Narrowing tarmac drive

[faiz]

Hi All, I'm thinking of narrowing a 15ft wide driveway to around 11 ft by trimming 2 ft from each side and softlandscaping the areas trimmed away. I have checked out hire prices for power saws but wonder how difficult the exercise is going to be. e.g. how long does one of these saws take to cut through a meter or so of tarmac. Would I need anything else to break away the strip of tarmac and edging cut away from the drive?

Thanks in advance for any helpful reply.

[Tony McC]

A hand-held power saw with a diamond blade will chomp through a linear metre of bitmac in less than a minute. In the trade, we prefer to use a floor-saw, which is the same idea except the saw is mounted on wheels, has a bigger blade, is easier to control and costs a few quid more per week...




...incidentally, have you considered how the sawn edges will be supported and retained once cut? Bitmac really does need an edging to prevent it crumbling away.



Edited By Tony McC on 1115228374

[faiz]

Hi Tony. Your reply is is very helpful. I have about 10 linear meters to shave away from each side (so 20 lin meters in all) and 1m per mimute sounds like one or two hour's work for the lot. I wonder if this length of tarmac justifies the additional hire costs of a floor saw given that my landscaper's hourly rate is £15.

For retaining, we were going to re-edge with vertical slabs like the ones we will be taking away.

PS: the tarmac is '10 mil' which means its rough and a guaranteed cut finger for the kids if they fall on it. Is there anyway of making it more kid freindly, e.g. through a screed of finer tarmac etc.

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[Tony McC]

Hi Faiz,

sorry for the delayed response, but I've been away for most of the past month or so.

You could have a finer finish on the bitmac. 6mm dense gives a lovely, almost smooth finish while still offering enough traction and slip resistance for vehicles.