What your business looks like from the outside says a lot about how it operates internally. It might not always be wise to judge a book by its cover, but if a parking lot is faded, bumpy, cracked, and filled with holes, its surrounding buildings won’t exactly win anyone over. More importantly, a dilapidated parking lot presents a danger to the vehicle operators and pedestrians who regularly occupy this space. As such, restoring your corporate office building’s parking lot should be a top priority.
Considering the size and activity of these parking lots, however, paving, repairs, and reconstruction projects can be difficult to pull off properly. Asphalt milling offers a practical and cost-effective solution for many facility managers – this process involves removing the top layer of deteriorated asphalt and installing fresh pavement over the new, solid foundation. Though this process isn’t as involved as a full-depth reconstruction, it still takes time and therefore requires careful planning to minimize downtime and maximize longevity.
Let’s go over the best ways to plan corporate building parking lot milling projects so your business remains operational, safe, and appealing.
Best Ways to Plan Corporate Building Parking Lot Milling Projects
Determine Your Project’s Scope
Your first order of business is ironing out the project details. Every parking lot paving, repair, resurfacing, and milling job is unique, after all. Depending on your parking lot’s traffic flow and severity of damage, certain areas might require more attention than others – rather than mill the entire lot, it might be more prudent to focus on these particular sections. The size of your parking lot will also determine how long the project will take. All of these details will ultimately play into the project’s total cost, which you’ll need to know in order to properly budget. Speaking of cost, opting for the best quality pavement repair will come at a premium. These short-term costs might reach or exceed your budget’s upper limits, but keep in mind that better results yield long-term savings.
Take Traffic into Account
Once you’ve got a rough idea of what the project will cost, how long it will take, and what it entails, you must find the optimal time to get the job done. Some corporate office parks operate 24/7, offering little (if any) downtime aside from major holidays. Even if your parking lot remains active most of the time, certain intervals are bound to be busier than others – it’s best to schedule parking lot repair and milling services around these high-traffic periods so contractors can work without interfering too heavily with personnel and other occupants. In many cases, the best time to tackle a project like asphalt milling is overnight, over weekends, and/or over holidays. If a building must remain active, try to offer nearby off-site parking for workers and customers to keep the work area clear. It’s also wise to tackle the project in sections so certain parts of your parking lot stay open throughout the project.
Maintain Strong Communication with Personnel and Customers
In order to pull off the elements of planning mentioned above, you’ll need to work with an experienced and flexible commercial paving contractor. Beyond these attributes, your contractor must also be a solid communicator. Situations change all the time, especially during larger projects like corporate building parking lot milling. If you’re not on the same page as your asphalt contractors, many things can go wrong, wasting everyone’s precious time and money. Make sure occupants are well aware of the planned asphalt work in advance with visible signage, memos, and other communications. If temporary parking is available, make it as easy as possible for workers and customers to figure out where to go. This ongoing communication will boost project efficiency, increase safety outcomes, and ensure the best possible results.
Proper Planning is Half the Battle
Milling offers an efficient method for restoring your parking lot. Putting in the proper planning will ensure that you wind up with the best results for your New England corporate offices. Cassidy Paving has plenty of experience working on larger commercial asphalt projects such as these. Call us today at 866-978-9788 for a free estimate on your next asphalt project.
