Hi, I've just finished putting in a gravel driveway. At the front of the drive is an area of grass about 3/4 metre deep by about 5 metres wide. I've dug it out and put hardcore in it but am not sure what to use on top. I've seen bags of tarmac at B&Q, does anyone know if they r any good? I have to drive over this area to get on my drive. The other option would be concrete but the path is tarmac so think that would look better.
Thanks in advance!
Bags of tarmac
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dig dug dan
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The bags of tarmac you have seen are ideal for small patching. I have used them to finish a drive edge where it meets a pavement, or if I have put a post into a tarmac drive, i dress round it with it, but I wouldn't recommend it for a large area. It takes an eon to set to any strength.
Best to find a local tarmac company that can do it for you. they often like small jobs like this as they can use up any left over from another job
Best to find a local tarmac company that can do it for you. they often like small jobs like this as they can use up any left over from another job
Dan the Crusher Man
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www.crusherhire.co.uk
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01442 212315
www.crusherhire.co.uk
"a satisfied customer? we should have them stuffed!"
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Dave_L
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Use a reputable surfacing company to construct the tarmac area properly, that way it will look right and last. Avoid using Easitex type bagged tarmac for large areas as Dan has said. It's a deferred set type of 'mac, never has any strength.
RW Gale Ltd - Civils & Surfacing Contractors based in Somerset
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TarmacLady
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The bags are, as the gents have said, very soft bitmac -- they are designed to remain flexible, as a spot requiring a patch is, by definition, subject to some sort of motion stress.
The missus will bury you alive, too, because the stuff goes right gooey when the sun is shining or when it gets a bit warm (by design -- it then flows into any new breaks in the hole) -- and you'll track it all over her floors straight away.
The missus will bury you alive, too, because the stuff goes right gooey when the sun is shining or when it gets a bit warm (by design -- it then flows into any new breaks in the hole) -- and you'll track it all over her floors straight away.
Tarmac Lady
Well-behaved women rarely make history.
Well-behaved women rarely make history.
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the lost
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DIYBODGER wrote:Hi, I've just finished putting in a gravel driveway. At the front of the drive is an area of grass about 3/4 metre deep by about 5 metres wide. I've dug it out and put hardcore in it but am not sure what to use on top. I've seen bags of tarmac at B&Q, does anyone know if they r any good? I have to drive over this area to get on my drive. The other option would be concrete but the path is tarmac so think that would look better.
Thanks in advance!
At the front of the drive is an area of grass about 3/4 metre deep by about 5 metres wide...
I have to drive over this area to get on my drive.
I may be having trouble understanding this, but are you talking about the grass verge by the roadside?
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flowjoe
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There was a company around our way last year who would deliver bagged T.Mac out of the back of a heated van, the kind of van they deliver bacon butties out of on trading estates.
The T.Mac had no cut back in it so it would set, unlike like the crap you get from the B.ms and it was warm and easy to work with, so you don`t have to have it in the cab with you with the heater on full before you can work with it.
Never used the service though and have not seen them for some time, probably tells its own story
The T.Mac had no cut back in it so it would set, unlike like the crap you get from the B.ms and it was warm and easy to work with, so you don`t have to have it in the cab with you with the heater on full before you can work with it.
Never used the service though and have not seen them for some time, probably tells its own story
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Dave_L
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That's a new one on me!!!!!!
Nice concept though!
Did he do hot pasties and bacon butties too? Could have been onto a winer!
Nice concept though!
Did he do hot pasties and bacon butties too? Could have been onto a winer!
RW Gale Ltd - Civils & Surfacing Contractors based in Somerset
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seanandruby
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TarmacLady
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Tony McC
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Was that a "HotBox", Joe? It's a gadget that'sused by some term contractors for small patching jobs. The blacktop is kept heated and agitated inside an insulated container and dispensed as required.
Good British bacon? Is there any left? Most of the stuff I find over here comes from some sort of underwater pig, because the rashers give off a cupful of water before starting to cook. I buy traditional dry-cured rashers from a real butcher's shop in Limerick and bring it back to Britain with me (along with proper sausages and white pudding).
Good British bacon? Is there any left? Most of the stuff I find over here comes from some sort of underwater pig, because the rashers give off a cupful of water before starting to cook. I buy traditional dry-cured rashers from a real butcher's shop in Limerick and bring it back to Britain with me (along with proper sausages and white pudding).
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TarmacLady
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Wilson
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Having had US bacon I have some sympathy...Canadians better but not by much. I too have a local butcher in my village and his bacon is just the best...as is his chicken and beef...all local and organic.
Anyways....
Just a quick note in praise of good quality patch tarmac. I have been using Instarmac's Ultracrete Instant Road Repair IRR tp patch repair my driveway cracks. I would never use a sheds bagged tarmac and IRR is used by a lot of UK councils for permanent patch repairs. My local Parish council used some to repair a path and its still good 2 years on.
Goes on like a dream...nice and fluid and compacts well and fills edges perfectly. Last weeks is already hard and will only get harder. I guess you get what you pay for as its £23 for a 25kg tub of 6 mm Red as opposed to Wickes £4.98 for black 10mm. Key as always is preparation, preparation, preparation...pass the brown sauce.....
Repair before...
After...
and more...
Freshly done tonight....
Anyways....
Just a quick note in praise of good quality patch tarmac. I have been using Instarmac's Ultracrete Instant Road Repair IRR tp patch repair my driveway cracks. I would never use a sheds bagged tarmac and IRR is used by a lot of UK councils for permanent patch repairs. My local Parish council used some to repair a path and its still good 2 years on.
Goes on like a dream...nice and fluid and compacts well and fills edges perfectly. Last weeks is already hard and will only get harder. I guess you get what you pay for as its £23 for a 25kg tub of 6 mm Red as opposed to Wickes £4.98 for black 10mm. Key as always is preparation, preparation, preparation...pass the brown sauce.....
Repair before...
After...
and more...
Freshly done tonight....
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Dave_L
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Perhaps the pictures don't pick it out well, but was the original surface red tarmac?
Impressed.
Impressed.
RW Gale Ltd - Civils & Surfacing Contractors based in Somerset
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Wilson
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It was dusk and the flash went off...but yes the original is Red...oddly enough in daylight, no flash (!), its not a bad match. Of course the original is some 18 years old and has lost its colour as you would expect. A good bitumen asphalt restorer would cover the whole thing and perk it up.
I have brushed the dust and bits and pieces over the cold seal after applying the top sealing coat and the black is actually dulled down a lot ......why don't they make cold seal in red as well ? One of lifes mysteries.
I was impressed by the workability of the IRR and good compaction and adhesion to the sub base. If I was doing it for a living I would plan a bit more as the first picture shows where I did one bit them wasn't happy with the other side of the drain so did a bit more.
I have brushed the dust and bits and pieces over the cold seal after applying the top sealing coat and the black is actually dulled down a lot ......why don't they make cold seal in red as well ? One of lifes mysteries.
I was impressed by the workability of the IRR and good compaction and adhesion to the sub base. If I was doing it for a living I would plan a bit more as the first picture shows where I did one bit them wasn't happy with the other side of the drain so did a bit more.