Winter Maintenance and Spring Cleaning For Your Driveway

Steps to take to be sure your driveway survives winter

Are you a proud business or homeowner? Do you care about the appearance of your business or home? What about the driveway? When you’re trying to achieve the ultimate in curb appeal, it’s important to consider every aspect of the exterior of your home or business, including the driveway and parking lot. At Burnaby Blacktop we are passionate about paving and take pride in providing our customers with the best service and results possible. We’re going to discuss the ways that you can keep your parking lot or driveway in great shape throughout the seasons for that fresh look year round.

Winter maintenance preparations and things to check

When preparing for winter, it’s important to take a quick survey of your parking lot or driveway. Are there any cracks in the pavement? Any cracks or holes present in the pavement need to be repaired before the snow comes. Sealing cracks before it gets too cold will prevent more cracking from occurring as the asphalt is put through the freezing and thawing processes during the winter. Small cracks can be repaired with a simple asphalt repair kit; however, larger cracks will require you to contact a professional paving company to have the surface properly sealed.

Left untreated, water will get into the cracks and freeze, expand, and cause larger cracks. Over time with more water being added, the resulting freezing and expansion will weaken the pavement and leave you with potholes in the spring that are annoying and will need to be taken care of. Proactive measures such as sealing up all the cracks in the parking lot or driveway can save you time and money in the spring.

How to care for your parking spot when it snows.

Once the snow falls, it’s important to have a professional plough the lot (if necessary, if you’re able to shovel the snow by hand, disregard this paragraph). You may think that anyone with a snowplough can take care of the lot, and you may be saving money by not hiring a professional, but that’s just in the short term. If the person you hire is unfamiliar with the process, they may have the snowplough set too low which will cause damage to the asphalt, and in some cases, it could result in large pieces of pavement coming loose and being pulled up. There’s no way to completely avoid causing damage, as even an experienced snowplough driver may incorrectly estimate the plough height once there are multiple feet of snow on the ground. However, hiring a professional to plough your parking lot or driveway reduces the number of repairs you will have to undertake in future, saving you time and money.

Driveway spring cleaning and repairs

When the snow melts and spring starts to set in, try to notice where the water from the melted snow tends to collect. This will give you a good idea of where the uneven surfaces are that need to be repaired. You should also survey your parking lot or driveway for any winter damage such as potholes and cracks. Taking pictures with your handy dandy smartphone is an excellent way to capture and communicate the problems you spot.

It’s important to take care of these things plus any damage made to curbs before the spring and summer rain starts and causes a bigger headache for you. Much like in the winter with the first snowfall, rain causes a risk of entering any cracks in the pavement caused by winter damage and creates more cracks and potholes.

It’s also important to check the perimeter of your parking lot or driveway for weed encroachment and to clean up the edges with an edging tool. You could also consider installing an edging along your parking lot or driveway, such as rubber mulch with a weed-proof mat underneath. Depending on the extent of repairs after the winter, you may be able to do spot patches of the necessary areas, or you may have to repave the entire parking lot or driveway.

If an entire repave is necessary, consider bringing in an expert to first assess the efficiency of your parking lot and see if there are areas where more space can be made for added parking stalls or more efficient or easier to access spaces. Creating more space for more cars allows for more customers to frequent your business. If you’re repaving your home driveway and happen to require more space for an RV, boat, or guests, take a closer look at the property boundaries and see if there’s any room to expand a few feet.

Call Burnaby Blacktop, your driveway maintenance and repair experts.

When it comes to maintaining your driveway or parking lot for the winter and cleaning it back up again in the spring, call the experts at Burnaby Blacktop. We are happy to answer any questions you may have and are available to you in person, over the phone, or online through our website. We are experts in all things paving and can’t wait to share our knowledge with you. Feel free to contact us for an assessment and estimate of your lot. We guarantee we can fix any issues you may have or give you an entirely new parking lot surface that meets your standards and provides satisfaction.

At Burnaby Blacktop we take care of our clients and put your needs first. We will help you make your curb appeal as best it can be with our expert services.

Trust the best, trust Burnaby Blacktop.