In Richmond, just as anywhere else, a good contractor of any type needs good materials, the correct tools and skilled labor plus the ability to be at the job site at the right time and get the job done without undue delay. This is basically what you want when selecting an Asphalt maintenance contractor In Richmond VA.
What Actually Is Asphalt?
It is a simple little word but it seems to have different meanings to different people. Strictly speaking, it is a dark bituminous pitch which can occur naturally or it can be refined from crude oil. Asphalt is used to surface roads, parking lots, airport taxi and runways, etc and also as waterproofing for buildings. Its road use is so widespread that we often refer to the pavement itself as asphalt or blacktop; whereas, strictly speaking we should be saying “asphalt concrete” since our roads are actually paved with layers of bituminous asphalt loaded with solid mineral aggregates which are then compacted and sealed. To the road builders, anything that is mixed with aggregates is a concrete; but, to the layman, we simply drive along the asphalt pavement. In the UK, they refer to their roads as being tarmac even though, these days they do not use tar as such and are no longer produced by the historic macadam method (invented by the Scottish engineer John Loudon McAdam around 1820). There are still some old surviving true tarmac roads in the US today but we (erroneously) use the term to describe the asphalt concrete areas at an airport.
Mix The Concrete, Lay It Down & Then Maintain It
Whatever you call it, these pavements, parking lots and other paved areas, etc will all suffer damage and wear out. The volume and weight of vehicles passing over them combined with weathering and soil movements being the main causes. Asphalt maintenance is the art of regularly inspecting for early signs of trouble and then introducing a system of preventative maintenance to fix things before they can get out of hand.
Whether you are responsible for the condition of public roads or private parking lots; your ideal Asphalt maintenance contractor from Richmond VA will have to have good knowledge of what can go wrong with paved surfaces so that he can readily spot any early warning signs. Then, since there are different types of asphalt itself along with different aggregates and mix ratios he must have access to the correct asphalt products for your individual requirement. Then, he can send in his specialist crew to return your pavement to its pristine condition. Companies such as USAsphalt Maintenance, LLC have many years of experience at this kind of work.