Hi all, firstly what a great website and supporting forum: I would very much appreciate some advice on what to do about my recently laid ‘tarmac’ drive.
I have been in the property for 12 years and the drive was tarmaced and the surface to the side of the house was a little uneven. As I was having a patio re-laid and extended, the contractor in question could also do the drive as he had done tarmacking for 25 yrs etc etc. I had previous quoted for this and the existing contractor was twice the price as a previous quote by a ‘knock on the door, I am in the area etc trarmacer’. As my existing contractor has done a splendid job with the stone patio I gave him the job, which was to remove the top layer of tarmac as it looked like there had been 2-3 layers over the years and wanted to keep this away from the damp course. He would also install additional drainage etc.
The drains were installed however with a lot of input from me to ensure they were correct, also the top two layers of material removed and the base was still rock hard and looked solid. I then left on business as all that was remaining to do was the lay the tarmac.
Unfortunately after 5 weeks I have the following issues:
1) The ‘tarmac’ is still very soft and if a car if left on the drive overnight it was leave a tyre impression.
2) At the weekend I parked had my motorcycle on its side stand for no more that 5 minutes while I opened the gate and it sank into the tarmac
3) I have weeds growing out of the tarmac in two places
4) There is a join right in the middle of the gate area.. the gates were open throughout the job but they used two batches of tarmac
5) The water flows under the drains and not over and into the drainage channel is many places
6) The tarmac can easily be broken up / crumbles at the edge.
7) The tarmac can easily be broken up by car tyres or if kicked by a boot (ie testing how hard it is)
After threatening the contractor with a solicitor I got him to come around who tells me it is a good job etc etc. Anyway he has offered to coat the whole drive in a tarmac type paint to seal and give a uniform look etc.
Before proceeding I would appreciate the advice of the members of the forum please.
a) What has the contractor used on my drive? The previous surface would happily accommodate skips, trucks, motorcycle stands etc.
b) Will this stuff ever go hard?
c) Am I being impatient, so do I wait longer?
d) Do I proceed with the tarmac sealer?
e) Should I just get the whole job done again, and if so what surface do I ask for, ie type / grade / pen of tarmac? (I appreciate this a trade name, but using it to describe the material)
Looks OK!?
But weeds growing
Crumbles easily at edges
Still soft after 5 weeks... (motorcycle stand impression)
looks dog rough from here
TBh with tarmac unless its a small area you are better getting a tarmac only firm
to me that looks like it was wackered not rolled
Kuts, dave L, big phil, and bobbi O are the experts here on tarmac but i wouldnt be happy at all with that
LLL
you can see scuffs from the wacker. clearly not compacted. I would guess he has not used a base course, but gone straight in with the 10mm top course.
dave L will give more insight!
Dan the Crusher Man
01442 212315 www.crusherhire.co.uk
"a satisfied customer? we should have them stuffed!"
Don't even consider a sealer,it will make a rough job worse,the tarmac/bitmac will never go hard at that depth and the only way forward is have it out and relay with correct depth of material, 70mm on a drive way is absolute min. depth in 2 layers 40/30mm, MSH
looks like only 10mm depth judging by the imprint of the motorcycle stand, probably 200 pen very soft and doesn't look like it has been rolled and guess no binding agent applied to existing surface. If it is an overlay and the existing surface course has been removed then you'd need minimum 20mm (I'd go for 30), 6mm dense surface course AC6 at 100/150 pen. or 10mm size 30mm thick AC10 at 100/150 pen. Links below to typical domestic drive bitmac makeup.
Unfortunately after 5 weeks I have the following issues:
1) The ‘tarmac’ is still very soft and if a car if left on the drive overnight it was leave a tyre impression.
Is this happening during the recent extreme heat & sunshine? IS the driveway relatively level and not on a steep incline?
2) At the weekend I parked had my motorcycle on its side stand for no more that 5 minutes while I opened the gate and it sank into the tarmac
I always advise householders not to park motorcycles or jockey wheels on the fresh surfacing. The existing surfacing would have been able to support a bike stand as it was fully cured/oxidised.
3) I have weeds growing out of the tarmac in two places
Was the area weed killed prior to the fresh surface being laid? This needs to be done 2/3 weeks beforehand.
4) There is a join right in the middle of the gate area.. the gates were open throughout the job but they used two batches of tarmac
Joint looks acceptable to me, not great but not a great concern.
5) The water flows under the drains and not over and into the drainage channel is many places.
I expect when the voids fill up at the edge of the surfacing the surface water will make it into the drains.
6) The tarmac can easily be broken up / crumbles at the edge.
I guess this was just a simple 100/150pen surface course? What did they compact it with?
7) The tarmac can easily be broken up by car tyres or if kicked by a boot (ie testing how hard it is)
See (6)
RW Gale Ltd - Civils & Surfacing Contractors based in Somerset
3: Limestone - Not that there is anything wrong with a Limestone bitmac, but you have to be careful not to over-roll it, which leads to the whitening up of it.
Sounds like a block paver who "also does Tarmac" - Yep, I'd agree, they are the bane of my life these so called 'experts'
Edited By Dave_L on 1343757418
RW Gale Ltd - Civils & Surfacing Contractors based in Somerset
The size of the drive could've been easily hand laid without any joint, but it looks like the guy has collected a couple of loads himself on a small van and created an unnecessary joint.
A sealant will only hide the poor surface finish and won't add any structural strength to the drive, and it will still be shit.
i used to love using tarmac, but got fed up with getting my asphalt
Many thanks for all of you who have responded. I will try and cover all the points / queries raised:
- The contractor was indeed a paver and a had a chap working with him that sourced and transported the materials for him.. who just happened to do tarmac for the past 25 years etc etc
- The drive was wacked and not rolled.
- The drive was done in two loads.
- The tyre impressions did happen in the hot weather, as did the side stand but this was after 4-5 weeks.
- I understand the tarmac was laid in one layer... guessing between 10-40mm depardant on the location, as about 2-3 layers were removed to get the level down the side of the house.
- The base after removing all the layers still has some tarmac as was rock hard and could take a skip or motorcycle stand (I appreciate this had long gone off).
- Contractor says it is 'driveway tarmac' !??
- I agree I will certainly not go for the sealer.
- I paid £3,000, which was nearly double that I had been quoted, but that was just for a top coat!! The existing contractor did remove a lot of material and put in a lot of additional drainage.
- I am sure no binding agent was used prior to laying the new surface
- I note mikec1972 says:
........ If it is an overlay and the existing surface course has been removed then you'd need minimum 20mm (I'd go for 30), 6mm dense surface course AC6 at 100/150 pen. or 10mm size 30mm thick AC10 at 100/150 pen. Links below to typical domestic drive bitmac makeup.
.. therefore to get a proper job done? ofr as Dave_L has stated, if it was rolled would this be ok?
If I need to have the new tarmac removed and the job redone... are any of you fine fellows based in the TW16 area?? Otherwise how can I find someone who I can trust..!?
AC 6 DENSE 100/150 properly hand laid (minimal areas raked out then rolled to prevent chilling off) at the correct depth 20 - 30mm and roller compacted would be ok. avoid point loading and be careful of hot weather softening. choose your contractor wisely.
i used to love using tarmac, but got fed up with getting my asphalt
it will eventually go off if the tarmac has a standard grade of bitumen (give it 12 months or so but take care in hot sunshine), as it's unlikely that your contractor would be daft enough to use a cut-back bitumen. i'm not sure if it will last long as a durable surface though due to the questionable laying thickness and poor compaction.
i used to love using tarmac, but got fed up with getting my asphalt
