Last week during the 2014 Hawaii Buildings, Facilities & Property Management Expo, GP Maintenance Solutions Manager Cole Millare gave a seminar on asphalt repair and maintenance that answered questions such as:

• what asphalt is made of
• what are the main causes of asphalt damage in Hawaii
• what asphalt repair and maintenance options you have
• which options are DIY versus what options require hiring a contractor 

If you could not attend the seminar, or just need a refresher, we've got a couple of options for you. You can view and download the powerpoint presentation from slideshare.net, or you can watch a recorded copy of the entire seminar below. Either way, we hope you'll check out our seminar!

Pressed for time? Skip to the time frame to view your topic of choice:

00:00-06:07- what asphalt is made of

06:07-10:05- the main causes of asphalt damage in Hawaii

10:05-21:00- asphalt repair and maintenance tasks, DIY vs hiring a contractor

21:00-33:24- Q&A

Overview of Highlights

What is asphalt made of? Asphalt is a mixture of rock, sand, aggregates, and liquid asphalt/binder. The liquid asphalt holds the rock, sand, and aggregates together. Asphalt pavements are meant to be flexible, so the surface receives load and distributes to it the sub-structures: basecourse, sub-base, and subgrade.

The main causes of asphalt damage are:

1. UV Rays- break down your asphalt binder, causing the rocks, sand, and aggregates to loosen up and rise to the surface of your pavement.

2. Oxidation- causes your asphalt to become brittle. You can tell your asphalt is being oxidized by the color of the pavement. Newer pavements will be black, while oxidized pavements will be gray/brown.

3. Water Penetration- if water gets down to your base or sub-base, your asphalt becomes more prone to cracks and depression in your pavement.

4. Traffic Loading- heavy vehicle loads (like garbage trucks) put a lot of stress on your asphalt, and if your pavement is already oxidized and brittle, a large load will cause cracks.

5. Oil Stains- oil degrades asphalt; softening it and weakening the pavement's ability to support traffic load.

Asphalt Repair & Maintenance: DIY vs Hiring a Contractor

The table above summarizes the DIY options vs hiring a contractor for each repair or maintenance task. Cole does a great job explaining each task and how DIY options compare to hiring a contractor. If you're unable to watch the video, take a look at the slides for some general information. 

Travis is the Marketing Coordinator for GP Roadway Solutions and its divisions GP Maintenance Solutions, Peterson Sign Company, and Unistrut Hawaii. Connect with Travis on LinkedIn.