Wisconsin has nearly perfect weather in early fall. Daytime temps in the 70s mean that just about every activity is comfortable. Temperatures in the 50s at night make for great sleeping weather. These gorgeous conditions can almost convince us that it will last forever. But we know it won’t. Whether or not there’s another polar vortex in our future this winter, we know it will get cold. There will be snow and ice. There will be salt and sand. It will be messy. It’s time to think about parking lot maintenance.
As difficult as it is to think about, now is the time to prepare for winter. To make it easier for you, we’ve developed this handy checklist of everything you need to address to protect your parking facility before Wisconsin does what Wisconsin does.
Winter Preparation Checklist
The Autumn list for parking lot maintenance includes:
- Clean your parking lot. Leaves are not as innocent as they seem. Their chemical composition can damage the surface of your concrete or asphalt. In addition, fall leaves that have been compacted and frozen by an early snowfall are a pain to remove. A professional sweeping will clear leaves and debris from places where water needs to flow freely. Then, pressure wash the entire facility for clean, odorless property.
- Inspect thoroughly for damage. Perform repairs on potholes or cracks. If you defer these repairs until the spring thaw, the damage will be greater and more expensive to fix.
- Check your drainage so water doesn’t pool in the lot or run back to the foundation.
- Seal your concrete. Concrete sealing creates a barrier between winter chemicals and salt and your parking surface. By the end of October, seal coating season is just about over, so don’t delay.
- Walk around all your snow plowing routes to ensure that they are unobstructed.
- Evaluate whether or not your pavement markings and signs are clear and easy to see. If not, consider new parking lot striping. A freshly painted lot increases the odds that people will drive and park safely. When large sections of your parking lot are used to store unmelted snow, you need to make sure that the rest of your parking lot can be used properly and efficiently.
- Review all customer and employee access points into your building. wash to make sure that people don’t slip and fall. check for irregularities in the walkway that can cause people to trip.
If you fail to winterize, your costs could easily shift from preventative (which is less expensive) to reparative (which is more expensive).
Start today! The average first frost in southeastern Wisconsin happens in October. That’s now and it means you want to schedule your service within the next few weeks. Before we perform any job for our Milwaukee clientele we map out a detailed plan to ensure that the work is done efficiently and expertly. Call us today at (414) 774-0884 to schedule your winterizing services.
