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These all too common pests can be the result of poor drainage, pipe failure, insufficient asphalt depth or base, or a lack of proper maintenance. Not only are these bowl-shaped holes of various sizes unsightly, they are also a liability – risking damage to vehicles and creating a trip hazard to pedestrians.

Gas and Oil Stains are unavoidable in most parking areas. The high volume of parked vehicles all but guarantees that at some point your asphalt will fall victim to an unsightly stain. The problem is much bigger than simply being unsightly, however. Oil and gasoline can destroy your parking lot. The liquid corrodes the very chemical make-up of the asphalt, resulting in potholes and weak spots.

Also referred to as birdbaths, these localized low areas are limited in size and often indicated by standing water. Generally speaking, these are caused by heavier traffic than the original pavement design intended, weak spots in the base material, or localized subsurface drainage issues.

Corrugation or rutting is a fairly regular pattern of wave-like bumps across your pavement surface. This can be caused by instability in the asphalt or asphalt base, or by the presence of heavier traffic than the original pavement design intended. For instance, the regular traffic from waste management vehicles pulling in and out often causes the asphalt to shove or push up into ruts.

To understand cracking, one must understand asphalt. A good analogy would be to think of asphalt as icing on a cake. The icing is only as good as the cake it sits on. Similarly with asphalt, it’s only as good as the base it sits on. Most cracks are formed from underneath the asphalt and reflect up through the asphalt. Understand there are more variables that go into the equation – such as water, oxidation and traffic. By nature, asphalt is designed to be a flexible pavement. This makes it more forgiving than concrete. When asphalt is new, it is able to handle slight movements in the base, such as settling, but as asphalt ages from exposure to water, the sun and other elements, it begins to lose its flexibility, becoming brittle. Instead of giving in unstable areas, it is more likely to crack.

A series of interconnecting cracks spread over a portion of your pavement in a pattern resembling the skin of an alligator. They are caused by soft base or a high presence of moisture in the base. This is the most severe cracking and can create the most problems, costing the most money if not fixed.

This is composed of numerous long cracks spaced evenly apart that run parallel or perpendicular to one another. This is typically caused by a rigid base material underneath the asphalt.