Like any public institution, a church must invest in routine parking lot maintenance and repairs to provide its members with a safe parking experience and to maintain property value.

It’s crucial that you stay aware of the types of maintenance your parking lot requires. The more diligent you are about routine maintenance, the longer your asphalt will last, and the better prepared you’ll be to create a sufficient budget for parking lot repairs or repaving.

Take a look below for a few helpful tips on planning your church’s asphalt project budget.

Perform a Visual Pavement Inspection Each Year

In our Minnesota climate, properly designed, installed, and maintained asphalt pavement typically lasts 15 to 30 years. But to get that kind of longevity out of your church’s parking lot, it’s crucial that you pay close attention to the state of the pavement and tend to any necessary repairs as quickly as possible.

That’s why performing an annual pavement assessment is so important. Routine visual inspections will alert you to any potential problems your asphalt may have, so you can promptly bring in the pros for expert advice. As you walk around your parking lot, keep an eye out for:

  • Faded pavement markings
  • Checkerboard or alligator cracking
  • Ruts in the surface
  • Areas where standing water accumulates when it rains or when snow melts
  • Crumbling asphalt
  • Cracks that are one-quarter inch or wider

Not sure how to identify any of the above red flags? Check our pavement distresses guide for a breakdown of what each type of damage looks like.

Determine Which Types of Asphalt Maintenance Are Necessary

After you’ve taken a thorough look at your parking lot, you’ll need to determine your most pressing asphalt maintenance needs. Tending to any necessary asphalt repairs in a timely fashion is the best way to prevent minor issues from escalating into serious problems that require costly repairs.

You should have any potholes filled, and even minor cracks should be cracksealed to prevent water from penetrating the surface of the pavement and damaging the aggregate base. Greying pavement should be sealcoated for protection against environmental damage and to restore the appearance of the surface. If you notice standing water on your lot, it is likely due to drainage problems and will need a more extensive assessment to determine the appropriate solution.

Other issues like alligator cracking, crumbling, and raveling (disintegration of the surface) may require more extensive asphalt repairs and should be assessed by a professional as well.  

Getting a Cost Estimate for the Required Asphalt Repairs

If you determine your parking lot is in need of attention, your next step is to reach out to an asphalt contractor for a consultation and a repair estimate. The actual cost of your ongoing asphalt maintenance and repair will depend on several factors, including:

  • The size of your parking lot
  • The thickness of your asphalt pavement
  • The length and width of any cracks that must be sealed
  • The length of time since the pavement was last sealcoated
  • The volume of traffic your lot routinely handles

Budgeting for Long-Term Asphalt Maintenance

Once you’ve addressed your parking lot’s immediate concerns, it’s time to think long term. If you don’t already have a maintenance plan outlined, you’ll want to create a long-term budget for the following asphalt repairs:

  • Sealcoating at 3- to 7-year intervals
  • Crack Sealing at 2- to 3-year intervals
  • Patching fatigue cracking and/or potholes whenever they appear
  • Patching potholes whenever they appear
  • Milling and asphalt overlay at 8- to 12-year intervals

It’s important to keep in mind that in some cases, asphalt repairs aren’t always the best solution for correcting certain types of damage and deterioration. Depending on the condition of your pavement, patching and filling may be nothing more than temporary bandaids that encourage an underlying problem to grow worse.

Though these relatively simple repairs may be cheaper in the short run, repeatedly slapping a bandaid on an underlying problem will inevitably cost you more in the long run.

If your parking lot seems to develop potholes or cracks frequently, it’s in your best interest to have an asphalt contractor determine the underlying cause(s) of these issues. That way, you can minimize the likelihood of suffering further damage that will necessitate much more expensive future repairs. 

Schedule a Free Pavement Consultation With Bituminous Roadways

Does your church parking lot need help? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team at Bituminous Roadways to set up a free asphalt consultation. For more than 75 years, we’ve been the Twin Cities’ most trusted asphalt paving contractors, and our expert team can help you ensure your parking lot lasts as long as possible.

To get started or learn more about how we can help you, feel free to give us a call today at 651-686-7001 or request a consultation online, and we’ll be in touch!