There’s very little out there that changes the appearance of a business or property quite as drastically as the condition of their parking lots. But keeping on top of that parking lot maintenance can be costly! Thankfully there’s a couple tricks to keep the costs of maintaining your parking lot down quite a bit using parking lot stencils. Follow these simple ideas and you’ll have a great looking property for many years to come.
Give The Lot A Once Over
The very first thing we need to do is look at the condition of the lot as it is. What does it look like? Believe it or not, the current condition of your lot makes a huge difference in the cost to get it up and running again. Check the lot for oil spills, stains, and cracks or potholes that need to be repaired first thing. If your lot looks more like a jungle than a parking lot, it’s likely the damage to the lot has reached all the way through the asphalt and has reached the dirt and base beneath. In which case your lot will most likely need to be completely re-paved. Don’t despair too much though! You can still save yourself some money by following these simple steps!
Give Your Parking Lot A Bath
Yeah, We’re serious. Clean that pavement. Clean it good. Remember those stains you were looking for? Yep. All those need to be gone. Thankfully you don’t need to heavily clean your entire parking lot, but all those stains need to come out. Because oil and gas and other penetrants such as biotic residue will work their way into the pores and crevices of the pavement, overtime being absorbed by the pavement itself causing oxidation of the pavement and leaving the pavement weakened and brittle. Furthermore, leaving those oil and gas stains will prevent sealing coats and paint from clinging to your parking lot, reducing the length of time any repairs will last. It’s worth your time.
Cleaning the stains can be a pain in the but sometimes, but they just take a determined soul to get the best of them. The first thing you need to do regardless of what caused the stain is to rinse the area with a standard garden hose. Pushing away all loose residue and remnants of the stain on the surface. Then using a basic household cleaning soap and a stiff brush scrub the area until the stain is removed. You will likely have to rinse the area and scrub again many times to remove the stain.
Apply Sealant
At this point we recommend that you reseal your parking lot to protect it from future spills and damage. Unfortunately Sealing the parking lot is not something very doable without a professional with the proper equipment. Thankfully, with smaller lots it’s not too terribly expensive with the average cost hovering around $1.59 per square foot. The sealant should last anywhere from the next 2 to 3 years protecting your lot from deteriorating throughout that time.
Stripe the Lot
Finally, it’s time to bust out the real cost savings. Whether you’ve decided to go forward with a sealant on your lot or not, the fastest and cheapest way to spruce up your parking lot comes down to giving it a fresh repaint. Paying someone to paint your lot can be expensive, and depending on the state you reside in, may require special permits to do professionally, but if you decide to handle it on your own you can save yourself a real bundle of cash.
All specialty parking lot stencils can be found at most traffic control rental companies. For the most complete selection and best prices we recommend you look at Capitol Barricade. You can order parking lot paint from amazon. You can also get a striping machine from amazon for right around $100. A fraction of the cost of paying someone else to do it! With an evening, and just over $100 you can get your parking lot back to looking brand new. Once you have your parking lot stencils and paint, draw up a plan for your lot and go make it happen!
