Tarmac - quality issues !!
Discussion
Finished building a house last year and paid decent money to get tarmac laid in Autumn 07.
Am I right in saying that at this stage turning my wheels on a dry day should NOT be pulling up stones and leaving permanent marks and in some cases the begninnings of a pot-hole?
Had a 'lab guy' out from the company who said he didnt see a problem!
Surely I shouldn't be able to spin around (on a sunny day) on one foot and see a circle where my foot was. I live in N.Ireland and the temperature hasn't been much over 20 Celcius this year - pity help me if we get a spell of hot weather!
Am I right in saying that at this stage turning my wheels on a dry day should NOT be pulling up stones and leaving permanent marks and in some cases the begninnings of a pot-hole?
Had a 'lab guy' out from the company who said he didnt see a problem!
Surely I shouldn't be able to spin around (on a sunny day) on one foot and see a circle where my foot was. I live in N.Ireland and the temperature hasn't been much over 20 Celcius this year - pity help me if we get a spell of hot weather!
What did this 'lab guy' do and what lab did he work for?
If the right spec has been used and rolled properly the surface should not be failing this soon.
Driveway surfacing only needs to be sub-base of 150mm with a surface course of 50mm on top. It take minimal traffic at very low speeds. Similar spec to a footway.
If the right spec has been used and rolled properly the surface should not be failing this soon.
Driveway surfacing only needs to be sub-base of 150mm with a surface course of 50mm on top. It take minimal traffic at very low speeds. Similar spec to a footway.
'You live in Ireland, got your drive tarmac'd and it wasn't a good job. A reputable company did it did they? '
It was! Thats the shocker about the whole thing.
They laid 80mm base coat and then a few weeks later laid a 80mm top coat - some sort of finish which is a bit coarser than standard but lets water drain away through the suface to prevent puddles (near flat area so thought it would be a good idea to get that rather than the standard finish)
Whats the fluxing agent?
The lab guy took a few photos and then tried to prise up some stones with his keys. He thought it was hard enough. I told him we had been taking it easy on the tarmac because it was soft ie. only turning the wheels when the vehicle is moving etc..
Started treating it like any other tarmac surface and there's loose stones being swept up every week.
It was! Thats the shocker about the whole thing.
They laid 80mm base coat and then a few weeks later laid a 80mm top coat - some sort of finish which is a bit coarser than standard but lets water drain away through the suface to prevent puddles (near flat area so thought it would be a good idea to get that rather than the standard finish)
Whats the fluxing agent?
The lab guy took a few photos and then tried to prise up some stones with his keys. He thought it was hard enough. I told him we had been taking it easy on the tarmac because it was soft ie. only turning the wheels when the vehicle is moving etc..
Started treating it like any other tarmac surface and there's loose stones being swept up every week.
Have you got records from the batching plant? As tarmac is sensative to the temprature it is placed at, method of compaction and duration it has sat in the wagon.
Some of the less professional tarmacing outfits purchase yesterdays surplus or returned black, heat it up so that it is layable. Unfortunately the properties of the materials are not as designed.
If you get hold of the batching records and compare to the day the work was carried out you may be able to see if this had occured!
Some of the less professional tarmacing outfits purchase yesterdays surplus or returned black, heat it up so that it is layable. Unfortunately the properties of the materials are not as designed.
If you get hold of the batching records and compare to the day the work was carried out you may be able to see if this had occured!
rickbrown74 said:
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laid a 80mm top coat - some sort of finish which is a bit coarser than standard but lets water drain away through the suface to prevent puddles (near flat area so thought it would be a good idea to get that rather than the standard finish)
Well about 20 years ago I worked for an asphalting company for 6 months, ordering plant and consumables to site. I'm not claiming any expertise at all beyond organising lorries full of stuff to arrive in a particular order, but that doesn't sound right - the base course should be coarser than the wearing (top) course. What size are the stones in the top coat? IIRC, 6mm is normal for driveways. And if water is draining through the surface, rather than off it, then of course it's going to break up - water gets in, freezes, pushes apart all the impacted material that they spent so much time compacting with a roller and a Wacker. laid a 80mm top coat - some sort of finish which is a bit coarser than standard but lets water drain away through the suface to prevent puddles (near flat area so thought it would be a good idea to get that rather than the standard finish)
Did you tell them to do that rather than standard finish, or did they spec it (with whatever they had left over from another job perhaps - even 'reputable' companies do that)?
Breaking up of the surface does happen, it's called Stripping. So you might call it normal, but it's definitely not acceptable; if it ever happened when the company I worked for did a council job, they went back and put it right.
Just read this and it sounds like I know what I'm talking about - I really don't beyond it not sounding quite right.
rickbrown74 said:
'You live in Ireland, got your drive tarmac'd and it wasn't a good job. A reputable company did it did they? '
It was! Thats the shocker about the whole thing.
They laid 80mm base coat and then a few weeks later laid a 80mm top coat - some sort of finish which is a bit coarser than standard but lets water drain away through the suface to prevent puddles (near flat area so thought it would be a good idea to get that rather than the standard finish)
Whats the fluxing agent?
The lab guy took a few photos and then tried to prise up some stones with his keys. He thought it was hard enough. I told him we had been taking it easy on the tarmac because it was soft ie. only turning the wheels when the vehicle is moving etc..
Started treating it like any other tarmac surface and there's loose stones being swept up every week.
Not enough binder content in the tarmac or more likely it was laid cold (off optimum temperature or long after batched) most likely late in the day. It was! Thats the shocker about the whole thing.
They laid 80mm base coat and then a few weeks later laid a 80mm top coat - some sort of finish which is a bit coarser than standard but lets water drain away through the suface to prevent puddles (near flat area so thought it would be a good idea to get that rather than the standard finish)
Whats the fluxing agent?
The lab guy took a few photos and then tried to prise up some stones with his keys. He thought it was hard enough. I told him we had been taking it easy on the tarmac because it was soft ie. only turning the wheels when the vehicle is moving etc..
Started treating it like any other tarmac surface and there's loose stones being swept up every week.
Needs removing and relaying correctly.
rickbrown74 said:
Finished building a house last year and paid decent money to get tarmac laid in Autumn 07.
Looks excellent when it's been put down right. rickbrown74 said:
Am I right in saying that at this stage turning my wheels on a dry day should NOT be pulling up stones and leaving permanent marks and in some cases the begninnings of a pot-hole?
Look at the road outside your house (Or a main road). Shouldn't happen.rickbrown74 said:
Had a 'lab guy' out from the company who said he didnt see a problem!
Think I may have begged to differ.rickbrown74 said:
Surely I shouldn't be able to spin around (on a sunny day) on one foot and see a circle where my foot was. I live in N.Ireland and the temperature hasn't been much over 20 Celcius this year - pity help me if we get a spell of hot weather!
Foot...No. Constant steering wheels... Possibly.A lot of the *firms* round here use *cutback* ( a polite way of saying they keep it going for slightly past it's sell by date)
This usually consists of nothing more than letting it down with diesel, which keeps it workable. (Don't go on it for a couple of hours etc.)
It should be drive-able on the minute the roller is off it. If (as yours seems to be) it isn't, get them back to sort it.
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