Line striping for church, daycare, office, shop, apartment and HOA lots in Raleigh and the Triangle. Paint is a small share of what a lot costs to keep, and it does a lot of work: it decides how many cars fit, how traffic moves past the door, and whether the accessible spaces meet the federal standard. Here is how striping is handled, before and after a seal coat or on its own.
A restripe repaints the layout already on the ground. When a lot is being sealed, every stall end, arrow and crosswalk is located and marked at the edges before the sealer covers it, so the lines go back exactly where they were once the coat has dried. A faded lot can also be restriped by itself, over the old paint, if the surface underneath is sound.
A new layout starts from a measured plan: entrances, the direction of travel, how many stalls fit, where the accessible spaces go, where any fire lane runs. Owners ask for one when they want more spaces, when the use changes, say a church adding a weekday preschool, or when the old layout keeps causing near misses at the entrance. The best moment is straight after a seal coat, while the surface is a blank sheet.
Most parking lots are striped with water based traffic paint. It has little odor, bonds well to sealcoated asphalt, and in warm dry weather it is ready for cars quickly. Glass beads dropped into the wet paint make lines show up in headlights, which matters on a lot used for evening services or after dark. Heavier materials such as thermoplastic are sometimes used for crosswalks and stop bars where tires wear paint fastest.
Summer heat here helps paint dry and makes humidity and storms the limiting factor. Paint is not put down with a thunderstorm building or on a surface still wet from one, and on a lot that has just been sealed, the sealer has to dry before any paint goes on.
Ninety degree stalls with a two way aisle hold the most cars. Angled stalls are easier to pull into, need a narrower one way aisle, and keep traffic flowing in one direction, which suits a long narrow lot along a strip of shops. Stall width decides how many fit, and a few inches per stall along a long row can gain or lose a space, so any change is checked against the zoning rules of the town the lot is in, since each town sets its own minimums.
Where fire lanes are designated, it is the fire marshal for your town or county who decides where they go and how they are marked, not the striping contractor. So a fire lane is repainted where it was approved, in the form it was approved, and never invented or shifted to gain a space. A faded fire lane is one of the first things worth putting back.
Painted arrows stop drivers cutting the wrong way down a one-direction lane, and a white stop bar at the exit holds them where the road is visible before they pull out. A crosswalk from the parking to the front door, or from the drop-off line to a daycare entrance, shows people where to walk and drivers where to look. Hatched areas keep row ends, hydrants and the dumpster approach clear, and stencils mark visitor, reserved or loading spaces. On a church lot, it is common to mark a few spaces for visitors near the door.
The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, published by the Department of Justice, set the minimum number of accessible spaces from the total spaces in each parking facility (Table 208.2):
| Total spaces in the facility | Minimum accessible spaces |
|---|---|
| 1 to 25 | 1 |
| 26 to 50 | 2 |
| 51 to 75 | 3 |
| 76 to 100 | 4 |
| 101 to 150 | 5 |
| 151 to 200 | 6 |
| 201 to 300 | 7 |
| 301 to 400 | 8 |
| 401 to 500 | 9 |
| 501 to 1000 | 2 percent of the total |
| 1001 and over | 20, plus 1 for each 100 or fraction over 1000 |
The other numbers that shape the layout, from the same Standards:
A seal coat leaves the lot blank, which makes it the natural point to bring accessible parking up to the current numbers and onto the shortest route to the entrance. We lay the spaces out to the Standards and show you what went down. We do not certify a property as compliant; that is not a striping contractor's call to make.
Daycares and private schools around Raleigh often run a car line at drop-off and pickup, and the paint is what keeps that line from blocking the entrance or spilling across the parking rows. A clearly marked queue lane, a no stopping zone in front of the door and a walkway that crosses the line in one obvious place make the twice daily rush calmer for parents and staff. Those layouts are drawn with the director, around how the line actually behaves.
A lot that has just been repaved is a different case. Fresh asphalt is oily on top for a while, and permanent paint bonds better once it has weathered. Where the lot has to open straight away, a temporary layout goes down first and the permanent lines follow later, which is agreed and priced up front rather than discovered.
Striping alone is quick. A church lot can usually be done on a weekday, a daycare lot on a Saturday, a shop lot early in the morning or after closing. Bigger lots are done in sections so there is always an entrance, an exit and somewhere to park, and accessible spaces are done in a short window when they can be held empty. When striping follows a seal coat, the sealing schedule sets the timing; see parking lot sealcoating.
With a seal coat, restriping the existing layout is inside the one price per square foot, with the sealing, crack filling and small patches. There is no per stall charge. Striping on its own, or a new layout, is priced per job after a look: number of stalls and markings, whether a plan has to be drawn, accessible spaces and signs, and how many phases the lot's hours need. One written number, with the layout described. Associations with several lots can have them on one sheet through the property managers page.
Can faded lines be repainted without sealing? Yes, if the asphalt is sound. On a surface that is breaking up, the paint will not outlast what it sits on.
What happens to the old lines in a new layout? On a freshly sealed lot they are already gone. Otherwise they are blacked out, and may show faintly in low light.
Who does the work? Local independent contractors, with one business answering for the job.
