Anyone know about bitmac?
Discussion
The last pic shows tell tail signs of the asphalt being laid to cold or left too long before rolling. Ideally you want the aggregate(stone) pushed into the bitumen whilst its hot which these haven't, they are setting pound hence popping out.
As stated as a rule of thumb for depth you want double the aggregate depth plus 50% so 40mm would be the ideal depth but the signs you are witnessing aren't due to laying depth its about temperature of the laid and rolled material.
How do you fix this?? very hard in a smallish area like this. You could in your right mind ask for it to be pulled out and re-done
Another solution is to have them surface dress the area with tar and chippings, like you see of country lanes. It simply dresses the surface. I'd do this asap, as soon as wet and cold weather states to get into the voids in that surface you will have chucks (pothole) pulling out in no time. the surface dress will seal the bitmac and stop water ingress and you wont get the popping out of aggregate. I'll ask our pavement expert here and report back
As stated as a rule of thumb for depth you want double the aggregate depth plus 50% so 40mm would be the ideal depth but the signs you are witnessing aren't due to laying depth its about temperature of the laid and rolled material.
How do you fix this?? very hard in a smallish area like this. You could in your right mind ask for it to be pulled out and re-done
Another solution is to have them surface dress the area with tar and chippings, like you see of country lanes. It simply dresses the surface. I'd do this asap, as soon as wet and cold weather states to get into the voids in that surface you will have chucks (pothole) pulling out in no time. the surface dress will seal the bitmac and stop water ingress and you wont get the popping out of aggregate. I'll ask our pavement expert here and report back
deanogtv said:
The last pic shows tell tail signs of the asphalt being laid to cold or left too long before rolling. Ideally you want the aggregate(stone) pushed into the bitumen whilst its hot which these haven't, they are setting pound hence popping out.
As stated as a rule of thumb for depth you want double the aggregate depth plus 50% so 40mm would be the ideal depth but the signs you are witnessing aren't due to laying depth its about temperature of the laid and rolled material.
How do you fix this?? very hard in a smallish area like this. You could in your right mind ask for it to be pulled out and re-done
Another solution is to have them surface dress the area with tar and chippings, like you see of country lanes. It simply dresses the surface. I'd do this asap, as soon as wet and cold weather states to get into the voids in that surface you will have chucks (pothole) pulling out in no time. the surface dress will seal the bitmac and stop water ingress and you wont get the popping out of aggregate. I'll ask our pavement expert here and report back
Thank you.As stated as a rule of thumb for depth you want double the aggregate depth plus 50% so 40mm would be the ideal depth but the signs you are witnessing aren't due to laying depth its about temperature of the laid and rolled material.
How do you fix this?? very hard in a smallish area like this. You could in your right mind ask for it to be pulled out and re-done
Another solution is to have them surface dress the area with tar and chippings, like you see of country lanes. It simply dresses the surface. I'd do this asap, as soon as wet and cold weather states to get into the voids in that surface you will have chucks (pothole) pulling out in no time. the surface dress will seal the bitmac and stop water ingress and you wont get the popping out of aggregate. I'll ask our pavement expert here and report back
From the photos you've posted it looks like a very poor job. I'd insist on my money back plus tell the contractor to put it back to its original state so you can get someone else to do it properly.
ETA
The grading on the aggregate appears to be wrong ... a lab test would confirm or otherwise if it was within the limits specified and also give an indication of binder content ... others have said that it has been laid at the wrong temperature, that would be more difficult to prove but I agree it could be part of the problem
ETA
The grading on the aggregate appears to be wrong ... a lab test would confirm or otherwise if it was within the limits specified and also give an indication of binder content ... others have said that it has been laid at the wrong temperature, that would be more difficult to prove but I agree it could be part of the problem
Edited by ATTAK Z on Friday 12th September 22:43
A further question: Would surface dressing resolve this problem, or would it simply be putting another surface on something that's not robust enough to take it?
I ask because I might be tempted to look at a buff coloured surface dressing. It would suit the property better than black. I wasn't actually aware it was an option when we had the work done.
BigTom85 said:
Eleven said:
I can see me having a battle to get them to redo it entirely. Is there any other remedy?
They could try heating it with a pan heater and recompacting it, but it looks beyond that to be honest.Its either patch it, redo the lot, or cover it up.
Eleven said:
BigTom85 said:
Eleven said:
I can see me having a battle to get them to redo it entirely. Is there any other remedy?
They could try heating it with a pan heater and recompacting it, but it looks beyond that to be honest.Its either patch it, redo the lot, or cover it up.
ATTAK Z said:
Eleven said:
BigTom85 said:
Eleven said:
I can see me having a battle to get them to redo it entirely. Is there any other remedy?
They could try heating it with a pan heater and recompacting it, but it looks beyond that to be honest.Its either patch it, redo the lot, or cover it up.
Edited by Eleven on Monday 15th September 20:49
Resin bound gravel is permeable so water will settle on the surface of the bitmac underneath. You've confirmed that the bitmac is already degrading. Imagine what frost action will do on a surface that is impermeable and is already breaking up.
To summarise - not a good idea
Edited to read 'resin bound' rather than 'resin bonded'
To summarise - not a good idea
Edited to read 'resin bound' rather than 'resin bonded'
Edited by ATTAK Z on Monday 15th September 22:35
ATTAK Z said:
Resin bonded gravel is permeable so water will settle on the surface of the bitmac underneath. You've confirmed that the bitmac is already degrading. Imagine what frost action will do on a surface that is impermeable and is already breaking up.
To summarise - not a good idea
10mm bitmac is permeable though isn't it?To summarise - not a good idea
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