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road planings --experience of them over time AS


scottishjohn

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I was lucky that a local road next to my build was planed and relayed and got a good deal on the planings. I found them good, was over previous fairly solid ground, pushed about with the JCB and compacted with a big diesel roller, never moved but depends on how the edges are dealt with I guess. 

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Take a look at this picture

 

image.png.199b9a9f272b75d1ef2e0b2ca4927c74.png

 

No we are not looking at that trusty reliable subaru (that happens to be for sale)

 

We are looking at the road planings it is parked on.

 

That was constructed as a temporary loading bay for log lorries for some planned tree extraction (that has not yet happened)  As far as I could tell from what I saw of it's construction is it is just a load of crushed stone of some sort laid and compacted and topped by quite a thick layer of road planings, probably laid and compacted in layers.

 

It certainly feels solid and does not appear to move as you drive or walk on it.

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Road planings are a favourite material.

It is a highly controlled product as if type 1 with added sticky.

So if it is well broken up into being like a load of stone, and is well spread and compacted,  it will be very strong.

I can't remember the bitumen content but it is a small %.  About 3% maybe? ie lots of good stone.

 

Then you get a hot summer and it adjusts and sticks even better.

 

BUT make sure you aren't getting footpath surfacing. It is not strong and not a good surface for traffic.

 

The only downside of planings is that it used to be cheap but now is popular.

And quite rightly it can now be recycled for roads...it used to be designated as waste.

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The driveway to our cottage is fairly steep with a tight turn. We initially laid it with type 1 which rapidly began to form ruts and potholes, as soon as the rain had washed away the fines.

 

I laid a load of tar planings over the top and packed it down with a walk-behind roller. What a transformation! It basically became as good as a tar surface but under a third of the cost.

 

It's not been 100% perfect though. There is one spot where repeated vehicles have managed to scrub a hole through the surface. The cottage is a holiday let so we have had hundreds of people going up and down, and they tend to be a bit hesitant about the steep, tight turn. If you know what you're doing, you know not to take your foot off until you reach the top.

 

I have had a half hearted attempt to repair the pothole, using some loose planings from the bottom of the drive, and mixing in some bitumen. It was extremely messy and without use of any heat the bitumen remained a sticky mess just under the loose chips. I think over time it will set, but it's taking much longer than I expected.

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27 minutes ago, Crofter said:

half hearted attempt to repair the pothole

Be a neerd and watch the highways people. A patch won't stick, so they cut a rectangle out and fill it tight.

Then wheels are pushing the material sideways against the vertical face, not scrubbing it upwards.

 

Meanwhile you could make the pothole cleanish then apply bitumen tacky stuff before the infill. A tamper will be helpful.

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how long ago was it you did this  

as newer type of tarmac is a chemical setting type-doyou cannot haet it like old tarmac and use it again  

that is my worry that newer types of plannings will not bond together as older type  which came from an old road made with real tarmac

thanks for the replies boys 

 as for cost, quite cheap here 

£15 a ton if you collect or £100 a truck load ,so I am told 

Edited by scottishjohn
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1 hour ago, scottishjohn said:

newer type of tarmac is a chemical setting type

Depends when this was introduced and when the Road it came from was laid 🤷‍♂️

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1 hour ago, scottishjohn said:

newer type of tarmac is a chemical setting type

It shouldnt be getting ripped up yet. 

 

The bitumen (or other bonder) is only surface coating the aggregate so it will be good, blended stone, whatever.

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8 hours ago, saveasteading said:

Be a neerd and watch the highways people. A patch won't stick, so they cut a rectangle out and fill it tight.

Then wheels are pushing the material sideways against the vertical face, not scrubbing it upwards.

 

Meanwhile you could make the pothole cleanish then apply bitumen tacky stuff before the infill. A tamper will be helpful.

I'm not sure this method works with tar planings? There's not really a surface there to cut. It's still a somewhat loose material, basically small stones that are slightly stuck together. Like a big bowl of sticky rice.

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at least 10years ago

 this is why resurfacing of roads does not last as it used to

 older type it was semi melted on hot days and healed up  ,but not so with new type 

 add to that the fact that they only lay it in 35mm thickness  and even on wet days when it never gets a chance to bond to the lower layers and we have a recipe to keep the pot hole repaiirers in biz for ever 

it amazes me how they think it can work laying a much cooler tarmac than they ysed to on to wet foads and expect it too last

you used see flames coming out from under the tarmac laying mchine as they dried out and heated the road as the tarmac was laid 

,you never see that now as they don,t heat the road ,

with flames andwhich used to heat and blow the water away 

how could anyone think laying tarmac on a cold wet day is going to make it bond to the layer below,

hence why you see patchs of it coming off  down to the layer  below  and then along comes the patching crew    and a year later the patches peel off 

the reason a tarmac man gve me for the 35mm layer is that if they laid it at 50mm - and it came off it would then be classed as a pot hole  and would have to be repaired much sooner under EU regs   

one of my pet hates --I have been watching sections of road where the old surface has been replaced   more than once in the past few years and yet th eold sections which were ok  are still ok  

proof it it were needed that the new product is not as good as the old type 

all in the name of polution control to cut down the petrolium based tarmac emmisions 

 add to that the change some years ago of not allowing use of granite chips in tarmac  because it was said they made the surface less gripper cos they were hard  and noisier   again EU regs 

  yes granite chips in tarmac were and are harder  and made the surface last longer 

 I know this is fact because that was the main reason that the quarry  I am on was shut in 1992  althoug the quarry had superb stone for building and monumental  work  ,that produced lots of waste  which went into tarmac production   and super white gravle chips for drives and pathways  along with granite sand for use in concrete for sewers and harbour constuction  flod defences as it does not wear away the same  as it was and still is the best for constant contact with water

 granite sand is now well over £120  per ton as opposed to normal building sand at less than half the price 

and instead of granite they turned to whinstone for tarmac

when all said and done you drive to grip on the road  and modern tyres are much gripper than they used to be anyway 

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10 minutes ago, Roger440 said:

the madness of road laying

I once knew all about it, but it was hot and flexible stuff then. I sat on  a Blaw Knox paver for months.

I don't know the new chemistry or the principles....so I'll say nothing.

Perhaps a little.

 

Maybe it is too stiff.

Our ground moves a lot, not just at trenches but everywhere and constantly through nature and vehicle load.

The old bitumen stuff was very flexible indeed so would bend and stay intact.

I daily saw a pile of removed road, perhaps 300 thick. One cantilevered lump, overhanging 600mm, rotated 90° in a summer and stayed in one L shaped piece.

 

I'm suggesting, in all ignorance, that the new make-up is harder. Without an independent  research body (old TRRL) we may not find out.

 

 

 

 

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