What is asphalt bleeding and how does it affect your parking lot?
Asphalt bleeding is a film of asphalt binder that causes a shiny, glass-like reflection on the surface of your asphalt pavement. It occurs when asphalt bits break through the sealcoating of your pavement and accumulate on the surface.
Also known as flushing, bleeding creates an oil-like appearance on the surface of the asphalt. Asphalt bleeding causes loss of skid resistance, especially when wet. This creates an increased potential for accidents in your parking lot. Asphalt bleeding allows moisture through the sealcoating, further destroying your parking lot.
Causes of Asphalt Bleeding
The effects of flushing on your parking lot depend on the cause of bleeding. Flushing is a major issue that needs to be addressed by professional parking lot contractors as soon as possible.
Bleeding can start after the onset of a heatwave. Asphalt paving has varying strengths that allow it to withstand harsh environmental conditions. However, when the weather becomes too extreme, asphalt can begin to “bleed.”
Faulty binder is another culprit of parking lot bleeding. The use of the wrong adhesive or faulty application of the adhesive can result in damage. Either way, the surface of the parking lot fails to hold.
Other possible causes of bleeding can be:
- Breakdown of asphalt chips
- Use of the wrong asphalt sealant, design, or construction
- Embedment of chips into the soft substrate of the paving
- Layer instability
- Rise of binder due to moisture
- Lack of sufficient time for pre-seal repairs to cure
Bleeding Remedies
Once you note bleeding in your parking lot, you need to schedule asphalt repair services. Professional contractors will repair parking lot asphalt and eliminate the impact of bleeding. The measures used depends on the intensity of bleeding.
Use of Sandwich Seals
This flushing treatment option is best when the problem is as a result of the instability of seal layers. Sandwich seals help absorb the excess binder on your paving, hence improving the stone binder ratio. The seals achieve this by incorporating excess binder in the voids left during construction.
Sealing Chip Application
This is an affordable form of asphalt bleeding treatment that involves the application of sealing chip on the flushed areas. The treatment increases chip content on the affected areas and can use various chip processes, including:
- Hot chip- the chip is heated to temperatures above 100 degrees when applying it to the bleeding areas. If your asphalt binder is aged, the asphalt patching and repair team uses a cutter to improve the adhesion before hot chip application.
- Dry chip- this asphalt bleeding treatment is best when the weather is hot to help increase the chip adhesion.
- Pre-coated chip- in this case, bitumen or diesel is used as an adhesion agent for the chip.
- Hot pre-coated chip- this is the best flushing treatment option as it strengthens the binder and the chip.
Water Cutting
This method removes excess binder from the flushed areas using high-pressure water. Water cutting helps restore the texture of your asphalt paving but doesn’t improve the skid resistance. When performing this asphalt repair exercise, the following precautions are essential:
- Avoid water cutting on first coat seals as this may result in the base course and chip-seal damage.
- Avoid water cutting when there’re visible fatigue cracks on your parking lot as that will push water into the pavement, causing further damage.
- Use water cutting as a temporary asphalt bleeding treatment as you look for a permanent solution.
Work with PLS to Control Asphalt Bleeding
The effects of asphalt bleeding are not only unsightly but can lead to parking lot accidents. However, you can prevent any asphalt bleeding issues from occurring by working with a professional asphalt patching and repair contractor. Parking Lot Services in Tampa (PLS) provides a wide range of parking lot maintenance services. Contact our team today to schedule a no-cost consultation for parking lot services in Tampa Bay.