Experience – we’ve been in the parking lot striping business 1981 and have gained experience with many different types of projects during this time.
Quality – we focus on providing you a good-looking, long lasting product by using superior acrylic paint. We make sure our lines are straight, and overspray is minimal.
Prep – we put an emphasis on prepping the pavement to provide a good surface for the paint to bond to.
Service – we customize each project to your specific needs. We will work around your schedule – usually working on nights or weekends to minimize any disruption to your property.
One of the fastest and most economical ways to give a commercial property a fresh and new look is to re-stripe the parking lot striping or parking garage striping. We put an emphasis on prepping the pavement and use a high-quality paint so that our parking lot striping looks better and lasts longer than the competition.
C & D Commercial Services can apply pavement markings such as, arrows, stencils and other signage, along with driving lanes, fire lanes, curbs, and handicap areas. As a quality added service, C & D power washes all the lines before striping over them, so that the new paint will have a good surface to bond to. We recommend pressure washing the entire parking surface prior to striping to achieve the best look.
Many parking lots have parking lot striping that contains many layers of old paint that chips off over time. If you apply new paint over these loose paint chips, a new paint job will not last very long. In these situations, C & D will either sandblast or use a special pressure washing nozzle to remove loose paint, clean up the area, and then begin striping onto the freshly sandblasted area.
Pavement Should Be Prepped before Striping
Before you have your parking lot re-striped, be sure the contractor included prepping the surface in their bid. Prepping the surface is just as important as striping. If prepping is not done correctly, the paint won’t stick to the parking lot, no matter how high the quality. Before a surface can be striped, it must be clean. If the project is a restripe, any old paint that is going to chip needs to be removed before a new coat of paint is put on top of it. At C & D Commercial Services, we make sure our paint lasts a long time by prepping the parking lot first. C & D will sandblast, power wash or brush (depending on customer budget and goals) all the lines before striping over them, so that the new paint will have a good surface to bond to. We recommend pressure washing the entire parking surface prior to striping to achieve the best look.
When evaluating bids for parking lot striping, look a little deeper into what value you are getting from each bidder.
What Kind of Striping Paint Will Be Used?
What types of paint does each bidder plan to use? Striping paint prices vary dramatically depending on the quality of paint being used. For instance an acrylic oil-based paint paint looks better and lasts much longer than water-based or chlorinated rubber paint. If you have an asphalt parking lot and a small budget, then paint may not matter as much. However, if you have a parking lot where you need to make a good impression to tenants and customers and/or you want a long-lasting striping job, you will want to make sure your contractor is using a paint that is up to your standards.
Will the Surface be Prepped Prior to Striping?
Does the bid include prepping the surface of the existing paint or pavement before putting the new striping paint down? This is huge. If a contractor shoots striping lines on a dirty surface, the new paint will not last very long because it doesn’t properly bond to the surface. This paint will start chipping prematurely. You won’t have to drive far to see a parking lot with lots of chipping and peeling paint. This is most often caused by a contractor not prepping the surface. While it is less costly for a contractor to just come out, shoot the lines and leave than it is to prep the surface ahead of time, it will cost you more money in the long run because your parking lot will need to be re-striped much sooner.
Schedule – Can the Work Be Performed with Minimal Interference to Your Tenants?
When does each bidder plan on doing the work and when do you need the work performed? Make sure the bidder is available to do the work when you need it performed with minimal interference to the tenants of the property. For instance, you may need the work done at night or over the weekend. Do your bidders work those hours? Or you may need the job done in one or two nights. Do your bidders have a large enough crew to get the job done quickly?
Reputation and Experience of the Striping Contractor
Be sure to check out your bidder online. Do they have lots of negative reviews? Do they have a legitimate company or is this a part-time job for them? Do they have experience or did they buy their first striping machine a few months ago? Be sure to ask whether your contractor has completed similar projects in the past and be sure to ask for photos of prior work and some references. Make sure you hire someone who knows what they’re doing and is going to give you the maximum value in return for the money you are paying them.
Drivers are Often Distracted in Parking Lots and Garages
Distracted driving is the culprit for many of these parking lot accidents. Most people let their guard down when they get off the road and into a parking lot. They feel that once they have reached the parking lot, they are safe. According to the National Safety Council (“NSC”), this is not the case. “Parking lots are intense driving environments that require both drivers and pedestrians to pay close attention.” “It’s just as dangerous to be distracted in a parking lot going 5 mph as it is going 50 mph,” said Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and CEO of the NSC.
The NCS recently conducted a public opinion poll about distracted driving. They found that 66% of drivers nationwide said they would make phone calls while driving through parking lots. Respondents also said they would:
- Program GPS systems (63%)
- Text (56%)
- Use social media (52%)
- Send or receive emails (50%)
- Take photos or watch videos (49%)That’s a lot of distracted driving. To make matters worse, many parking lots lack adequate signage and an orderly traffic flow. Traffic becomes chaotic, with cars coming from all directions. Even if a driver or pedestrian pays attention and looks in all directions, they still have to avoid others who are distracted or driving recklessly.
Winning a Driver’s Attention With Fresh Parking Lot Striping
Getting a driver’s attention in a parking lot is a competition. You must win out against a myriad distractions such as the ones listed above. The two most common ways to get a driver’s attention in parking areas is through vertical signage and pavement striping. We recommend using both to complement each other, however, we believe parking lot striping is more effective. Visible and effective striping can only be accomplished with fresh, bright paint. Click here to see a video of how C & D creates signs with striping.
Have you ever been in a parking lot where it is hard to see where to go or where to park because the paint is old? Or have you ever been in a parking garage where it was difficult to find the exit? Poor/old striping can be frustrating and dangerous, especially at night. As striping paint gets old, it chips, gets covered by tire marks, dirt, gum, oil spills and other chemicals and debris. When this happens, it loses visibility and effectiveness. If drivers are struggling with hard-to-read signage, they are not paying attention to their surroundings – increasing the risk of an accident in your lot. If you don’t take your signage seriously by keeping it fresh, frequent and visible, neither will the drivers in your parking lot or parking garage. Care should also be taken to keep centerlines, parking stall stripes, arrows, handicap stalls, fire lanes, and other pavement fresh.
Parking lot striping should be done with paint designed for traffic use and should have high visibility. Some traffic paint can even reflect light back towards the driver, making it especially effective in low-light conditions.
Use Parking Lot Striping to Give Directions and Convey Information
Parking lot striping is a great way to control the flow of traffic and add clarity to traffic instructions in your parking lot or parking garage. Striping is often used for the following purposes: stop signs on the pavement, directional arrows, to create one way drive lanes, to mark two way drive lanes, create cross walks, loading zones, file lanes, no parking zones, show visitors where they can and can’t park, reserve spaces for specific customers, etc. Use it in in conjunction with vertical signage to make sure traffic instructions are more likely to be seen by drivers and pedestrians.
Have you ever noticed how many highway interchanges have pavement markings with information about where each lanes exit? These pavement marking are made in conjunction with vertical signs and they make it much more clear to the driver where they should go. Likewise, in a parking lot, parking lot striping should be used in conjunction with vertical signage. There should be no doubt about which direction to go, which parking spots are reserved, which spots are handicap designated, where the visitor parking is, where to stop, where to yield, where pedestrians cross, and how to exit. The more clarity and information you can provide to drivers and pedestrians, the fewer accidents you will have in your parking lot.
We just completed what we call new layout striping at a parking lot in Dallas, Texas. New layout striping is where parking lines are put down for the first time on a parking lot. They must be measured to make sure the parking stalls are 9′ apart for regular parking spaces and perpendicular to the curb.
In contrast to restriping, where a fresh coat of pavement paint is applied over existing parking lines, new layout striping requires a bit more time to measure the lines, mark them with a chalk line and then apply them with a striping machine. The lines have to be applied a little more slowly to make sure they are straight.
Parking Lot Restoration
On this particular project, the parking lot striping was part of an asphalt parking lot restoration where we came in a fixed a lot of potholes, applied sealcoating and then applied pavement markings. The sealcoating keeps water from penetrating beneath the asphalt and prevents potholes from forming. It also makes the parking lot last longer as long as it is performed on a regular basis. The sealcoat also makes the pavement darker, improving the aesthetics and also increasing the contract between the asphalt and the overlying striping paint. All in all, we turned an old asphalt parking lot with lots of potholes and loose gravel into a smooth, nice, restored parking lot with new paint.
C & D Commercial Services provides sweeping, striping, pressure washing, concrete, sealcoating, caulking and sealcoating services in the Dallas and Fort Worth area. We will be happy to provide you with a quote if you are in need of any of these services.
