About Asphalt Paving
Asphalt paving is one of the most commonly used forms of construction today. This is due to its high adaptability and low cost. In addition, it is also considered to be a very practical option when it comes to home paving. However, it does have certain shortcomings that need to be taken note of. Read on to know about some of these and consider whether you should opt for asphalt or not.
One of the disadvantages of using an asphalt driveway is that it can be quite slippery. You need to make sure, therefore, that you drive your car carefully on it. And even if you do so, there is still a chance of your vehicle getting stuck on the asphalt. So, you should keep a good grip on the steering wheel and use all the available help you can. This is especially important if you are making a long distance drive.
There is also a possibility that asphalt might damage the surface underneath if it is not properly sealed. This is because asphalt is a petroleum product and petroleum products can cause damage to the environment. Therefore, you should make sure that the paved area is adequately sealed to make sure that it does not erode.
It is also important to remember that asphalt can crack when it gets too wet. If this happens, you will need to replace the area with new asphalt so that it does not get cracked again in future. Otherwise, you may end up spending more on repairing cracks that you have caused. In fact, asphalt cracks can be a real headache especially during heavy rains when the paver becomes very susceptible to water penetration.
Apart from this, asphalt is also susceptible to cracking when it is exposed to heat. This is especially true during summer months when the temperature is high. During this period, it is possible for the asphalt to get very soft and mushy. When this happens, it is much harder to seal the surface properly and repair any cracks that have developed.
Another problem that can occur with an asphalt paver is when it is being used improperly. For instance, when the asphalt paver is being used to pave driveways, it can easily grind over the edges of the driveway. The grout lines might also get damaged during this process. In fact, there are some homeowners who prefer using concrete or paved paths in front of their homes and driveways. However, they often forget that they should also seal these paths. Sealing the pathways will help to keep them protected from debris, grit, water and sand.
Homeowners should therefore find a qualified company to clean up their asphalt paver once in a while. These professionals will use a pressure washer to remove all the dirt and debris that have built up on the paver. They will then use a power washer to completely clean the water surface. After this is done, you can simply have the surfaces sealed and maintained by your local company.
By hiring a company to perform regular maintenance on your asphalt paver, you will be able to prevent some very common problems. For instance, if you find that the pavers have cracks, you can ask your local maintenance company to repair these cracks before they become larger. You can also ask them to apply new asphalt once a year. If you forget to do this, the asphalt will eventually wear out and begin to crack again. By properly maintaining your asphalt paver, you will be able to save yourself money in the long run because you will not have to call maintenance on a regular basis.
Commercial Paving and Maintenance Just as it’s important for homeowners to take care of their own personal landscaping, it’s just as important for commercial property owners to pay attention to how their pavements are maintained. Commercial Paving companies help commercial property owners keep their driveways and parking lots looking great, without spending more than they have to. However, commercial paving is not just about the look and feel of the pavement. It’s also about better traction and less maintenance. In fact, commercial asphalt pavements are among the most difficult to maintain in all kinds of weather conditions. Here are some common problems and solutions to avoid expensive maintenance dollars.
Most brick and stone pavements and slabs are fine in the rain, but they’re not so great when there’s heavy loads coming down. Asphalt and concrete are the most cost-efficient and durable materials for commercial paving projects, but there are now a wide range of choices, including brick-polishing, epoxy, permeable paving and composite pavers. Unlike traditional concrete and asphalt surfaces, permeable paver surfaces offer a porous surface to drain heavy loads and liquids, greatly eliminating the expensive and complicated drainage systems that are so often required… and of course, it’s maintenance free. Since permeable, commercial paving is available in a variety of colors and textures, it can also be a popular choice.
If your parking lot or driveway becomes flooded due to ice and snow, you may need to invest in a storm water detention system. Storm water detention systems are an effective way to control the runoff from storm water, which can cause damage to lawns, gardens and drives. A properly installed storm water detention system captures storm water runoff and re-circulates it away from your commercial property. In addition to reducing runoff and ensuring that it is safely discharged from your commercial property, a properly installed storm water detention system also reduces the risk of damage to your grass and flowers from run-off. And by re-circulating storm water, you can reduce the amount of time that water travels through your drains, which can reduce water damage to landscaping and your foundation.
For properties that already have a concrete surface, such as a parking lot, you may still want to consider the installation of additional drainage system. However, if you do not already have a concrete slab or parking lot, or if you are building a new structure, you may want to consider the installation of a permeable plastic pavement. In the past, these paved surfaces were reserved for very large commercial structures, but today they are becoming more common in residential areas as well. The primary reason for this is because permeable plastic pavers are more durable and require less maintenance.
Another benefit of a permeated parking lot or an asphalt surface is the fact that they are environmentally friendly. With asphalt, you have to use petroleum-based products to seal and repair damage, which is not only costly, but also adds to the damage that you have done to the earth. And while asphalt will not add any additional weight to your vehicle, there are reports that say that it can cause the vehicle to tip over. This is because when asphalt is filled with water, it can become compact and can squeeze the bumper of a vehicle.
Paved surfaces with permeable piers allow water to drain into a deeper spot, thus eliminating compacting issues and helping to keep vehicles from tipping over. Additionally, you can choose to have a seamless pavement, which can be installed in a variety of colors and materials. Concrete is also a popular paving material, but when you factor in the cost-effectiveness and the added maintenance required, asphalt really comes out on top.
Asphalt and paved areas are certainly attractive, but many people do not like the concrete appearance. The great thing about permeable plastic covers and gravel is that you can always choose something different to accentuate your landscape. Asphalt and concrete can both be dyed for various purposes, but gravel is a great alternative that does not require the extra investment and labor that other types of paving require.
When it comes to sealing and repairing damage on a commercial paving project, there is a tool that can help you out-prompt the process Sealcoating. It is important that you hire professional sealcoaters for your paving project to ensure that you get the job done correctly. By using a sealcoating product that is designed to work on wet, dry, and crack-free surfaces, you can seal and repair virtually any damage without having to replace the damaged pavement. There are many products available on the market that are specially formulated to work on all types of surfaces wet, dry, crack, and permeable. For more information about the sealcoating products that are available, contact a commercial paving services company.
About Seminole, OK
Native American refugees from northern wars, such as the Yuchi and Yamasee after the Yamasee War in South Carolina, migrated into Spanish Florida in the early 18th century. More arrived in the second half of the 18th century, as the Lower Creeks, part of the Muscogee people, began to migrate from several of their towns into Florida to evade the dominance of the Upper Creeks and pressure from encroaching colonists from the Province of Carolina. They spoke primarily Hitchiti, of which Mikasuki is a dialect, which is the primary traditional language spoken today by the Miccosukee in Florida. Joining them were several bands of Choctaw, many of whom were native to western Florida. Some Chickasaw had also left Georgia due to conflicts with colonists and their Native American allies.[citation needed] Also fleeing to Florida were African Americans who had escaped from slavery in the Southern colonies.
The new arrivals moved into virtually uninhabited lands that had once been peopled by several cultures indigenous to Florida, such as the Apalachee, Timucua, Calusa, and others. The native population had been devastated by infectious diseases brought by Spanish explorers in the 1500s and later colonization by European settlers. Later, raids by Carolina and Native American slavers destroyed the string of Spanish missions across northern Florida, and most of the survivors left for Cuba when the Spanish withdrew after ceding Florida to the British in 1763, following the French and Indian War.
As they established themselves in northern and peninsular Florida throughout the 1700s, the various new arrivals intermingled with each other and with the few remaining indigenous people. In a process of ethnogenesis, they constructed a new culture which they called "Seminole", a derivative of the Mvskoke' (a Creek language) word simano-li, an adaptation of the Spanish cimarrón which means "wild" (in their case, "wild men"), or "runaway" . The Seminole were a heterogeneous tribe made up of mostly Lower Creeks from Georgia, who by the time of the Creek Wars (1812–1813) numbered about 4,000 in Florida. At that time, numerous refugees of the Red Sticks migrated south, adding about 2,000 people to the population. They were Creek-speaking Muscogee, and were the ancestors of most of the later Creek-speaking Seminole. In addition, a few hundred escaped African-American slaves (known as the Black Seminole) had settled near the Seminole towns and, to a lesser extent, Native Americans from other tribes, and some white Americans. The unified Seminole spoke two languages: Creek and Mikasuki (mutually intelligible with its dialect Hitchiti), two among the Muskogean languages family. Creek became the dominant language for political and social discourse, so Mikasuki speakers learned it if participating in high-level negotiations. (The Muskogean language group includes Choctaw and Chickasaw, associated with two other major Southeastern tribes.)
During the colonial years, the Seminole were on relatively good terms with both the Spanish and the British. In 1784, after the American Revolutionary War, Britain came to a settlement with Spain and transferred East and West Florida to it. The Spanish Empire's decline enabled the Seminole to settle more deeply into Florida. They were led by a dynasty of chiefs of the Alachua chiefdom, founded in eastern Florida in the 18th century by Cowkeeper. Beginning in 1825, Micanopy was the principal chief of the unified Seminole, until his death in 1849, after Removal to Indian Territory. This chiefly dynasty lasted past Removal, when the US forced the majority of Seminole to move from Florida to the Indian Territory (modern Oklahoma) after the Second Seminole War. Micanopy's sister's son, John Jumper, succeeded him in 1849 and, after his death in 1853, his brother Jim Jumper became principal chief. He was in power through the American Civil War, after which the US government began to interfere with tribal government, supporting its own candidate for chief.
After raids by Anglo-American colonists on Seminole settlements in the mid-18th century, the Seminole retaliated by raiding the Southern Colonies (primarily Georgia), purportedly at the behest of the Spanish. The Seminole also maintained a tradition of accepting escaped slaves from Southern plantations, infuriating planters in the American South by providing a route for their slaves to escape bondage.
After the United States achieved independence, the U.S. Army and local militia groups made increasingly frequent incursions into Spanish Florida to recapture escaped slaves living among the Seminole. American general Andrew Jackson's 1817–1818 campaign against the Seminole became known as the First Seminole War. Though Spain decried the incursions into its territory, the United States effectively controlled the Florida panhandle after the war.
In 1819 the United States and Spain signed the Adams-Onís Treaty, which took effect in 1821. According to its terms, the United States acquired Florida and, in exchange, renounced all claims to Texas. The president appointed Andrew Jackson as military governor of Florida. As European-American colonization increased after the treaty, colonists pressured the Federal government to remove Natives from Florida. Slaveholders resented that tribes harbored runaway Black slaves, and more colonists wanted access to desirable lands held by Native Americans. Georgian slaveholders wanted the "maroons" and fugitive slaves living among the Seminoles, known today as Black Seminoles, returned to slavery.
After acquisition by the U.S. of Florida in 1821, many American slaves and Black Seminoles frequently escaped from Cape Florida to the British colony of the Bahamas, settling mostly on Andros Island. Contemporary accounts noted a group of 120 migrating in 1821, and a much larger group of 300 enslaved African-Americans escaping in 1823. The latter were picked up by Bahamians in 27 sloops and also by travelers in canoes. They developed a village known as Red Bays on Andros.
Federal construction and staffing of the Cape Florida Lighthouse in 1825 reduced the number of slave escapes from this site. the United States has worked with the Bahamas to designated both Cape Florida and Red Bays as sites on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Trail.
After the independent United States acquired Florida from Spain in 1821, white settlers increased political and governmental pressure on the Seminole to move and give up their lands. "The Seminoles were victims of a system that often blatantly favored whites".
Under colonists' pressure, the US government made the 1823 Treaty of Camp Moultrie with the Seminole, seizing 24 million acres in northern Florida. They offered the Seminole a much smaller reservation in the Everglades, of about 100,000-acre (400 km2). They and the Black Seminoles moved into central and southern Florida.
In 1832, the United States government signed the Treaty of Payne's Landing with a few of the Seminole chiefs. They promised lands west of the Mississippi River if the chiefs agreed to leave Florida voluntarily with their people. The Seminoles who remained prepared for war. White colonists continued to press for their removal.
In 1835, the U.S. Army arrived to enforce the treaty. The Seminole leader Osceola led the vastly outnumbered resistance during the Second Seminole War. Drawing on a population of about 4,000 Seminole and 800 allied Black Seminoles, he mustered at most 1,400 warriors (President Andrew Jackson estimated they had only 900). They countered combined U.S. Army and militia forces that ranged from 6,000 troops at the outset to 9,000 at the peak of deployment in 1837. To survive, the Seminole allies employed guerrilla tactics with devastating effect against U.S. forces, as they knew how to move within the Everglades and use this area for their protection. Osceola was arrested (in a breach of honor) when he came under a flag of truce to negotiations with the US in 1837. He died in jail less than a year later. He was decapitated, his body buried without his head.
Other war chiefs, such as Halleck Tustenuggee and John Jumper, and the Black Seminoles Abraham and John Horse, continued the Seminole resistance against the army. After a full decade of fighting, the war ended in 1842. Scholars estimate the U.S. government spent about $40,000,000 on the war, at the time a huge sum. An estimated 3,000 Seminole and 800 Black Seminole were forcibly exiled to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi, where they were settled on the Creek reservation. After later skirmishes in the Third Seminole War (1855 -1858), perhaps 200 survivors retreated deep into the Everglades to land that was not desired by settlers. They were finally left alone and they never surrendered.
Several treaties seem to bear the mark of representatives of the Seminole tribe, including the Treaty of Moultrie Creek and the Treaty of Payne's Landing. The Florida Seminole say they are the only tribe in America never to have signed a peace treaty with the U.S. government.
The remaining Seminole in Florida adapted to their wetlands environment, while keeping many traditional customs and building a culture of staunch independence. During the American Civil War, the Confederate government of Florida offered aid to keep the Seminole from fighting on the side of the Union. The Florida House of Representatives established a Committee on Indian Affairs in 1862 but, aside from appointing a representative to negotiate with the Seminole tribe, failed to follow its promises of aid. The lack of aid, along with the growing number of Federal troops and pro-unionists in the state, led the Seminole to remain officially neutral throughout the war. In July 1864, Secretary of War James A. Seddon received word that a man named A. McBride had raised a company of sixty-five Seminole who had volunteered to fight for the Confederacy. McBride claimed to have an understanding of Florida because of the time he had spent there fighting during the Seminole wars. While McBride never put such a company in the field, this letter shows how the Confederacy attempted to use Seminole warriors against the Union.
The 1868 Florida Constitution, developed by the Reconstruction legislature, gave the Seminole one seat in the house and one seat in the senate of the state legislature. The Seminole never filled the positions. After white Democrats regained control over the legislature, they removed this provision from the post-Reconstruction constitution they ratified in 1885. In the early 20th century, the Florida Seminole re-established limited relations with the U.S. government. The Seminole maintained a thriving trade business with white merchants during this period, selling alligator hides, bird plumes, and other items sourced from the Everglades. Then, in 1906, Governor N.B. Broward began an effort to drain the Everglades in attempt to convert the wetlands into farmland. The plan to drain the Everglades, new federal and state laws ending the plume trade, and the start of World War I (which put a halt to international fashion trade), all contributed to a major decline in the demand for Seminole goods.
In 1930 they received 5,000 acres (20 km) of reservation lands. Few Seminole moved to these reservations until the 1940s. They reorganized their government and received federal recognition in 1957 as the Seminole Tribe of Florida. During this process, the more traditional people near the Tamiami Trail defined themselves as independent. They received federal recognition as the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians in Florida in 1962.
In the 1950s, the Oklahoma and Florida Seminole tribes filed land claim suits, claiming they had not received adequate compensation for their lands. Their suits were combined in the government's settlement of 1976. The Seminole tribes and Traditionals took until 1990 to negotiate an agreement as to division of the settlement, a judgment trust against which members can draw for education and other benefits. The Florida Seminole founded a high-stakes bingo game on their reservation in the late 1970s, winning court challenges to initiate Indian Gaming, which many tribes have adopted to generate revenues for welfare, education and development.