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Contractors are constantly battling the elements to get their work done on their clients' schedules, but sometimes conditions are such that perhaps the job shouldn't be done. Or, even if it is done, the result will be a less-than-optimum job.

Still, sometimes that job must go on. It's the contractor's responsibility to make sure the customer understands the situation and the possible ramifications of working in less-than-ideal conditions. It's also the contractor's job to make sure the work and finished product is the best product possible given the circumstances. Sometimes that means bringing in a consultant to offer guidance, sometimes it means altering your typical paving operation, sometimes it means crossing your fingers - and sometimes it means doing all that and more.

Such was the case when Spokane Rock Products had contracted to overlay a 50,000-sq.-ft. parking lot at NorthTown Mall in Spokane, WA. The parking lot was being used as the staging area for materials during construction of an addition to the mall, and it experienced a lot of construction traffic throughout the construction process. The mall addition was scheduled to open in mid-September; work on the parking lot overlay couldn't begin until late October; and the hot mix plant (owned by the contractor) was scheduled for shutdown on Thanksgiving Day.

So the first challenge was scheduling pavement repair and preparation, followed by actual paving, in a constricted time frame that the contractor knew was going to be upset throughout by inclement weather.

The second challenge, and the biggest one, was how to get the paving done so the overlay was a quality and long-lasting job when who knows what the temperatures were going to be in Spokane in November. Average October temperatures range from 36°F to 59°F while average November temperatures range from 29°F to 41°F (rainfall averages just over an inch in October and just over 2 inches in November).