Potholes are one of the biggest sources of lawsuits because they pose trip hazards and can cause vehicle damage.

Potholes also allow water to penetrate your parking lot, which will eventually deteriorate the base of your parking lot. Fixing the potholes quickly is important to prevent these problems.

When it comes to potholes problems, it’s far more cost-effective to patch and repair asphalt surfaces than to repave. Have you ever wondered how paving patches works and what to use?  Let’s explain the basic asphalt patching techniques.

Asphalt Patching Techniques

Surface Patching is one of the popular options for residential parking. This option is often suggested for areas that are cracking but not crumbling. During the patching process,asphalt glue is added to the patch area and hot asphalt is applied directly on top of the pre-existing asphalt surface. It is less expensive to do it this way compared to cutting out and replacing asphalt areas.

Although a surface patch will help prevent water from further penetrating the asphalt, it is still a temporary fix, with an estimated lifetime of approximately two years, depending on traffic and use of the area.

Partial Patching grinds off the top 2–3 inches of asphalt, replacing it with new compacted asphalt, and sealing the edges. Partial depth repair is only feasible when the deterioration occurs only in the surface layer of asphalt.

Removal & Replacement Patching is a more permanent and more costly method of repairing deteriorated asphalt.  It requires removing all asphalt in the failing areas all the way to the sub-base. Once the decayed asphalt has been removed, the base should be leveled and compacted. The new fresh asphalt patch is then applied in two layers, both about 1 and a half inches thick, compacting each layer for a more stable, permanent patch.

If more than 25% of your parking area requires this method of repair, you should consider a total replacement or asphalt milling.

Hot vs. Cold Asphalt Patching

• Cold patch, also known as cold mix or cold asphalt, was first recognized as a way to make road repairs quickly because it can be applied right from the container without heating. Cold asphalt also doesn’t require any special heavy rolling machines or special applicators as it can be shoveled or poured into a pothole or utility cut and tamped down with a hand tool. However, cold mix is usually considered as a temporary fix for potholes.

• Hot Asphalt is a long lasting durable product, made from rock, sand, tar & Bitumen. It is extremely hot when it is first applied so that it can fit and be worked into the repair area. As the Hot asphalt cools it hardens and becomes extremely solid. It takes approximately 24 hours for a hot asphalt patch to harden and be safe to drive on. Hot Asphalt is considered as a more permanent solution, but requires skilled workers and it can only be applied in hot summer.