Ever wonder why water doesn’t seem to collect on a flat road? Or in a parking lot? Or on a driveway? Standing water can be a damaging element to paved surfaces, so it’s very important to choose a paving company that understands drainage and why it’s a necessity.
Whether it’s rain or a sprinkler system, water that sits on a paved surface frequently or for a long period of time can damage the chemicals in the pavement. These chemicals are what make the material strong and if they’re damaged, the pavement will start to crack and weaken (see our blog on how potholes are formed).
Standing water can be eliminated from paved surfaces by using a technique called “sloping.” When we design a solid paved surface like a driveway or a parking lot, we design it so that its sides slope downward at least one percent (though we recommend 2-5 percent). This allows water to flow off of the pavement and into an area of lower elevation. Sloping is a necessary step for keeping your pavement strong and beautiful.
Sloping is why you don’t see water puddling up on the roads you drive or collecting in the middle of the parking lot you frequent. And while standing water is a hazard to pavement, it can also be a hazard to cars and pedestrians, so if you own a business with a parking lot, make sure your pavement is accurately sloped.
We know that unless it’s raining, it may be hard to determine whether your parking lot or driveway has areas that collect water, so give us a call and let us come take a look. If we find concave areas that are problematic, we can call on our asphalt patching repair crew to patch them up quickly and make sure water runs off properly.
