What to Ask Before Hiring a Sealcoating Contractor
Sealcoating is an essential part of an effective asphalt maintenance program. When mixed and applied correctly, sealants help protect asphalt pavements from the sun, traffic, and automotive fluids. If the mix or the application is incorrect, paying to have your pavement sealed can be a waste of your money. Therefore, it is critical to make sure that you hire a knowledgeable, experienced, reputable sealcoating contractor. When interviewing potential contractors, there are a few questions you should ask before you sign a contract.
How Long Have You Been in Business Under Your Current Company Name?
Sealcoating requires training and experience. However, a contractor with 20 years of experience may have gained that experience by opening and closing 10 different companies. There may be valid reasons for a highly experienced contractor only to have been operating under his current company name for a few months. Perhaps most of his experience came as an employee of other asphalt contractors. However, suppose he has burned through a number of company names. In that case, it could indicate that the frequent changes were due to the poor quality of his work that repeatedly destroyed his company’s reputation.
How Many Experiences Do You Have With Similar Projects?
You want a contractor who has performed many sealcoating jobs that are similar to yours. Parking lot sealcoating jobs, for example, are not the same as sealcoating a suburban driveway. To sealcoat a large parking lot, the contractor may have to break the work into phases, deal with demanding traffic control issues, or apply parking lot striping after sealing the pavement. A simple driveway job does not require these skills.
How Much Work Have You Performed in Las Vegas?
There are some differences between asphalt sealcoating Las Vegas parking lots and sealcoating parking lots in states with temperatures that seldom exceed 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Local sealcoating professionals know that they must take special precautions when temperatures break into the 90s.
Are You Fully Insured?
Any contractor working on your site should have workers’ compensation, vehicle liability, and general liability insurance. This protects you if one of his employees is injured on your property, crashes into a customer’s car, or gets sealant on your wall, building, or sidewalk.
Do You Use Sand in Your Sealcoating Mix? If You Do, What Is the Amount?
Unscrupulous asphalt maintenance contractors sometimes tell customers that sand is not needed in a sealcoating mix. Sand improves traction, reduces glare, and helps sealants last longer. However, too much sand can be a problem. The exact amount depends on the type of sealant and other factors, but it should not exceed three or four pounds of sand for every gallon of liquid sealant.
Do I Need to Repair Cracks First?
If cracks in your pavement are more than just hairline flaws, they must be repaired before sealcoating. The sealant will simply flow into the crack and be wasted. If the contractor you are considering does not understand the need for asphalt crack repair before sealcoating, you should move on.
How Will You Apply the Sealcoating?
There are several methods of applying sealants, including sprayers, squeegees, and brooms. When performing parking lot sealcoating, most contractors use multiple methods. For example, they may use a brush or squeegee to apply the sealant in areas that a sprayer cannot safely be used without the risk of overspray. Be wary of a contractor who plans to sealcoat your entire lot with just squeegees or brooms; however, this would be a time-consuming process.
How Will You Protect Against Overspray?
Overspray is the unintentional application of a sealant where it does not belong. You do not want sealcoating on your landscaping, vehicles parked or passing near the work area, your structure, or anywhere other than your pavement. There are several ways to guard against overspray, including blocker boards and manually applying sealants in troublesome areas.
How Will You Clean the Pavement?
A successful sealcoating job starts with clean pavement. Sand, debris, and automotive fluids need to be removed, and it may be necessary to apply a primer to areas with automotive fluids after they have been cleaned as thoroughly as possible. The typical method uses a powerful air blower and a broom with wire bristles. It may take more than one pass to get the pavement sufficiently clean.
Will You Itemize Your Quote?
Before you decide, you need to know the brand of sealant to be used, how many gallons will be required, the number of coats to be applied, the mix design, the application method, and the total square footage to be sealed. Labor costs should be listed separately, and any incidental charges should be clearly stated. If the contractor can not itemize his quote, you might want to eliminate him from your consideration.
What Type of Mixer Will You Use?
It may be hard to believe, but there are some contractors who mix their sealants in 55-gallon drums. Since a gallon of sealcoating covers an average of 50 square feet, professional contractors use much larger mixers to hold their liquid sealcoating. Furthermore, their mixers will keep the sealcoating agitated to prevent the sand from falling out of suspension.
If You Want to Simplify Matters, Contact Affordable Striping & Sealing
When you hire us to handle your sealcoating in Las Vegas, you get a highly respected, experienced asphalt company with a reputation for exemplary work, superior service, and integrity. We have been helping clients throughout the Las Vegas metropolitan area with their pavement maintenance since 2006. Our services include parking lot layout, asphalt sealcoating, traffic sign installation, asphalt crack repair, parking lot striping, bumper block installation, and road markings. We would be happy to provide you with a free quote. Simply submit our request form online or call our office at 702-222-9009.
