Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Why Use Asphalt Paving Material In Pavements

By Essie Osborn


Installing pavements using asphalt materials provides a durable, economical, and cheap option for parking lot and driveways. An asphalt paving procedure should be handled by experts in order to ensure good practices, designs, and materials are used. From the preparation of the ground to the laying down of blacktop, everything has to be done correctly. The ground should be prepared and removed of any loose soils such as clays and debris.

All organic matter is excavated and removed. The hot mix asphalt also should applied properly together with the crushed stones. The compacting of sub base aggregate layer needs to be done firmly to ensure the structure is durable. When compacted firmly, it ensures that the blacktop is well supported to be able to carry the weight of vehicles.

Asphalt material also suffers from water damage. When moisture enters the sub base, it can loosen the material underneath and make the road structures unstable. The formation of cracks should be seen as an urgent thing to tackle. Allowing cracks to remain unrestored will cause water to enter the sub base and lead to trouble. The freeze-thaw effect is one thing that causes problems whenever there are cracks allowing water to seep down pavements. The cracks may be enlarged when water freezes underneath.

When constructing driveways, lots, and lanes using asphaltic material, you need to ensure that a good design, quality materials, and appropriate construction practices are applied. With these factors in mind, a contractor is able to design pavements that are economical, durable, as well as long lasting. Asphalt pavements are easy to maintain and if you accord them the needed attention, they will last for many years.

Repairing potholes is costly but when they occur, they have to be dealt with immediately. Presence of potholes could indicate that the driveways and parking lots are deteriorating extensively. If not checked, potholes can lead to complete deterioration of your road structures. Repair of potholes may be done through patching where the ground is excavated and the loose materials are removed.

Once you have laid down your asphaltic pavements, one thing you will have to deal with is repairs of cracks, potholes, and other defects. Because the blacktop loses its elasticity property with time, it begins to harden. You soon notice that the color of driveways have changed from beautiful black appearance to grayish. This is an indication that pavement material is hardening and needs to be restored.

The most immediate cracks you may see are the fine hairline cracks. Although they are not easily noticeable, and not a threat as such, they can be restored by applying a sealcoat. However, if you do not seal the surface, those tiny small cracks enlarge and widen becoming more visible. You need to watch out for cracks since they can allow water to percolate and enter the sub base area.

Any surface water has to flow to the sides where it is channeled to drainage lines. When designing pavements, a crown to edge design is allowed in order to help water flow and drain away from the driveways. In designing pavement, what you see may not necessarily be what you get. The contractor constructing your pavement should ensure that the best practices are applied. Just because a pavement looks smooth does not mean that it is of high quality.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment