Picking an asphalt company for your commercial needs can be somewhat complicated. If you’ve never had to pave or re-pave your drive or parking lot before, you might not know who to trust. Asphalt is actually a lot more complex than people realize; if you’re looking for a paving company, then you’ve definitely realized how difficult it can be. The difficulty comes about because so many companies claim to be qualified companies when they are in fact just people who have a truck. Here are a few tips for telling the difference between a great asphalt paving company in Jacksonville and just some folks with a truck.
Past Contracts
In the paving world, someone is only as good as the contracts they’ve completed in the past. They are the best way to get experience, hire skilled workers, and build a good rapport with customers. In that world, government contracts are considered some of the most prestigious jobs you could find. Commercial paving is all well and good, but it’s nothing like a government contract. Commercial paving tends to involve driveways and parking lots. They’re incredibly important, but public thoroughfares are much more important. When you are contracted to pave a road or highway, you have to have an incredible understanding of the different kinds of asphalt. As the company paving a public road, you are responsible for keeping thousands of people safe day to day as they travel to and from work and school. That’s an incredible amount of responsibility and only the best are given that respect.
The Different Kinds of Asphalt
There are basically three kinds of asphalt: asphalt cement, emulsified asphalt, and cutback asphalt. A great asphalt paving company is going to have all three kinds at its disposal and the knowledge of when to use it. Emulsified asphalt is asphalt suspended in water with an emulsifying agent. The agent electrically charges the asphalt so that it cements. Cutback asphalt is simpler; it is just asphalt that has been dissolved in liquid petroleum. This allows it to be used at lower temperatures. Emulsified asphalt sets when all the water evaporates. Cutback asphalt is cured when all of the solvent has evaporated. Cutback asphalt is more expensive than emulsified asphalt but each one has its benefits. The temperature outside is a huge factor in which type of asphalt is going to be right for each job.
You should make sure that when you’re looking for an asphalt paving company, you’re picking a company that fits the bill. That means you need a company that has worked big government contracts. You should also look for a company that has worked many different kinds of jobs, so you can know they have experience with all of the different kinds of asphalt.
