Parking Lot Striping in New Hampshire: How Often to Restripe, ADA Spaces and When It Can Be Done

This guide is for property managers, building owners, condo and HOA boards and business owners planning parking lot striping in New Hampshire. It covers how often a lot needs restriping, when the work can be done here, how many accessible spaces a lot needs and how big they have to be, and what to send for a quote.

Who does parking lot striping in Concord, Bedford and Salem, NH?

Young’s Excavating & Paving LLC does parking lot striping in Concord, Bedford, Salem and across Merrimack, Hillsborough, Rockingham, Strafford, Cheshire and Belknap counties. The company is based at 37 Washington St in Penacook, a village within the city of Concord.

Striping is usually the last step of a bigger job. Cracks are filled, damaged sections are cut out and repaired, the lot is sealcoated, and the lines go back on once the sealer has cured. Hiring a paving contractor for the striping means the surface underneath the paint gets looked at too. The commercial lots the company has worked on are on the commercial paving and parking lot projects page, and the full list of towns is on the areas we serve page.

How often should a parking lot be restriped in New Hampshire?

Most New Hampshire parking lots need restriping every 2 to 3 years, usually in the same season as sealcoating. Lots with heavy turning traffic, delivery trucks or a lot of plowing may need it sooner.

Paint wears fastest where tires turn and where plow blades and sand scrape the surface all winter. Restripe when any of these show up:

• Stall lines that are hard to see at night or in the rain.
• Faded fire lanes, stop bars or crosswalks, which matter for safety, not just looks.
• Accessible space markings or access aisles that are worn, so drivers park in the aisle.
• A fresh sealcoat, which covers the old lines completely.
• A new layout, such as added spaces, a new entrance or a change in traffic flow.

When can parking lot striping be done in New Hampshire?

Parking lot striping in New Hampshire is warm-season work, done on dry pavement in spring, summer and early fall. Most line paints need temperatures of about 50 degrees and rising to dry and bond properly.

When a lot is being sealcoated, the striping waits until the sealer has cured, so both jobs fall in the same window. The sealcoating and line striping page explains why that window in New Hampshire runs from about May to September. The best time to get a striping quote is over the winter, so the lot is ready to schedule when the season opens.

How many accessible parking spaces does a parking lot need?

The number of accessible spaces depends on the total number of spaces in each lot. A lot with 1 to 25 spaces needs at least one, and at least one of every six accessible spaces must be van accessible.

These are the minimums in the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, as published by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Each lot or parking structure is counted on its own, not the whole property added together. The accessible spaces belong on the shortest accessible route to an accessible entrance. The full rules are in the Department of Justice brief on restriping parking spaces.

What size are accessible parking spaces and access aisles?

An accessible car space is at least 96 inches wide with an access aisle at least 60 inches wide beside it. A van accessible space is either 132 inches wide with a 60-inch aisle, or 96 inches wide with a 96-inch aisle.

• Access aisles run the full length of the space, are marked so drivers do not park in them, and can be shared by two accessible spaces.
• Slope in the spaces and aisles can be no steeper than 1:48 in any direction, which is about a quarter inch per foot.
• Signs mark each accessible space, and van accessible spaces carry a “van accessible” sign.
• Angled van spaces need the access aisle on the passenger side.

The slope rule is why accessible spaces are a paving question as well as a paint question. If the spaces closest to the entrance sit on a slope steeper than 1:48, painting new lines does not fix it. The pavement has to be regraded. That is excavation and paving work, which is covered in excavation and paving with one New Hampshire contractor.

Does restriping a parking lot mean the accessible spaces have to meet current rules?

Often, yes. The Department of Justice says a business that restripes its lot must provide accessible parking spaces as required by the 2010 ADA Standards.

The U.S. Access Board draws the line by scope. Repainting existing lines in place for a few spaces is usually treated as normal maintenance. Resurfacing a lot, or changing its layout, is treated as an alteration, and the accessible spaces then have to meet the current rules. Before a lot is restriped, it is worth counting the spaces, checking the table above and deciding whether the layout needs to change. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

Should a parking lot be sealcoated before it is restriped?

When a lot is due for both, yes. Sealcoat covers the existing lines, so the order is crack filling, repairs, sealcoating, and then striping once the sealer has cured.

Striping a lot that is about to be sealcoated wastes the paint, and sealcoating a lot that has failed underneath wastes the sealer. A walk-through first sorts out which work the lot needs. The year-round parking lot maintenance plan lays out what to check and when.

What gets painted on a parking lot besides the stalls?

A full striping job usually covers more than parking stalls. The common markings are:

• Accessible spaces, access aisles and the accessible symbol.
• Fire lanes and no-parking zones.
• Stop bars, crosswalks and directional arrows.
• Loading zones, reserved spaces and numbered stalls.

Fire lane markings are often set by the local fire department, so the property’s town is the place to confirm what is required.

What should you send to get a parking lot striping quote?

• The property address and the best contact for site access.
• The number of spaces now, and whether the layout should change.
• A site plan, an aerial photo or a rough sketch of the lot.
• Whether the lot also needs crack filling, repairs or sealcoating.
• Business hours, and any days the lot cannot be closed.

Frequently asked questions

Who does parking lot striping in Concord, NH?

Young’s Excavating & Paving LLC does parking lot striping in Concord from its base at 37 Washington St in Penacook, a village within the city of Concord. It also fills cracks, repairs and sealcoats lots, so striping can be done in the same job.

Who does parking lot striping in Bedford and Salem, NH?

Young’s Excavating & Paving LLC stripes commercial lots in Bedford, Salem, Manchester, Nashua and Londonderry, and across Hillsborough and Rockingham counties.

How often should a parking lot be restriped?

Every 2 to 3 years for most New Hampshire lots, usually in the same season as sealcoating. Lots with heavy turning traffic, delivery trucks or a lot of plowing may need it sooner.

Can parking lot striping be done in winter in New Hampshire?

No. Line paint needs dry pavement and temperatures of about 50 degrees and rising, so striping in New Hampshire is done from spring to early fall. Winter is the time to get the lot quoted.