Faulty tarmac drive installation

[pfm401]

An old tarmac drive was recovered and extended by 1m either side. The work involved digging out the new foundations and covering the whole surface in 10mm SMA tarmac. There are 3 issues, the last one probably pretty minor but when you spend a lot on a driveway you worry!!:
- The drive has "sunk" in places after only a week on one of the extended sides, following heavy rain
- There are loose stones on the surface and the tarmac finish is different in places - sometimes "tight" and sometimes "open". We're not sure what it's supposed to look like
- The pin kerbs were "chipped" on installation (contractor said these will weather in)

The contractor has agreed to make an appointment to look at the issue though has not said when. We may have unrealistically high standards re the surface and the pin kerbs, but we're just not sure and are at the mercy of the contractor's opinion. Re the sinking that is clearly not right though we're not clear on reasonable remedies, obviously it's an issue with the new base which a tarmac patch won't fix but will any solution to the base mean that the whole surface needs to be replaced to make it look ok ie the repaired parts won't look different to the rest?

[Dave_L]

A picture or two would be a great help if you can.

[pfm401]

Thanks, tried to attach pictures but it wants a http link?? DO you know how to do this?

I filled the dip with water to show it better, I noticed that the water then absorbs into the tarmac quite quickly - picture shown - I thought it was supposed to be impermeable??

[pfm401]

See if this works for pictures

https://photos.app.goo.gl/zicHGX9tKikCNkRB6

First photo shows worst dip, spirit level just to show how much it sinks

Second photo shows dip full of water (I did this to highlight the dip)

Third photo shows drained water, this took about 30 seconds - I thought tarmac was supposed to be impervious??

[pfm401]

Second set shows surface

First picture shows a smoother part, second two shows "rougher" part. Contractor said it's SMA 10 if that helps to set expectations of what it should look like. I think it looks fine, I'm concerned about how long it will last, but am not sure what it's supposed to look like!!

Please feel free to tell me straight if I'm worrying about nothing!! If I'm honest when something sinks you worry about all of it which of course may be out of proportion

https://photos.app.goo.gl/V7kNhVeua1N8PQ7R9

[pfm401]

Finally the chips in the pin kerbs, this is probably me being a perfectionist, guy said they'll weather in, just annoying when you've spent so much!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HQmqsTd7YBWm6DaLA

[lutonlagerlout]

I am not a tarmaccer but that looks a bit of a rough job
LLL

[Dave_L]

There should be no undulations in a new asphalt surface that cause ponding like you have there. Chips etc to backedgers just show lack of care and attention to detail. Yes, the imperfections will fade in time from your eye but given how much I guess you've spent, they should be better than that.

The asphalt looks like a standard Asphalt Concrete mix, but would appear to have been over-raked slightly, giving this less uniform appearance.

I'm guessing you've paid in full??

[pfm401]

Thanks Dave L, yeah paid in full, no reason not to at the time!! The contractor has agreed it’s sunk and said he’ll cut out and replace the 1m strip but we’re holding out for a full surface replacement as we don’t want it to look repaired. We’ll see what happens

[msh paving]

that does not look SMA to me, as the water is running through it , just a open texture DBM, very poor finish, lack of attention to detail and finish,
a patch will always been seen,

[pfm401]

Thanks MSH.Do you think the finish is just cosmetic or will it cause the tarmac to fail?

[msh paving]

its a poor job,, its up to you how you see it and what you will live with, the holes and the poor area if patched will always show a patch,are they a large company, can you deal with them maybe a good discount, but the best option is redo it, but thats not going to be easy to get them to do it, other option is court but thats time and money on top

[pfm401]

Cheers MSH. We're going to push for a resurface, through arbitration and the courts if necessary, though obviously we'd rather get them to agree. They've agreed to cut out the 1m strip with the sunk bit and said it will leave a line, we've said we're not happy (put better than that!) and to name a date for the repair, that's where we're at. I can live with the "open" area as long as it's not likely to fail but not a line - we specifically chose tarmac to have a single drive, another option was to extend with blocks.

Disappointing really, we did our homework, firm had good reviews, came across well and looked good at first, plus price in line with other quotes. It's a nightmare that most firms - good or bad - don't seem to have much of an online footprint and there's little in the way of formal qualifications.

[pfm401]

Sorry to keep asking, but I've managed to "speak" to the guy using WhatsApp. He's adamant that he can use a "little device to go over the join and take out the join the best way we can" and there is no need to go over the whole drive. Frankly he's quite dismissive and has accused me of "going round in circles" (don't worry I'm used to this stuff in my line of work, I'm fully aware it basically means he doesn't want to take my opinion on board!)

I'm not sure what to do now - obviously under the law (and common sense) we need to give him a chance to fix things, but based on replies here and elsewhere there's a decent chance we'll end up settling for 2nd best, so it kind of feels like a potential waste of time.

If we were to live with this line would the rest be likely to hold up over time or is the surface so bad as to require replacement way before its time?

I'm tempted to put my concerns in writing basically saying "do the repair if you must but bear in mind that we have expressed reservations so on your head be it if we're not happy and take further action".

Help!

[pfm401]

He's agreed to do the work next Friday (13th of all days!)