Striping a parking lot is an important job that requires attention to detail and careful planning. When it comes to your customers' safety, it's important to do it right.
Why Quality Parking Lot Striping Matters
If you own a business that has a lot or paved surface, be it a factory, school, store, apartment complex, hospital, or retirement facility, the parking area outside your building serves as an important tool for communication. It's not just about convenience and functionality. The design of parking lots can communicate many things to your customers: Your company's value system, your level of service and comfort, your brand standards, or the geographic location of the building.
This is why it's important to ensure that all lines on a parking lot are straight and painted on a clean surface. A poor striping job can affect the image of your business in more ways than one:
Parking spaces may be too narrow for certain vehicles.
People may have trouble maneuvering through parking lots and locating an available space.
Unclear or faded markings could give rise to disputes between customers and the maintenance staff.
Outsourcing your parking lot striping project to a professional can help ensure that the final product is both functional and aesthetically pleasing.
To produce a high-quality parking lot striping job, you would need advanced skills and experience, the right equipment and supplies, and the ability to correctly identify delimitations between different types of spaces. This could be a challenge for even the most experienced contractor. However, it's not too difficult if you have a sound plan and work as a team with your hired contractor.
Here are 10 best practices for parking lot striping that will help you manage the project successfully.
1) Determine the Number of Lanes Beforehand
It is important to plan out how many lanes you will need before you even start painting. Too many or too few lanes could potentially cause problems with vehicle and pedestrian traffic.
How many cars will be using the parking lot, and at what time of day?
What kind of vehicles will be parking there? Trucks or small cars?
Is the area intended primarily for parking, with limited access to other facilities such as a loading dock?
2) Check the Weather Forecast
The best time to start a parking lot striping project is dry, sunny days with minimal wind. Make sure that the asphalt surface has reached the required temperature before starting.
3) Prepare Your Team
There should be one line painter for each paint machine used during the job. The number of painters on site depends on the size of your parking lot and the specific project requirements.
Before you begin, all painters must put on rubber boots and hard hats to prevent injury from accidents such as slip-and-fall incidents. They should also don protective gear, including waterproof gloves, long pants, long sleeves, and safety glasses with side shields. Workers need to keep hydrated and take regular breaks during this strenuous job.
4) Level the Surface of the Asphalt
You may not be able to see any deformities or rough patches on freshly paved asphalt, but that doesn't mean they are not still there. To ensure that your lines are painted on a smooth surface, proper leveling is a must.
A laser level works by emitting a beam of light that is visible to the human eye and can measure angles, elevation, distance to an object, or height differences between two points. In this case, the contractor will use the device to find out where there are high or low points on the asphalt surface. He will then use a rake and/or screed to level the area by removing excess materials from high points and filling low ones.
5) Use a Guide to Locate Delimitations
The next step is to use special masking tape as a guide for placing parking lines, stall dividers, and handicap spaces. This sets clear boundaries between different types of zones on the parking lot.
Placing these tapes accurately will ensure that your parking lot striping job turns out just the way you want it to, so take care when marking delimitations.
6) Add Markings for Parking Lots Using Permeable Pavement
Some asphalt surfaces are permeable, which means water can seep through them and collect on the surface. In these cases, you will need to make sure that the water is drained properly and your paint will not be washed away by it.
The contractor can insert a drain pipe at regular intervals or use wick drains to draw out accumulated water. You will then have to wait for the permeable asphalt to dry thoroughly before starting the striping project.
7) Use Temporary Concrete Curbs to Separate Spaces
If you do not have concrete curbs in place, temporary ones can be set up using plywood and 2x4 lumber. This guide will help you easily adjust the size of each space so that they are uniform and fit the correct number of cars.
8) Paint the Inside and Outside Lines of Each Space
The first thing to do is to mark out each space with a paint line along the edge of the parking lot. Make sure the tape remains flat as you unroll it. This will ensure that there are no gaps between lines, and your job will be completed faster and more accurately.
9) Paint the Parking Stall Lines
The next step is to mark out each parking stall with a series of lines and dots, with the width and location varying depending on the type of vehicle you will be parking in it. A line painter should be able to do this quickly and evenly, ensuring that your job looks great when it's finished.
10) Mark out the Handicap Spaces
As with the other lines, each handicap space must be properly delimited before it can be painted. Get into the habit of marking them first, then painting over the top of that mark after finishing your entire job. This will ensure that your brush or roller doesn't slip and create an uneven spot on the asphalt.
How Long Does it Take For Paint to Dry?
Once the paint has been applied to the asphalt and allowed some time for it to dry, it's ready to be driven on. The longer you leave it before driving on it, the better; some line painters say that asphalt is ready for parking after three or four hours of drying.
Why Hire a Professional?
You could hire a line painter to do the entire job for you, or just paint your parking lot yourself. However, you will probably end up paying more for the latter option, and it will take longer to complete.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars are lost each year due to accidents caused by potholes, patches in the asphalt, faded lines, missing or misaligned markings on parking lots, and all other issues that can damage vehicles or cause accidents.
It's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to the safety of your customers, employees, and business! A professional parking lot striping contractor will make sure that all your lines are measured out perfectly, marked off correctly, and painted quickly. This ensures that you get a long-lasting, well-painted parking lot that will last for years to come.
Save time, money, and unnecessary accidents by hiring a qualified contractor to do the job right. If you are considering hiring a contractor to paint your lot, have them give you an estimate, so you can see how much it'll cost before committing to anything! Get your free quote today by contacting Allstar Lot Maintenance at (866) 927-4339.
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