Operating a business is expensive, and we understand that any ongoing expense tends to be something you want to avoid. For many businesses, this means choosing to take a DIY approach to parking lot maintenance. Instead of paying professionals for regular maintenance, they try to do it themselves to save money.
Today, we’ll compare the pros and cons of DIY vs. professional parking lot maintenance to see if you’re truly saving money or if investing in a professional service is the smarter choice.
Ease of Maintenance
This is fairly straightforward, but whenever you hire a professional to do something, you put in less effort, and there’s less to worry about. In this category, a professional service clearly beats doing the work yourself.
However, you also can’t underestimate just how much work goes into proper parking lot maintenance. Some basic maintenance tasks, such as regular cleaning, are straightforward, but they still require you to devote manpower to getting them done. That’s the time employees are spending away from their normal roles. With bigger tasks, such as crack sealing, ice prevention, adding sealant, and similar maintenance duties, the work is complex and labor-intensive.
Expertise is Required for Many Maintenance Tasks
As we said earlier, there are some things that are plausible to do on your own, even if they do take time away from your usual work schedule. However, regular parking lot maintenance is a lot more than just the basics, and many maintenance tasks require extensive expertise to get the job done properly.
Simply inspecting your parking lot seems like an easy job, but if you don’t know the subtle signs of unseen issues, you can easily miss major problems such as buckling, water damage eroding the ground beneath the parking lot, degradation of the pavement itself, etc.
Beyond that, tasks such as sealing minor cracks or applying sealant to the surface of the parking lot must be done properly, or you can end up with a false sense of security, believing you solved a problem that really isn’t solved at all. If they’re done improperly, things might look good in the short term, but then you’ll quickly see those minor repairs fall apart, or bigger issues might develop quickly.
A professional parking lot maintenance service does these tasks every day, and they know exactly how to do them for maximum effect. There’s no guesswork, and you know it was done properly the first time.
You’re Responsible for DIY Results
If you’re taking the DIY approach and messing something up, there’s no one else to blame. You’re fully responsible for what happens, and you have to pick up the bill for correcting any mistakes.
Unless you have the experience necessary to do the type of maintenance task your parking lot needs, the likelihood of you having to accept that responsibility is also much higher.
In contrast, a good professional service is going to stand by their work. While it’s rare that something doesn’t go as planned, there are situations that can occur. A go-to product might have been manufactured improperly and didn’t cure as it should, a new employee might have made a mistake, etc. In those situations, a professional service takes responsibility and corrects the problem.
Because of that, you know that when you hire a professional, you’re going to get good results. Almost always, it’ll be on the first try, but if something does go wrong, they’ll be sure to stand by it and correct it until you do get the results you paid for. There’s no worrying about how you’re going to overcome mistakes.
Project Time
As a business owner, time is extremely important to you. While a residential homeowner might have days to get a new driveway fully sealed while they use alternative parking options, every bit of your normal workday that you don’t have a parking lot is money lost.
When you handle maintenance tasks by yourself, they typically take much longer. Beyond having less experience than a professional team and having to learn things as you go, you also don’t have a full team of workers handling it.
When you hire a professional, even the biggest jobs can be done start-to-finish in record time, because they’re using the best equipment, know how to do the work in a streamlined manner, and have the manpower necessary to avoid wasting time.
You’ll get your parking lot project completed much faster, whether it’s simply fixing some cracks, patching a problem area, or fully repaving the entire parking lot when you hire a professional service.
The Overall Cost of Each Method
On paper, hiring a professional maintenance service is more expensive than buying the materials yourself and maintaining your own parking lot. However, that price gap closes the more you look at the drawbacks.
While materials might be cheaper when you do the labor yourself, you’ll likely use more to correct mistakes. You also have to consider that you’re losing money every minute you spend doing it. You’re not paying a professional, but your time is money, too.
Better results also mean that you’ll spend less in the long run. A properly maintained parking lot lasts years longer, and you can postpone having to eventually replace the lot.
In most cases, getting professional help is going to be the best option even if it seems like a bigger expense upfront.
Is There Any Reason to Do DIY Parking Lot Maintenance?
While a professional service is the best choice for most things, there are a few instances where it’s perfectly fine to tackle your own parking lot needs.
Primarily, the routine maintenance tasks of cleaning up chemicals from cars, removing snow, and generally keeping the lot clean is more than reasonable to do on your own. When you move beyond those tasks, hiring a professional is crucial. Even a simple crack that you’d like to repair yourself might be a sign that there’s a major problem beneath the surface.
Get Your Parking Lot in Top Shape with Barnes Asphalt
While DIY maintenance might seem like a cost-effective option, hiring a professional service like Barnes Asphalt is always the better choice. With years of experience, we bring the expertise, proper equipment, and trained professionals needed to ensure every maintenance task is done correctly and efficiently.
Barnes Asphalt offers a comprehensive range of services designed to extend the lifespan of your parking lot and prevent costly repairs down the road. By choosing a professional service, you avoid the potential risks and mistakes associated with DIY work, saving you both time and money in the long term. Trust Barnes Asphalt to handle your parking lot maintenance with precision and care, ensuring your lot remains safe, functional, and visually appealing for years to come.
If you need parking lot maintenance services to keep your commercial lot in the best shape possible, contact Barnes Asphalt today.