As a property owner, you might have noticed cracks on your driveway, roads, and parking lots’ surfaces. This can happen for several reasons, including using low-grade construction material, severe weather conditions, improper drainage, and constant heavy traffic on the surface. These cracks are called asphalt raveling, through which debris and water can reach the foundation. This article is a complete guide by Asphalt Contractor in Denver for explaining this issue.
An Introduction to Asphalt Raveling
As explained at the beginning, raveling is a minor crack that can cause pavement deterioration if left unnoticed for a long time. This asphalt issue can lead to foundation damage, broken pieces, and potholes formation. A weakened pavement can cause costly repairs, water damage, and skid risk. But this problem and its consequences can be avoided if you address it earlier.
What Leads to Its Causes?
This issue can occur individually, or several causes can happen simultaneously. Awareness of what aspects trigger this issue is vital to ensure effective solutions are suggested, and preventive measures can be taken.
1. Traffic Loads are Responsible
If there is asphalt laid in areas that have heavy traffic, then there is a possibility that the surface experiences raveling. This issue commonly occurs on driveways and roads where trucks and other heavy vehicles travel more often. Our expert contractors explain that the pressure from the vehicle’s weight accelerates and weakens the surface deterioration.
2. Influence of Climate and Weather Conditions
Another important reason for asphalt raveling is the extreme weather conditions in Denver, Colorado. Denver can experience harsh weather, including severe thunderstorms, high temperatures, snow, tornadoes, land spouts, and hailstorms. These extreme climates can cause this issue and can be a factor that increases the damage.
3. Role of Poor Construction Practices
Sometimes, inexperienced asphalt contractors don’t follow the proper construction practices, which causes cracks to appear on parking lots, roads, and driveways. These practices include incorrect combination of asphalt mixture, not laying the right depth, not letting the mixture dry after laying, and being laid at the wrong temperature.
4. Impact of Aging and Oxidation
As time goes by, aging and oxidation can notably impact the surface. Exposure to oxygen and UV radiation can make the binder in the asphalt brittle. These factors deteriorate the pavement and cause raveling.
Signs and Symptoms of Raveling
The following are the symptoms of this asphalt issue.
- The presence of loose gravel particles on the surfaces.
- The surface will become rough and uneven.
- The area will become prone to skid because of decreased traction, which poses safety risks.
- These minor cracks can develop into potholes.
- Water can accumulate in the cracks and potholes because of improper drainage.
Preventive Measures for Raveling
On several occasions, preventive measures were effective and lowered the possibility of untimely repairs. You can know the potential triggers in advance and address the causes accordingly. Clients can take the following preventive measures.
1. Regular Inspection and Maintenance
You can hire a contractor to schedule an inspection to identify early signs of raveling. Be quick to fill up the cracks and potholes to prevent further deterioration. Proper filling is optional. In such situations, overlay or resurfacing can be the solution.
2. Quality Construction Practices
Experienced contractors will always ensure proper construction practices are adopted. They will also ensure that their staff follows industry guidelines set by safety organizations.
3. Importance of Adequate Drainage
Taking care of the water drainage is also an important preventive measure. An effective drainage system will prevent water buildup.
How to Fix This Asphalt Problem?
You will find several contractors like us who are experienced in fixing asphalt raveling. The repair process involves the following steps;
- First, the affected area is cleaned by removing loose material.
- The contractor will fill the cracks and holes with suitable materials.
- Keeping the asphalt surfaces clean and repaired is also important to ensure safe road conditions.
This article provides the best guide to property owners who face asphalt raveling issues by focusing on its causes, signs of damage, preventive measures, and the process to fix it. But for paving contractors in Denver – whether they specialize in asphalt or concrete – proper maintenance is key to ensuring those smooth paths and driveways stand the test of time. You can visit our website to contact our contractors to know more about why Asphalt Raveling repair is necessary?
Here are three questions to further enhance the asphalt raveling concept.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is surface raveling?
The asphalt raveling contractors take several steps to fix this issue. First, the area should be cleaned of all debris and junk. The staff then removes the loose surface and prepares the surface for asphalt application.
What causes raveling in the pavement?
Several reasons, including extreme weather conditions, improper construction practices, aging, heavy traffic, and oxidation, can cause raveling.
What is asphalt failure?
Asphalt failure is defined as the degeneration of asphalt surfaces. This deterioration can be caused by pothole formation, raveling, rutting, and cracking. This failure can negatively affect the structural strength of the surface.
