Parking lots are essential for any business; they offer convenient parking for customers and employees, increasing convenience. On top of that, they have a massive impact on your premises’ curb appeal and, thus, can significantly affect your business’ image. Therefore, you must choose the best parking lot possible if you’re considering a new parking space for your organization. And one of the top decisions you can make is between an asphalt vs concrete parking lot. So, below is everything you need to know when deciding on your new parking lot.
Start by Relocating
One of the top reasons you might be deciding between an asphalt vs concrete parking lot is if your existing parking space is inadequate for your business. And according to The Human Capital Hub, inadequate parking capacity can have several adverse effects, including poor customer and employee experience, increased parking hazards, high overhead costs, and bad business image. Therefore, one of the first things you can do is relocate your premises to another location, where you can find ample space for your new parking lot.
Of course, relocating a business is not simple, and you’ll need several resources to make the move easier. One of these resources is packing services; you may need to hire a commercial packing company to disassemble and pack your sensitive and high-tech office equipment. However, you could also hire residential packing services if your business doesn’t have much in the way of specialized equipment and tools.
Besides packing, moving services are another vital resource you will require when relocating your business. And for a stress-free relocation, you should consider hiring a commercial moving company. You can even find movers who offer unique services like safe & vault removals, machinery relocation, IT equipment removals, etc.
Make the Parking Lot Operations Simpler
Choosing a suitable surface material is a good start when investing in a new parking lot. However, you also need to invest in several other solutions to improve the usability of your parking lot. This is especially true if your car park plays a vital role in your business’s logistical operations.
Investing in automatic doors and gates is an excellent idea to improve your parking lot operations. These can significantly enhance the operations of your car park by making it easier for cars to enter and exit, with minimum manual supervision. And as a bonus, automatic control of the parking lot is an excellent way of enhancing the security of your premises.
Another way to improve the operations of your parking lot is to turn it into a loading dock. This can be especially helpful if you don’t use your parking lot for customers’ or visitors’ cars. So, instead of building extra loading bays, you can quickly load and unload your goods from the vehicles where they’re packed. And you can even improve the logistics further by investing in services like forklift rentals, thus providing the necessary loading and unloading tools.
Depending on your unique business needs, you may have to invest in more solutions when using your parking lot as a loading dock. For example, say you run a Hispanic food distribution business. In this case, you’ll need additional tools like pallet jacks for more effortless loading and unloading of the food supplies. You may also have to invest in solutions like temperature control if dealing with temperature-sensitive food products.
Hire Professionals
Deciding between an asphalt vs concrete parking lot is essential, as it can ensure you get an excellent parking space that will improve your business’ image. However, you must make another vital decision after choosing your preferred parking lot material- hiring professionals. With the right parking lot contractors, you can ensure that the job gets done proficiently, thus guaranteeing you quality and long-lasting results.
On top of quality results, hiring professional paving contractors for your parking lot will help ensure you comply with all the required safety regulations and guidelines. After all, according to OSHA, the employer must provide a safe workplace environment – and this extends even to exterior areas like the parking lot. Therefore, you need to hire professionals who know what they’re doing to ensure your parking space is safe for your employees, customers, and visitors.
Of course, you must conduct extensive due diligence when hiring contractors for your parking lot to ensure you choose the right one. Therefore, you must look into the experience, reputation, insurance, business licenses, and other qualifications of the contractors you’re considering. On top of that, you’ll need to hire professionals with profound knowledge and experience working with your preferred parking lot material.
Fix Up the Garage Door
So, you’ve finally decided between an asphalt vs concrete parking lot. That’s great news! However, besides a new parking lot, you can invest in several other things to improve the quality of your business’s parking space. And one of the top items you should consider is fixing your parking lot’s faulty garage door.
A well-functioning garage door will help to keep any vehicles in your parking lot safe, thus protecting your business from liability and a bad reputation. In addition, fixing your faulty garage door can help to prevent accidents in the parking space, which can cause expensive property damage or severe injuries to your employees, customers, and other visitors. Lastly, your garage door’s quality can significantly impact your premises’ curb appearance and, consequently, your business image. Therefore, you must invest in reliable commercial garage door repairs to keep your garage door and the parking lot in top shape.
Besides repairs, you can also make a few upgrades to your parking lot’s garage door. For example, you can invest in a garage door screen, which can help to keep bugs out of your premises. An industrial garage door screen can also be an excellent way to improve the energy efficiency of your premises; the screens are often shaded and can significantly reduce radiant heating.
Improve Safety on Security
The safety and security of your parking lot is another vital consideration, on top of choosing between an asphalt vs concrete parking lot. After all, an unsafe parking lot is a danger to your employees, customers, and anyone using it and, thus, can become a huge liability for your business. Furthermore, parking lot incidences can significantly damage the reputation of your enterprise, leading to more problems.
Proper drainage is one of the top safety and security features you can invest in for your new parking lot. Good drainage is vital for preventing pooling water, which is one of the leading causes of accidents and injuries in parking spaces. Furthermore, pooling water can cause extensive damage to your asphalt or concrete parking lot. This can lead to costly repairs or replacement; according to Angi, the average cost of paving a parking lot is around $75,000.
You can also invest in several other safety and security features for your new parking lot. For example, you should install lighting fixtures to help improve visibility, thus reducing the risk of accidents and injury. Good lighting is also crucial to your parking lot’s security, especially at night or if your business uses an underground car park.
Be Energy Efficient
According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a parking space can account for between 5% and 20% of a building’s energy costs. Therefore, if unchecked, they can add immense costs to your business’ overhead expenses. As a result, you also need to think of ways to make your parking space more energy efficient, even when deciding between an asphalt vs concrete parking lot.
One of the top ways to increase the energy efficiency of your parking lot is by investing in high-performance, energy-efficient LED lights. These can help increase your parking lot’s visibility while keeping costs down. You can even go the extra mile and invest in green energy, for example, solar, for your parking lot lights. Of course, commercial solar installation can be expensive, so you need to find a way to fund your investment, for example, bank or personal loans.
If your business uses an indoor parking lot, cooling and heating costs are another area that can result in high energy spending. Therefore, you must invest in reliable HVAC solutions to reduce energy costs. For example, you should hire regular AC repairs and maintenance services, thus ensuring that your air conditioner is running efficiently. Consequently, this can significantly lower the costs of cooling your building, saving your business money.
Keep Your Car Durable
Preventing damage to your car is another top reason to choose between a new asphalt vs concrete parking lot. After all, a poor parking space can cause extensive damage to your vehicle; by causing an accident or damaging vital car parts like the wheels, shocks, and exhaust system. But, while a new parking lot will help to prevent damage to your vehicle, you should also invest in other solutions to increase its durability, especially if you use it for business purposes.
One of the top ways to increase the durability of your vehicle is through regular maintenance. Maintenance practices such as changing the air and oil filters, keeping the tires properly inflated, and changing the oil can significantly increase your car’s lifespan. On top of that, maintaining your car will allow you to enjoy a smoother ride, whether you’re on the road or driving in your new parking lot.
Besides maintenance, you can also make your vehicle more durable by hiring repair services. After all, your car is likely to break down occasionally, especially if you use it for business purposes such as hauling heavy goods. However, with prompt repairs, you can prevent simple problems from developing into significant breakdowns that can significantly affect the lifespan of your car. As a result, you should look into reliable truck shops near you, where you can take the vehicle in for repairs whenever needed.
Enhance Your Parking Lot’s Aesthetics
According to StartupGuys.net, how your parking lot looks can significantly improve the image of your business. Of course, whichever decision you make between an asphalt vs concrete parking lot will leave you with a new and shiny-looking parking space. However, you can also invest in several other solutions to improve the appeal of your parking lot and, consequently, your business image.
One of the top ways to improve the aesthetics of your parking lot is by investing in a great landscape design. For example, planting trees, flowers, grass, and other greenery around your outdoor parking lot can significantly enhance its appearance. You can also install landscape light fixtures, which can enhance the visual appeal of your parking lot, especially at night.
Apart from landscape design, marking your parking lot is another excellent idea for improving its visual appeal. You can invest in decorative signs for your parking space, which will instantly grab your visitors’ attention. But, besides the enhanced aesthetics, conspicuous signs can help to prevent accidents by offering clear directions to the drivers. On top of that, they can make navigating your parking lot easier, which can significantly improve your customers’ (and also employees’) satisfaction.
Invest in Parking Lot Maintenance
After deciding between an asphalt vs concrete parking lot, maintaining your new parking space is another vital aspect you need to consider. After all, parking lots experience heavy vehicle traffic, leading to wear and tear. Furthermore, if you’ve invested in an outdoor parking lot, it will be exposed to elements like harsh weather conditions, dirt, debris, and oil spills, which can cause extensive damage over time. Therefore, you need regular maintenance to keep your new parking space in top condition.
Fortunately, several maintenance solutions can help you to care for your parking lot. For example, regular sweeping, washing, and power washing will remove dirt, debris, and spills from your car park, thus keeping it neat and clean. Regular cleaning will also reveal any damages to your parking lot at the onset, thus allowing you to get prompt repairs before the situation worsens.
Your parking lot will also require other maintenance work to keep it looking good. For example, you must invest in regular restriping to ensure the parking lot signs and markings are visible. On top of that, the parking lot surface will need filing (for cracks), sealing, asphalt overlay, concrete polishing, and other repairs and renovations from time to time.
Choosing between an asphalt vs concrete parking lot is essential when investing in a new one. However, on top of choosing your parking space surface material, there are other vital considerations you need to make. The above is a look at some of them and how they can improve your parking lot’s convenience, usability, safety, security, and other aspects.
