Parking Lot Sealcoating Options for Commercial Lots
Two-coat sealing with sand
A lot gets more wear than a driveway, so the spec is heavier. Sealer makers call for two coats, with the first allowed to dry fully before the second goes on, and clean silica sand in the mix for traction and wear. Where cars turn and brake all day, a third coat is common.
- Coats: 2, with a third on entrances, exits and drive lanes.
- Sand: clean silica sand in every coat. It gives tires and shoes grip, which matters on a lot people walk across.
- Traffic back on: 24 hours after the last coat.
A single thin coat sprayed on to hit a low price is the bid to question. Ask how many coats are included and whether the price assumes sand.
Phased sealing for businesses that stay open
Since each section has to stay closed for a day after its last coat, a store, clinic or office that can't shut down gets sealed in pieces. The usual approach splits the lot in halves or thirds, keeps one entrance open, and seals the far rows first. Ask whether the price changes with the number of phases. Tell the contractor your busiest days so the closed section never lands on them, and ask for a phasing map with the bid.
Apartment and condo lots
Residential lots are the hardest to empty, since cars sit there overnight. The workable plan is one building's stalls at a time, with those residents told in writing ahead of time where to park instead. Carports and covered stalls need the crew to work around posts by hand. Ask whether the bid includes towing coordination and who prints and posts the notices, because a car left in a wet section stops the job.
Crack fill before and restripe after
Sealer covers the old paint, so every sealed lot needs striping again, and open cracks should be filled before any sealer goes down. Preparation guides list the order as clean, patch, fill cracks, treat oil and grease spots, then seal. In practice the bid has three parts:
- Crack fill: first, so sealer doesn't bridge an open crack. The method and per-foot cost are on crack sealing.
- Seal: two coats with sand, as above.
- Restripe: after the last coat has cured. Stall counts, ADA spaces and paint prices are on parking lot striping.
Why St. George homeowners and property managers call St. George Asphalt Co.
- The estimate costs you nothing and commits you to nothing
- Ask for thickness, base depth and tear-out on the written bid
- Your job goes to one paving contractor, never a lead auction
- Property owners pay nothing for the introduction
Lot Sealcoating Timing and Weather in St. George
Sealer has its own weather rules, separate from paving. The manufacturer guidance is 50°F and rising for a full 24 hours, and no rain expected within 24 hours of application. In St. George that rules out a lot of winter mornings, when lows drop to freezing more often than visitors expect (crack sealing has the count of freezing nights). It also makes summer afternoons risky, because monsoon storms can roll in fast (driveway drainage covers the rain pattern). Spring and fall give the widest window, which is also when every property manager wants the work done, so call early.
Two local details matter more than the calendar:
Washout and runoff
The City of St. George lists oil, paint, sediment-laden water and similar materials as illicit discharges that may not enter a storm drain. Ask how the crew keeps sealer, rinse water and swept grit out of the inlets on your lot.New asphalt
Freshly paved lots need time to cure before the first seal. That wait, and the sealer types, are on asphalt sealcoating.
What a Parking Lot Sealcoating Bid Should List
Area
Square footage measured on site, not guessed from stall count.Coats and sand
Number of coats, where the third coat goes, and that sand is in the mix.Prep
Sweeping or blowing, oil-spot treatment, and crack fill priced per linear foot or as a lump sum.Phasing
Which sections close on which days, and how many hours each stays closed.Striping
Restripe of the existing layout, or a new layout, as its own line.License
Check the license number on the bid against Utah DOPL's records before signing.
Sealer is a surface coat. When the lot is already breaking into potholes or alligator cracks, those need repair first.
See parking lot repair when the lot needs patching or a resurface before it's worth sealing.