Owning and maintaining a parking lot can be a lot of work. Not only do you need to make sure that the surface of the lot is smooth and safe for vehicles, but you also have to worry about cleaning up after people and ensuring that payments are made. It’s a lot of work for sure, but it’s also a very lucrative business. Parking lots can generate thousands of dollars a week if they are situated in a built-up, high-traffic area.
If you already own a parking lot or are buying one and want to know how to maintain it, you’re in the right place. Here’s how:
Proper Marking
You need to make sure that your car park is properly marked. This is so that traffic can be routed properly, and so that people don’t take up too much room when parking. Marking should always be carried out by a professional, for the best results. According to the line marking experts from Carpark King Line Marking Services, you can also pay line markers to sweep, scrub, and seal your parking lot. Before you open your car park, you need to make sure that it is professionally marked, otherwise your lot will descend into chaos.
Routine Inspections
Once your parking lot is open, you should perform routine visual inspections. The best way to do this is to walk through your parking lot once or twice a week, looking for any damage. You should also frequently clean the lot, in order to remove dirt, debris, and waste. These things tend to accumulate in parking lots. You should pay somebody to come in and clean your parking lot at least once a week so that your customers have a nice place to park their vehicles. Your business will be impacted if you don’t take care of your parking lot. An untended parking lot will also attract undesirables, who may loiter around your lot.
Check Drainage
It’s very likely that your parking lot will have drains situated around it, especially if it is a very large parking lot. You need to frequently check your lot’s drains, to make sure that they aren’t becoming blocked. If a drain overflows in your lot, it could cause damage to neighboring businesses, houses, or streets. Additionally, it could damage people’s cars or become a health hazard. If any of the aforementioned were to happen because your lot’s drains overflowed, you could be taken to court and sued. This could result in you losing your lot. Instead of checking your drains personally, you should pay a professional plumber and sewage specialist to come in to check your drains.
Seal Cracks
If any cracks appear on your lot’s surface, you need to mend them immediately. Sealing cracks is absolutely essential to your customer’s safety and satisfaction. If your lot has lots of cracks in it, then customers’ vehicles could become damaged. If your customer’s vehicles do become damaged, they will hold you liable. This could result in you being sued or taken to court. Sealing cracks in your lot won’t be very expensive. It will also prolong your lot’s lifespan. If cracks get out of control, you could have to replace the entire surface of your parking lot, which will cost thousands – potentially more.
Remove Oil
If oil or gasoline leaks out of vehicles and onto your lot’s surface, you need to remove it immediately. This is because oil and gas are highly flammable and could result in a fire breaking out. This is very dangerous. If a fire were to break out on your lot and hurt anybody or damage their cars, you will be held liable. It is your responsibility to perform maintenance of this nature. It’s very simple cleaning up gasoline or oil. You simply need to bring a professional cleaning crew in. It’s very unlikely that this will happen often, however.
Waste Bins
Finally, you need to ensure that you have waste disposal units dotted around your lot. This is so that people don’t litter. You should also put up signs, directing people to the bins when they want to dispose of waste. If you don’t have waste bins available, some people will just throw their rubbish on the floor. Not only will this make your parking lot unsightly and unappealing, but it will also cost you a lot of money, as you will have to hire professional cleaners to come in to remove all of the waste and clean up.
Maintaining a parking lot can be challenging, but it is very straightforward. We have covered most of the problems that you will encounter as a parking lot owner in this article. Your most important responsibility is to ensure that your customers have a safe place to park their cars. You may also want to additionally set up cameras to protect your lot’s users against theft.
