Potholes 1-0-1

By PotholeRepair.com

We can all agree that potholes are ugly and can destroy the curb appeal of a property. Potholes also expose property owners and managers to liability for personal injuries and vehicle damage that can result. The fact is that the asphalt on parking lots and roadways are the single largest capital expense for property managers and potholes are a recurring problem for all of us. We decided to learn more about what causes potholes, what can be done, and what are the modern best practices in the industry to address potholes and asphalt management.

WHAT CAUSES POTHOLES?

Water and gravity are the main culprits behind most potholes. Gravity helps water from rain and melting snow to find its way beneath the asphalt to erode the earth at just the right spot, leaving a void and setting the stage for the asphalt above to crack or buckle. In cold weather areas, the water beneath the asphalt can freeze and expand, further deteriorating the condition of the asphalt and the earth beneath. It turns out that no potholes start out big. They all start out nice and small and then weather and continued use make it worse, allowing in more water, causing more erosion, further deteriorating the damaged area.

WHAT TO DO?

{do nothing} Some property managers elect to do nothing until the damage grows large enough to warrant hiring a paving company to repave the entire lot or to cut out and replace the damaged asphalt. Calling out a paving company to do anything generally requires large capital expenditures because they must send out a crew of 8-10 people along with millions of dollars worth of equipment. Such repairs are usually loud and disruptive, requiring property managers to give notice to tenants and close sections of the effected lot.

{apply cold patch} The property management industry is generally reactive when it comes to potholes. At a rate of about $40 a piece, maintenance crews typically apply a DIY cold patch (a cold bag of material you can buy at Home Depot) to fill potholes on their parking lots and roadways. The problem is that water continues to seep in and cause more erosion of the earth beneath, making such repairs temporary at best. The damaged asphalt will continue to deteriorate and get worse with weather and continued use.

INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICES

Seeing as how parking lots and roadways represent such a huge capital investment for most all property managers, we wondered about modern approaches to asphalt management. A survey of various Departments of Transportation reveals consistent advice that property owners ought to be proactive when it comes to potholes, advising that if the damage is not properly corrected in a timely manner, the damages will get worse and may cause more potholes to form. The same DoT officials express frustration that the public sector is still too reactive, consuming over 95% of their available budgets on reactive capital, locking them in a never-ending cycle that does not allow them to proactively maintain their own pavement.

If property managers can catch and properly repair minor asphalt damage early, this will greatly extend the life of the pavement. To be durable however, a cold patch just won’t work. Such repairs require a hot asphalt mix to enable a heat seal between the repair and the surrounding pavement so that water cannot seep through.

Maintenance contracts are another trend in the industry. Property managers obtain maintenance contracts covering landscaping and other building services, fleets and vehicles, and HV/AC systems. Why not for asphalt maintenance? At least one company, PotholeRepair.com, provides professional pothole repair services and offers strategic asphalt management, including regular inspections of your property and detailed reporting to identify and document problems.

We can all agree that potholes suck. But managing asphalt and potholes are a fact of life for most property managers. It turns out that there are new and better approaches to consider when you have a pothole – and more strategic ways for property managers to manage and maintain their parking lots and roadways. Be proactive. Inspect your property and repair damaged asphalt, properly and in a timely manner, or it will get worse. The good news is that if you take a proactive approach to managing your asphalt, you can greatly extend the life of your pavement.

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