Tarmac

[GWK]

What is the best and easiest way to dig up a Tarmac drive and Back

[Tony McC]

JCB

[andpartington]

i prefer Semtex

quicker and by far the most easy all so all the wast will be stragt over the fence (no wast desposal costs)


relay depends on the size of the area but a digger will be quicker but on a small drive not worth the risk of damage and cost


andy

[surreyhillslandscapes.com]

Will depend what's underneath, if it's an overlay on concrete you may need a kango/breaker/jackhammer/pneumatic drill to break it up first before you . If you need to get round the back then it's either a small machine or a trusty pick and shovel.

[Dave_L]

The BEST way would be to run a cold planer over it and sweep it up with a mechanical brush and store/use it as secondary hardcore.

Think of the enviroment!

[zzorb]

Can anyone give me some advice regarding the type of tarmac. I have a court yard outside my house which the builder has relaid. They have used an SMA tarmacadam which has a 10mm grain. This looks a little odd as the rest of the estate uses a 6mm grain (road and driveways). The builder insists the 10mm is better as it is more hard wearing particularly in a courtyard where cars with power steering are turning. Is this true or, as I suspect, nonsence?

[surreyhillslandscapes.com]

No he's right,providing he has prepared it properly, Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) is a better tarmac and a lot more hard wearing.

[Dave_L]

Yes, he's spot on.

10mm doesn't look as nice as 6mm would do on a private driveway, but there's nothing wrong with specifying it.

Could you post a picture of the compacted surface?

[zzorb]

Thanks for all your replies, I appreciate your time. As requested this is a picture of the coutyard compared to the ajoining road. I've read that SMA is a better product than standard tarmac but my concern is that 6mm grain should have been used to match in with the rest of the estate. I'm trying to establish if the reasoning I've been given; 10mm is more hardwearing (especially in courtyard situation where cars with power steering maneuver) than the equivalent 6mm grain, is accurate.

[TarmacLady]

You'll also find that the 10mm doesn't tend to get slippery as quickly as 6mm -- important for frost, water, and any oil spillage -- last thing you want is for the car to skid off the drive!

[Dave_L]

Nothing wrong with that surface zzorb.

It will be more hardwearing.

Did you have a specification prior to works commencing?

[lutonlagerlout]

i'm no tarmaccer dave,but if in doubt we always follow existing
surely it should have been discussed before installation?
it may be more hard wearing but it looks wrong to my eyes
LLL ???

[zzorb]

the story goes that courtyard (which is quite a large area shared by 4 houses) was originally laid at the same time as the driveways. Unfortunately shortly after it was laid (the following morning) the builder delivered some turf to one of the houses in the courtyard on a heavy duty fork lift which put track marks on the coutyard and generally churned it up in places. The builder agreed to relay it but this is what they laid. So do I understand the mesages correctly - SMA 10mm is more hardwearing the SMA 6mm?

[lutonlagerlout]

yes 10mm sma is more hardwearing than 6mm
LLL

[surreyhillslandscapes.com]

To be honest, give it a few months and it won't notice so much, maybe get some bit-grit to sweep in in the mean time.