This month Empire Parking Lot Services was asked by one of our oldest customers to get some potholes repaired on their parking lot in Anaheim, California. Since Empire-PLS services all of Southern California from Los Angeles, to San Diego we said no problem. With the economy being what is lately, our customer was looking for an economical fix this time. Like so many others, they are searching for less expensive services such as pothole repair, and sealcoating, knowing that they only last for a year or two. We always recommend to our customers to patch their potholes at the bare minimum. This will stop water from penetrating your asphalt and destroying your base surface. These basic and inexpensive repairs can buy you time until better economic conditions return.

About This Pothole Repair Project

We arrived to the job at about 9 in the morning per our customers request. Once there our crews started prepping the areas of broken asphalt for pothole repair. The main distinction of a pothole type of repair versus a asphalt patch is that with potholes the area are pretty small and there is no removal of old asphalt material. On this project we basically just had to clean off the areas that needed repair and then apply some tack coat to them. Once they were prepped, we shoveled the asphalt on to the areas of repair, and raked them into neat square and rectangles.  All in all the potholes came out pretty clean and the customer was very happy. Have a look below for the project photos.

About Empire Parking Lot Services

When it comes to pothole repairs in Orange County, & Los Angeles there is only one company name you need to know and that’s Empire Parking Lot Services. Empire-PLS understands the needs of their customers, and we are sensitive to keeping your business running even while repairs are being done. That s why we offer affordable paving solutions such as pothole repair, asphalt skin patching and basic overlays. Call Empire Parking Lot Services today for a free estimate on your next paving project and find out how much you can save.

Call us toll free at 877-760-2757 or come see us online at our official web site at www.empirepls.com

Post from: Parking Lot Striping

Anaheim Parking Lot Gets Potholes Repairs

Customer Type:

Property Manager

Project Type:

Retail Center

Project Location:

La Verne California

Scope of Asphalt Work:

Empire was asked to do some asphalt repair including, removing 12 areas of broken & damaged asphalt throughout the center, and replacing it with new asphalt. In addition to that, the customer was looking for some additional skin patching in 4 other areas, and then asked us to re-stripe the lines and legends wherever the new asphalt affected the old parking lot striping layout. In total the work was to be completed in just one day.

The Challenges:

The biggest challenge Empire Parking Lot Services faced on this project was timing and safety. Getting as much of the asphalt removal & asphalt replacement done as quickly as possible while maintaining public safety was our chief concern. The golden rule for us is to try and keep businesses open during the construction process. This center had many small restaurants in it and for them even losing one lunch day can cost thousand of dollars.  Although some projects require us shutting parking lots down overnight, this was one we were confident we could do the pavement repairs in one day safely. The amount of asphalt repair were large but no impossible.

How the Job Went:

As we predicted the shopping center was very busy. By 5 am cars where already pouring into the center from every direction. With a fitness club and a bank on the property, our project site was a first stop for many of the local early morning commuters. We quickly laid out the areas  of asphalt repair and started the asphalt removals on the shopping center by saw-cutting and using a backhoe to remove them. In total the removals were completed in about 2 hours.  Not bad considering there was over 100 tons of asphalt removed and hauled away. Once the old and broken asphalt was hauled off we started prepping the areas to be patched by compacting the surface and tacking the edges of the existing asphalt. By 10 am the hot asphalt started showing up and the asphalt paving process started. We off loaded the new asphalt into the newly prepped patches and spread it with a skip loader. The asphalt is always installed in two lifts when you hire Empire Parking Lot Services.  Some contractors skip this step and just toss the new asphalt in hole and roll it. While this will work some times what more often happens is low spots will form where asphalt was compacted poorly. By installing the new asphalt in multiple lifts better compaction is achieved and  a longer lasting product is whats created. Once the second lift of asphalt was installed the areas where rolled and opened as soon as they cooled to an acceptable level. Empire Parking Lot Services tries to strike a perfect balance between installing a superior paving product, and getting a parking lot open fast for the tenant and customers affected. Once rolled the project was finished and the entire lot was opened up.

About Empire Parking Lot Services

When it comes to asphalt repair, no other contractor cares about you and your property the way Empire Parking Lot Services will.  We give you more quality and value than any other asphalt contractor hands down. We always leave our customers happy and satisfied or we don’t leave at all. It is absolutely imperative for us to do the best we can do on every asphalt repair project that we take on.  If you have an asphalt repair, concrete repair, seal coating, or parking lot maintenance project that we can assist you with than please give us a call.  We would love to serve you today.

Call us toll free at 877-760-2757 or check us out online at www.empirepls.com

Post from: Parking Lot Striping

Empire Performs Big Asphalt Repair in a Small Amount of Time.

Every year Empire Parking Lot Services brings hundreds of ADA parking spaces up to date with California’s ADA standards. While the state of California’s ADA codes cover many facets of your property, the one we are focusing on today is the ADA Ramp, or the Handicap Parking Lot Ramp. If your still not sure what I am talking about take a look at the photos below. In these photos you will see the several types of concrete and asphalt handicap ramps that you can find in parking lots across California. There are dozens of ramps styles and layouts. Let Empire find the correct one for your ADA project. Several of these ramps are incorrect

Handicap Specs and Rules for Construction

The main factor that should be considered when installing your ADA Ramps is that certain grade requirements are met. The grades are based on elevations in the concrete and asphalt in the area the the disabled parking space is, as well as the entire route from the stall to the door of the business. This is also refereed to as slope and rise. The least possible slope shall be used for any ramp. The maximum slope of a ramp in new construction shall be 1:12. The maximum rise for any run shall be 30 in (760 mm).  Curb ramps and ramps to be constructed on existing sites or in existing buildings or facilities may have slopes and rises as allowed. A slope between 1:10 and 1:12 is allowed for a maximum rise of 6 inches (150 mm). While a slope between 1:8 and 1:10 is allowed for a maximum rise of 3 inches (75 mm). A slope steeper than 1:8 is not allowed.

Keep in mind that the ramp and stall where disabled people park must have an even traveling surface that gradually climbs while following the above elevation grade change models. Furthermore,  you need to maintain the same rules from your concrete or asphalt ramp, to the door of the business or structure.

About Empire Parking Lot Services

When it comes to handicap upgrades and concrete repair, no other contractor cares about you and your property the way Empire Parking Lot Services will.  We give you more quality and value than any other asphalt contractor hands down. We always leave our customers happy and satisfied or we don’t leave at all. It is absolutely imperative for us to do the best we can do on every ADA Ramp update and repair project that we take on. If you have an asphalt repair, concrete repair, seal coating, or parking lot maintenance project that we can assist you with than please give us a call.  We would love to serve you today.  Call us toll free at 877-760-2757 or check us out online at www.empirepls.com

Post from: Parking Lot Striping

Handicap Ramps: What Californians Need to know

This month Empire Parking Lot Services was hired by Berlin Packaging to do safety striping at there new warehouse facility located in Santa Ana California. This warehouse is approximately 150,000 square feet and the customer was to be moving in soon.  Santa Ana is one of the oldest cities in Orange County and is neighbors to Tustin, Orange, Costa Mesa and Fountain Valley. Berlin Packaging was increasing there warehouse in this expansion and they hired us to maximize there warehouse floor space by having us install warehouse safety striping. Also known as warehouse floor striping or markings this service is basically us installing durable high end two part epoxy paints that will last a very ling time. Warehouse safety striping is just one component in a solid WMS (Warehouse Maintenance System) plan. For this project they had us paint lines on there floor to not only increase safety but also increase the efficiency of there warehouse storage space.

About Empire Parking Lot Services

Empire-PLS is one of Southern California best safety striping and warehouse maintenance companies around. We are located in Orange County, California and service the entire Southern California area’s warehouse safety striping needs.  Please call Empire today to discuss your project. Empire offers asphalt repair, concrete repair, seal coating, line painting and many other parking lot and warehouse maintenance related services to Southern California. Empire can be reached toll free at 877-760-2757 or you can visit our main website at www.empirepls.com.

Post from: Parking Lot Striping

Safety Striping For Santa Ana Local Business

It can be very difficult to find a good paving contractor in Orange County. With the advent of the internet it is easier than ever to look like legitimate company and not be one. The sad truth is that there are many who have no problems stealing your hard earned dollars however, this guide may help you avoid making that mistake. With a little advice and due diligence I think you’ll agree it’s easy to find quality paving contractors.

Step #1 Verify they have a paving contractor’s license:

This is by far the easiest step to do. Simply go to the California state license board (or whatever state you’re in). California state license board is located at www.cslb.gov.

• Once there simply plug in the license number, company name or business owners name to verify the company. Use ours if you want to give it a try. 940698

• Look to see that the license is active and in good standing.

• Lastly open the license and verify license number, trade, insurances, workers compensation and all other things are current.

Step #2 Get two or more paving contractor references:

Call the company and ask them to send you at least 2 references of paving work they have done in the last thirty days. Most paving contractors should have no problem providing this service to you. Make sure to get at least the company name, a phone number and a contact to ask for.

Step #3 Find out how long they have been in business:

If they are a newer contractor make sure that you ask them about their experience level. By example at Empire Parking Lot Services we are a newer paving company, however we have many years experience in the industry. If they are an older company asks them what type of paving they specialize in. Do they specialize in new construction? Or do they specialize in patch and repair? Are they a road paving contractor, do they specialize in concrete only? You get the idea I’m sure.

Step #4 Get at least three bids that are apples to apples:

This really is a great habit to get into when getting jobs. First thing you will want to do is call one company and ask them for a bid for whatever paving contract you need. Then take their work description and call two other companies with it. Sometimes one company may not understand another companies description. When this happens just go with the bid of the contractor that gives you the most piece of mind. Use his information and have the bidders all bid his work descriptions. It is very important to not shop numbers. This is a terrible habit that will result in getting you a terrible job done. When numbers are shopped the only one that will lose is going to be you. Trust us on this one. Remember the point of this is to get three apples to apples bids not grind down contractors.

Step #5 Ask industry friends & co workers for their recommendations:

One of the best ways to find good people is to ask people you know and trust about who they use. This isn’t a guarantee that the paving contractor will be a good one, however, it greatly improves your chances of avoiding the bonehead contractors out there that are nightmare waiting to happen.

About Empire Parking Lot Services

When it comes to hiring a quality paving contractor in Orange County California, nobody beats Empire Parking Lot Services. For years now we have been installing asphalt and concrete throughout the Southern California area. Whether your project is located in Orange County, Los Angeles, or any other county in the So Cal area we have you covered. We are Southern California’s easiest paving contractor to deal with. We offer a multitude of paving maintenance services, for example asphalt patching, seal coating, parking lot striping, concrete repair plus many others.. Just let one of our estimators know what you need and we will get you a fast and free estimate for your project. Call us toll free at 877-760-2757 or check us out online at www.empirepls.com

Post from: Parking Lot Striping

Finding a Quality Paving Contractor in 5 Easy Steps

This month Empire Parking Lot Services installed 8 new bollards and signs at the Santa Ana Children Youth Center. When we got the call from the youth center they needed an installer for 8 new bollards at their facility. As we mentioned before the project was in Santa Ana California. For those not familiar with this area it is in the heart of Orange County with surrounding cities such as Costa Mesa, Garden Grove, Stanton, & Fountain Valley. This bollard installation project was pretty straight forward in that the bollards where to be installed to protect a class room from the possibility of a car losing control and crashing through the class room wall. The contractor wanted something strong so we went with a steel bollard that was specially treated to accept and hold the 2 part epoxy coating we applied to the post. These bollards are installed 3 feet deep into the ground and filled with concrete to add to their strength. Once painted they are an attractive addition to your parking lots safety structures.

About Empire Parking Lot Services

When it comes to bollard installation, bollard supply, bollard repair and bollard painting & covers, nobody beats Empire Parking Lot Services. For years now we have been installing steel bollards throughout Southern California. Whether your project is located in Orange County, Los Angeles, or any other county in the So Cal area we have you covered. We are Southern California’s easiest Bollards installation contractor to deal with. We install standard bollard products or can have customer products fabricated for you. Just let one of our estimators know what you need and we will get you a fast and free estimate for your project. Call us toll free at 877-760-2757 or check us out online at www.empirepls.com

Post from: Parking Lot Striping

New Bollards Installed at Santa Ana Childrens Youth Center

This month Empire received a call from the owner of a private residents in Murrieta California. They had a long asphalt driveway in need of  seal, as well as needing some new asphalt speed bumps installed. They called several asphalt contractors and apparently Empire Parking Lot Services was the only company that called them back. They hadn’t told us that until after the project was finished, but it really wouldn’t have made a difference to us. Thats because Empire-PLS offers the same great service and price each and every time.  The owners needed to slow vehicles down because they were using his road not realizing it was a private driveway. On several occasions cars even went off the road causing damage to their property.  Speed bumps where the perfect cure for this situation.

First New Speed Bumps, and Then New Sealcoating

So the first thing Empire did was to install the new asphalt speed bumps. That part of the project actually happened about 6 months ago so that the seal coat would not lift or peel once sealed. As any good asphalt contractor knows, asphalt needs time to cure and dry well before you apply sealcoat to it. With the asphalt fully cured, we showed up this week to apply the sealcoat and stripe the new speed bumps.  We used a good thick coat of seal on the driveway and once dry, our striping crews showed up and applied the striping to the speed bumps. If you were not aware speed bumps actually go by a half a dozen names.  These names include speed bumps, speed humps, speed berms, speed retardants, speed abatement and speed tables. There are probably more than that so speak up I missed one.  Speed Bumps can be installed in several different ways. There are the most permanent choices of asphalt & concrete, than there are newer less permanent options in rubber or plastic.

About Empire Parking Lot Services

Empire-PLS is one of Southern California best asphalt contractors. When it comes to speed bump construction, repair, or maintenance Empire is the best choice. We are located in Orange County and service the entire Southern California area including Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego, Ventura, and Riverside.  Please call Empire today to discuss your project. Empire offers asphalt repair, concrete repair, seal coating, line painting and many other parking lot maintenance related services to Southern California. Empire can be reached toll free at 877-760-2757

or you can visit our main website at

www.empirepls.com.

Post from: Parking Lot Striping

Empire Installs New Speedbumps In Murrietta California

(A Parking Lot Maintenance Series Part 4)

The Four Parking Lot Maintenance Budget

When it comes to concrete and asphalt repair there are four distinct types of maintenance considerations. The Seen, the Unseen, Emergencies, and Code changes. In this blog we will discuss the differences in the different types of maintenance planning and how they should be used in creating, managing and building your asphalt parking lot maintenance budget. Read more below about these 4 specific considerations.

The Codes AKA | Ongoing Code Changes to Parking Lot Maintenance

Lastly there are code changes such as the ADA and MUTCD. These codes are constantly changing and can cost a property owner a lot of money if forced to deal with correcting them all at once. The ADA codes that need to be met alone can require some pretty serious expense if a business or property owner tries to do them all at once. To further aggravate the problem every year thousands of lawsuits are filed against property owners and business owners over many times frivolous ADA lawsuits. The lawsuits are filled to force you to comply all at once, or pay a settlement amount of X amount of dollars typically around ten thousand dollars. Business would be wise to create a budget plan to tackle the ADA a little bit at a time instead of waiting for a lawsuit or code enforcement agency from forcing you to tackle the whole thing at once. Some of the items that could be budgeted for over time in regards to ADA changes would include the following.

• Handicap Ramps
• Truncated Domes
• Handicap Sign and Poles
• Asphalt Grade and Fall
• Trip Hazards

About Empire Parking Lot Services

When it comes to asphalt repair and concrete repair no other contractor cares about you and your property the way Empire Parking Lot Services does. We give you more quality and value than any other asphalt contractor hands down. We always leave our customers happy and satisfied or we don’t leave at all. It imperative for us to do the best we can do on every asphalt contracting project that we take on. If you have an asphalt repair, concrete repair, seal coating, or parking lot striping project please give us a call. We would love to serve you today. Call us toll free at 877-760-2757 or check us out online at www.empirepls.com

Post from: Parking Lot Striping

Parking Lot Maintenance Budgeting Guide: Part Four

With everything in place the only thing Berlin Packaging needed was to get some lines on their warehouse floor painted to help control product and efficiency. Berlin made the right move by calling us because Empire Parking Lot Services  knows warehouse floor striping. Although Empire Parking Lot Services main service is in asphalt & concrete repair, we have spent enough days working on concrete warehouse repair and construction projects to know a thing or two about warehouse floor maintenance & line painting. When Berlin called us they needed the job done now, the job done right, and all within their budget. Our estimators got on the project with a quick response and we hashed out a plan to meet their needs. The project consisted of one warehouse needing about 60,000 Linear feet of white lines and numerical stencils for their tracking system. Take a look at the finish project below. The job came out great and the customer was very pleased.

About Empire Parking Lot Services

When it comes to warehouse maintenance and coatings no other contractor cares about you and your facility the way Empire Parking Lot Services will.  We give you more quality and value than any other contractor hands down. We always leave our customers happy and satisfied or we don’t leave at all. It is absolutely imperative for us to do the best we can do on every warehouse contracting project that we take on. If you have an warehouse striping, warehouse floor coating or a  warehouse floor maintenance project that we can assist you with than please give us a call.  We would love to serve you today.  Call us toll free at 877-760-2757 or check us out online at www.empirepls.com

Post from: Parking Lot Striping

Warehouse Floor Painting in Santa Ana California

(A Parking Lot Maintenance Series Part 3)

The Four Parking Lot Maintenance Budget

When it comes to asphalt parking lot maintenance there are four distinct types of maintenance considerations. The seen, the unseen, the emergency damage, and code changes. In this blog we will discuss the differences in the different types of maintenance planning and how they should be used in creating, managing and building your asphalt parking lot maintenance budget. Read more below about number 3 discussing the emergency damage considerations.

The Emergency AKA |Unplanned Parking Lot Maintenance

Parking lot maintenance emergencies should be expected throughout the course of a year.  With that being said budgeting for them should be done as well.  Now whether this comes in the form of a general emergency fund or a specific parking lot maintenance emergency fund doesn’t really matter.  What is most important is that something is set aside for the little unexpected things that happen in life.  What can go wrong in parking lots is typically going to be plumbing or electrical by nature.  Also, you may have a fire or flooding that ends up requiring some asphalt or concrete repair.  A typical example of this is this, would be when we had one of our customers call after a fire was set in a parking structure that not only destroyed a vehicle, but ended up doing a tremendous amount of damage to the structure.  The customer ended up spending nearly 15 thousand dollars getting the structure restored to its safe and clean original appearance.  The accident was unforeseeable,  but you can almost always count on something to this degree happening. Here are a few surprising scenarios that can crop up and end up costing you money.

• Irrigation Leaks: Irrigation leaks contribute more to damaging asphalt and concrete than any other scenario listed here.. Every property manager and owner should take annual walks through their parking lot to look for irrigation problems. One broken or leaking sprinkler can lead to tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage.
• Structural Damage: Sometimes caused by vehicles and sometimes more natural causes. IE earthquakes, etc. structural damage to asphalt and concrete can cost property owners and managers a lot of unforeseen expense. With California being built on
• Trench Work: When there are problem with plumbing and electrical issues they can often result in a need to run a trench through the parking lot. Regardless of asphalt or concrete the repair can be a large cost that is unplanned.
• Fire: This is not a common issue that property owners and managers need to deal with but it does come up. And when it does it can be very costly.
  
• Flood: In California floods and fires have a season.  When the seasons hit you can almost always expect to see business in California affected by it.  Mudslides, washouts, and flooding can cause a tremendous amount of damage in a matter of minutes. In many parts of Southern California the infrastructure is aged and in need of repair and rehabilitation.
• Tree Root Damage: After sprinklers tree roots can be the most costly factor in emergency damage. Trees root systems can be amazingly difficult to control. Every year they tear up thousands of acres of asphalt and concrete in Southern California alone. The best defense against tree roots is a proactive defense.
• Chemical Spills: This is another one of those “once in awhile” scenarios. Chemical and solvents that pour on to our roads and parking lots literally eats away at the asphalt and concrete like sugar does to our teeth. Oil, transmission fluid, and chemicals can dissolve asphalt and concrete and are often the beginning factor in parking lot break down.
• Graffiti: Graffiti on asphalt and concrete is rare but when it happens it can be expensive.  The only reason it is even listed here is that we have had to remove graffiti from curbs and parking lot roads before.  So much that it forced the customer to have to spend thousands of dollars on curb painting that wasn’t in the budget.

About Empire Parking Lot Services

When it comes to asphalt repair and concrete repair no other contractor cares about you and your property the way Empire Parking Lot Services will.  We give you more quality and value than any other asphalt contractor hands down. We always leave our customers happy and satisfied or we don’t leave at all. It is absolutely imperative for us to do the best we can do on every asphalt and concrete contracting project that we take on. If you have an asphalt repair, concrete repair, seal coating, or parking lot maintenance project that we can assist you with than please give us a call.  We would love to serve you today.  Call us toll free at 877-760-2757 or check us out online at www.empirepls.com

Post from: Parking Lot Striping

Parking Lot Maintenance Budgeting Guide: Part Three