Crumbling new tarmac - Will it settle?

[tallulah9360]

We had our driveway done in red tarmac in April, when the weather was good but not exactly a heatwave. We were told to stay off it at least 24 hours so we kept off for 48. We immediately had red on our car wheels and this lasted a few days. A month or so after we noticed it was dry and the top surface was crumbling in places, not badly but enough for us to contact the contractor. After months of discussions and getting their supplier out to review and report they are now saying that they are sure it will settle and advising that we do nothing but continue to monitor it. The supplier says there is nothing wrong with the material they supplied (it came ready mixed from the quarry) but there is a vague admission of power steering damage which we weren't warned about.

Is this likely or are they trying it on? If it gets no worse then it's ok and we can live with it but our concern is that it will get worse. It seems better when it rains...Should we push for remedial action or do as they say and monitor it over the next few months?

Thanks for any advice offered.

[Dave_L]

I wouldn't expect any surface 'looseness' on a newly laid bitmac surface - indeed, power steering damage can be a real problem but I do warn every single customer of ours about this.

Is this confined to one area or is it loose all over?

Do you have any pictures of the areas of concern?

[DNgroundworks]

I did a driveway last year and the customer was dead set on red tarmac, when i got my tarmac gang out to have a look they instantly dismissed red, he said that for some reason in his experience red tarmac seems to be alot weaker and degrades alot quicker than black.

Any truth in this Dave?, sorry OP no help at all to yourself but i thought it was interesting

[Dave_L]

Nope, no truth is that whatsoever! I've had my red drive down 7 years and it's tough as old boots now and has been since the day it was laid.

[lemoncurd1702]

Was it laid on an existing surface, concrete or tarmac? If so was a tack coat applied?
What was the thickness of the new tarmac?

[msh paving]

Dave_l is a tarmac and surfacing contractor so his drive will have be laid to every standard ,
There is no reason for red to be a inferior product as it is made in same way just a red pigment added. MSH

[tallulah9360]

No it wasn't laid on existing the sub base is 200mm quarry stone then 50mm of 20mm bitumous base course rolled then 25mm depth of 6mm bituminous wearing course rolled. I am quoting from the contractor quote here, we didn't watch it go down. I am convinced its the power steering issue which we weren't warned about.

[lemoncurd1702]

The quoted specification seems up to standard.

Was the surface loose in the summer when temperatures were hot or did it just rut but hold together.

There are many reasons that the surface could be crumbling and probably the only way you will know for sure is by using an independent expert to test the material.
This could prove costly and may not be worth the expense.

[Big Phil]

bad news. if a tarmac drive goes bad it always looks worse when it's red. if it is a red aggregate + red pigment then some can be prone to binder stripping which may affect durability. as lemoncurd said, it could be a number of things (material quality or workmanship)

[bazilh]

Normally when tarmac is laid, if the area is not drive on drive off like a normal driveway then we recommend a stone mastic asphalt wear course, this is much harder than a normal dense wear course but is designed for use on car parks so it will never fail, it is more expensive but we only install products that are fit for purpose no matter the cost and we tell our customers this.

If your tarmac area is a space where cars are bound to be turning on a regular basis, has the contractor sold you a product that is not fit for purpose with the sole intent of giving you an attractive cheap price instead of the correct product, you may have a legal route I don't know but it may be worth looking into.