar on the asphalt!