Paving, Preparing, Training

After a long winter, our crews are finally back to work fulltime.  The paving crew has been working at the Oliver's Market on Stony Point Road, and the sealcoat crew is busy getting everything ready to start the season.  It's great to hear the sounds of the trucks, equipment and crew members in the yard again.  We've hit the point where winter projects are wrapping up and new projects are beginning. 

Today we had our OSHA required forklift training.  Here at Stripe 'N' Seal & Aaron Paving we train all of our crew members.  This year we were able to hold the training at our new facility.  Robert Turley with Northbay Lift Truck Certification performed the training and it sounded like the crews had a good time, I'm sure the donuts might have helped!  If you find a need for forklift training, we had a really good experience with Robert and you probably will too!  Check out his website:  http://www.northbaylifttruck.com/

Our very first sealcoat job is on the schedule for this Saturday, weather permitting.  We are planning on sealcoating the playground at a local elementary school.  Hopefully weather will cooperate and we can get things started.  We have nice jobs lined out to start the season and are very excited about what is in store for our company and our clients.

Crew Members Gathering for Forklift Training

Instructor:  Robert Turley

Brad (Paving) preparing the forklift for demonstrations

Brad (Sealing/Striping) and Lloyd (Paving)

Waiting for the demonstration

Jose (Paving), Cameron (Yard), Joe (Paving Foreman) & Dan (Paving) 

Lloyd (Paving) takes a test drive

Whether the weather be good...

If you are lucky enough to live in or around Sonoma County, you know how blessed we have been the last few weeks with this gorgeous spring-like weather. Ok, so right now its rainy and windy but we were blessed for a while there!  This spring like weather kept our phones ringing and our striping crew striping.

Several of our clients have called lately to see if they can get their asphalt sealing (or sealcoating) projects on the schedule.  It's important to know that just because we are having warm days, the weather conditions are still extremely problematic for sealing.  The long, cold nights and less daylight hours make for less than ideal conditions.

To ensure the most attractive and lasting finish, sealcoat should only be applied when conditions are right.  Here are the TOP 5 Conditions that should be met:

1. Asphalt is completely dry
2. No rain is forecast for at least 24 hours after anticipated completion date
3. Ambient temperature is 65 degrees and rising
4. Sealcoated areas can be assured of getting 6-8 hours of direct sun
5. No frost or freezing forecast 24 hours after completion

We understand that our clients are eager to get their asphalt maintenance projects taken care of and we are eager to take care of them.  However, our foremost concern is to do the best job possible the first time. Adhering to these TOP 5 Conditions helps to ensure our clients get the best job possible.  Once April rolls around, the weather conditions will improve and our sealing crews will be back at it full time.  If you are anything like me, you probably are having a hard time coping with the fact that it's mid – February already. Time flies and April is surely just around the corner.

Hand Placement of Sealcoat Material - Sealcoat Placing Machine shown in the background

Put that pothole in timeout!

The other morning as I was driving to work with my daughters, an unexpected pothole came out of nowhere and almost ran me off the road.  I hit that thing so hard that the books my three year old was holding in her lap broke free and hit the back of my seat.  She immediately screamed "WHAT WAS THAT!" I told her, that was a big pothole.  Her reply - "Put that pothole in timeout - he made my books fall and that's not nice!"  That got me thinking - she was right - potholes really aren't nice. 

How exactly do we get these potholes?  As the sun heats up the asphalt it will start to dry out the oils and binders, which hold the asphalt together. When the asphalt reaches a critical level of dryness it becomes less flexible and more brittle.  The weight of the cars driving over the asphalt will cause it to start to crack.  When the rain comes the water enters these little cracks and they begin to fill with water.  The water and continued traffic will cause the cracks to keep getting bigger and bigger.  Once the cracks are just the right size it really doesn’t take much more than the vibration from the traffic to break pieces loose, causing a pothole.

There are many problems potholes can create, other than early morning irritation for a toddler.  Swerving into an adjoining lane or to the shoulder to avoid a pothole can cause a serious accident.  What if someone in that adjoining lane is doing the same thing?  Not to mention the wear and tear on your vehicle.  Potholes can easily damage the underside of your car; destroy your suspension and alignment, wreck your tires etc.  I drove by this same pothole a day later and there parked on the side of the road was a poor stranded motorist with 2 flat driver side tires – these are the same tires I hit the darn pothole with. I wonder what this motorist thinks of potholes about now?

Bottom line – the risk for potholes in parking lots and driveways can be greatly reduced just by performing the right asphalt maintenance at the right time. Sealing your asphalt with an asphalt based sealer can help it retain those important oils and binders, making it much more difficult for Mr. Sun to wreak havoc on it.  If you have a pothole get it fixed as soon as possible or you could be paying for more than a pothole - you could be paying for new tires, an alignment, and higher insurance premiums from an accident.  This particular pothole cost me the incessant questioning of a three year old on why potholes are so mean, maybe you wont be so lucky.

Written by: Shaunda