Expert Advice
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Proper Preparation
The key to success is in the prep By Jeff Winke Effective asphalt sealcoating starts with the preparation. As one contractor said... with sealcoating it is 95% preparation and 5% actual sealing. It is as Benjamin Franklin astutely said: “By failing to prepare, you are...
Family-Owned Piedmont Paving Thrives for 30+ Years
Paver credits LeeBoy and its dealer Ascendum By Jeff Winke Piedmont Paving Inc. based in Kernersville, North Carolina, was established in 1992 by David McGee to provide paving services to the Piedmont Triad region in the north-central part of North Carolina. The...
Crack Sealing
Tips for Success A step-by-step guide By Jeff Winke Cracks are generally not seen as good. Novelists have a way of describing cracks as personal flaws or, at best, a means to allow the positive in -- “the cracks in your heart are there so the light can shine through,”...
Sealcoat Additives, Some Best Practices
Additives add benefits By Jeff Winke Asphalt pavement sealcoats are commonly used for the protection and preservation of off-street asphalt surfaces such as home driveways, parking lots, airports, gas stations, and the like. Additives are specialty chemicals that are...
Key Considerations When Choosing New Products
Compare/contrast before investing By Jeff Winke It is a given that the use of asphalt pavement provides a fast, efficient and economical construction process with unsurpassed versatility. If rehabilitation is required, it can be accomplished quickly with minimal user...
Infrared Pavement Repair
The steps to a durable solution By Jeff Winke Given the options, it is becoming clear that infrared repair may be the best choice for performing critical asphalt pavement repairs that do not need more extensive resurfacing or replacement. It is the process through...
Qualifying Prospective Hires
Selecting employees who can do the job right By Jeff Winke Finding good employees is a challenge, but it is not impossible. Yes, some paving contractors claim that in desperation, they’ll hire anyone, as the idiom says...anyone who can fog a mirror to show they are...
Cracks, Crack Sealing Explained
Causes, culprits, and treatment By Jeff Winke Folklore and myths survive. Walk down a sidewalk or cross the street with a bunch of friends and observe how many avoid stepping on cracks. When asked, they’ll respond that they don’t want to break their momma’s back or...
Get Ready to Start Crack Sealing
By Ade Craig For many regions of the country, freezing winter temperatures keep sealcoating contractors and pavement maintenance professionals cooped up, unable to get out onto the pavement. As temperatures begin to rise, so do the number of calls seeking repair to...
Best Size Sealcoating Machine
Choosing what you need for each size job By Jeff Winke In a perfect world, the sealcoating machine would automatically size and configure itself for the job at hand. Small driveway...BOOM, no problem! Giant residential or industrial complex...POOF, easy peasy! That...
Diversify Into Striping
Adding pavement marking can boost the bottom line By Jeff Winke When talking about the road of life or taking the less-traveled road, one has to wonder is it generally understood that these roads have pavement striping to keep the traveler in the correct safe lane and...
Sealcoat Additives
The smart choice for saving time and money By Jeff Winke In a way, adding additives to pavement sealcoating can be the magic that helps save time and money... at least that is what is said. How does it work? What is the magic? How can sealcoat additives be a smart...
Training Infrared Asphalt Repair Crews
Proper training yields best results By Jeff Winke Construction machines need people. The best and safest results for anything involving machines comes from skilled and knowledgeable operators. This is especially true for asphalt infrared repair crews. Repairing...
Selecting the Best Paver
What to consider By Jeff Winke In quiet moments of reflection, an asphalt paving contractor’s thinking will trip over the central question..... What type of paving machine do I really need? That is a big question. The answer can branch out into many directions, each...
Expand or not
Commercial sweeping is an option By Jeff Winke When he hears the phrase “leaving money on the table” a Midwest paving contractor sees his smooth oak kitchen table with several stacks of Benjamin Franklin hundred dollar bills on it. “I’ve got 25 Benjamins I’ve...
Thinking about Sports Surfaces & Sports Courts?
Considerations before expanding your services By Jeff Winke Imagine creating a multi-sport activity center in a home’s back yard or on the grounds of a community center or school? A sports place or sports court where kids (and adults) can enjoy hours of fun playing...
Best Skill Set for Compaction Machine Operators
Training keeps compactor crew sharp By Jeff Winke The most elemental meaning of the word “compaction,” is the exertion of force on something so that it becomes more dense. In the realm of road construction, compaction is considered one of the most important processes...
Infrared Asphalt Repair
Selling the benefits to pavement owners By Jeff Winke Most encyclopedias and physics books credit Sir William Herschel, the British astronomer, with the discovery of infrared radiation in 1800. He found the first solid evidence that light and infrared are the same...
Crack Sealing Customer Expectations
Gain confidence when outlining the project By Jeff Winke Scan the titles at any comic book store and there are plenty of superheroes -- Superman, Spiderman, Captain America, Wolverine, but none named “Crack Mender” -- the asphalt construction contractor called in to...
Milling Best Practice
Defining good operational practices By Jeff Winke The asphalt milling machine—also known as a cold planer, pavement planer, pavement recycler, or roto-mill—is a construction machine used to remove bituminous pavement or asphalt concrete from roadways and other...
A Small Investment in Crack Sealing Yields a Large Return
Study shows Crack Sealing as Pretreatment Improves other Surface Treatments By Ade Craig Simply put, crack sealing works. Few resources impact society more than roads. Roads supply access to the world and are the arteries through which economies pulse. And like...
Prep for Line Striping
The best practices By Jeff Winke As far as old sayings go there’s the “a tiger cannot change its stripes,” meaning that people are incapable of changing their essential nature. The same saying has been used with zebras -- a zebra cannot change its stripes. And someone...
Keeping Sealcoating Equipment Running Smooth
The steps to take By Jeff Winke Equipment is the heart, life blood, and soul of every paving and construction business. They are critical to success. In some respects they become the extension of the business. And sealcoating machines can be the most important tool...
The Costs & Benefits of Going Green
How to weigh the options By Jeff Winke Probably one of the toughest lessons to learn growing up is delayed gratification. Kids live in the now. The future spans from moments beyond now to eternity. Planning to get something or do something tomorrow is basically an...
