Rolling the Dice on Late-season Sealcoating

by Allan Heydorn
Created: March 8, 2013

Atlanta’s Asphalt Enterprises sealcoats a parking lot to help a loyal customer qualify for BOMA award

A blocker board is used on first and second coats to protect curbing, concrete and vegetation.
A blocker board is used on first and second coats to protect curbing, concrete and vegetation.
Asphalt Enterprises Owner Gerry Signs says the Georgia 400 Center's pavement was well maintained to begin with. “That helped us a lot because we didn’t have to spend that much time preparing the...
Asphalt Enterprises Owner Gerry Signs says the Georgia 400 Center's pavement was well maintained to begin with. “That helped us a lot because we didn’t have to spend that much time preparing the pavement for the sealer.”
A bead of sealer along the curb provides material for edging.
A bead of sealer along the curb provides material for edging.
A bird's-eye view of one of the completed parking areas.
A bird's-eye view of one of the completed parking areas.
“We’re very hands-on, and our customers appreciate that,” says Gerry Signs, owner. “One guy handles a job from beginning to end so with us it’s clear that they need to call only one...
“We’re very hands-on, and our customers appreciate that,” says Gerry Signs, owner. “One guy handles a job from beginning to end so with us it’s clear that they need to call only one person if they have a question and they know who that person is.”
“This was a six-day job that we could have done in four days in the middle of the summer when days are longer and the weather is hotter,” says Gerry Signs.
“This was a six-day job that we could have done in four days in the middle of the summer when days are longer and the weather is hotter,” says Gerry Signs.
Owner Gerry Signs says that despite the weather the crews were able to complete sealcoating areas quickly enough so there was enough time for the sealer to dry between coats.
Owner Gerry Signs says that despite the weather the crews were able to complete sealcoating areas quickly enough so there was enough time for the sealer to dry between coats.
The property even provided an opportunity for striping and placement of handicap stalls along a curve.
The property even provided an opportunity for striping and placement of handicap stalls along a curve.
Asphalt Enterprises tackled this job with two 5-person sealcoating crews using a 1500-gal. Neal spray unit and a 550-gal. Neal spray unit. GemSeal dropped a 4,000-gal. tanker on the site to provide...
Asphalt Enterprises tackled this job with two 5-person sealcoating crews using a 1500-gal. Neal spray unit and a 550-gal. Neal spray unit. GemSeal dropped a 4,000-gal. tanker on the site to provide easier access to material.
Applying the second coat of sealer.
Applying the second coat of sealer.
Applying the finishing touch to one of the Georgia 400 Center's parking lots.
Applying the finishing touch to one of the Georgia 400 Center's parking lots.
Asphalt Enterprises developed this project map and timeline based on conversations with the client.
Asphalt Enterprises developed this project map and timeline based on conversations with the client.

“So we had to break it down,” he says. “We made arrangements with the property manager, and we were able to work on smaller sections on Monday, Tuesday and Friday even though the property was open and busy. The other sections we did on the weekends.”

Capabilities & Profitability

Once he has insight from the property manager he can begin to formulate a way to get the job done. He starts by factoring in the number of gallons of sealer his crews can apply in a day conveniently and to be profitable.

“You have to know the capabilities of your crew,” he says. “How many gallons can they put down in a day and is that enough for us to make a profit? Can they make the adjustments needed to get this job done in this time frame? Can they adapt to the schedule we need to put together to have us working in several locations? Luckily I know we have such great experienced manpower we can get a job like this done under the deadline and with all the time and temperature restrictions.

“Our production capabilities are based on past experience because we know how much we can put down in a day,” he says. “We are very willing to work with customers around their needs and schedule but we make sure the customer understands that we have to be profitable, too. That means we have to be able to get a certain amount of work done every day, every time we are out on the jobsite. We explained that we’re a business and we need to make money, which means we have to keep our production rate at a high level. At the same time we want to be sensitive to their needs and their concerns.”

Sealcoating on the job

The Asphalt Enterprises crew eventually got onto the property Oct. 29 and completed all 365 sq. yds. of traditional remove-and-replace patching in one day using two Bobcat skid steers. The following week the crews sealed all 25,000 linear feet of cracks with two people blowing the cracks clean and three people following behind with walk-behind kettles.

“Here in Georgia you really don’t get the large cracks people get up north because winter is not as harsh,” Signs says. “We sub out cracksealing on really big jobs or if there are really deep cracks, but the small units are really good for the types of cracks we usually deal with.”

Signs says Asphalt Enterprises is GemSeal’s highest-volume applicator in the Atlanta area, applying both the federal spec GemSeal material and the higher-grade PolyTar. “Every job is a little different and when we bid jobs we like to give the customer alternatives,” Signs says. “We offer applications of two spray coats or one spray and one squeegee, and an upgrade option in sealer.” He says the two-coat squeegee/spray option has become more popular over the last five years because of the thicker coverage with squeegee over spray.

For this job Asphalt Enterprises’ crew applied 14,000 gallons of finished GemSeal federally specified material using a conventional two-spray coat system (first coat at .12 gal./sq. yd.; second coat at .08/sq. yd.) to produce a nice cosmetic coating to brighten up the property. “It had been sealcoated before so a squeegee/spray approach really wasn‘t necessary.” Signs says. “We got really good coverage with two spray coats.”

One of the first decisions Signs made was to have supplier GemSeal drop a 4,000-gal. tank of uncut material at the jobsite (sand and latex were added into the sealcoating applicators on the site). “Anytime we can and where it makes sense we get a tanker dropped,” Signs says. “It’s a good idea on any job.”

Signs surveyed the parking lot looking to find “the most far-out place in the parking lot, away from everything and that hopefully would be the last area they sealcoated. Usually we just try to find an isolated place to drop the tank but also we need a place where we can have good and easy access to it so we don’t have to drive too far to get to it to refill tanks.”

Then once they started sealcoating crews arrived early to clean the pavement. “It’s a very high-profile property and the owners keep it swept clean. There was very little debris on it,” he says. “The only thing we really had to do because it was fall was to blow off the leaves.”