OT: Asphalt driveway being installed

Yeah, throw a chunk of 3/4" plywood under your jackstands, especially if the temp is over 80, but a good idea the rest of time anyway (and especially while it's new). It amazing how fast you'll get an imprint on even old asphalt on a hot day.

I think the water treatment you guy mentioned could help it cool down and solidify faster, which would make it more solid. I've seen some pretty obnoxious tire marks in fresh asphalt... --Glenn Lyford

My understanding is that asphalt hardens by cooling and solvent evaporation. The evaporation would take MUCH longer than the cooling. Given that new driveways can be driven on in a day or 2, cooling must be more significant.

Around here (northeast MA), I never seen fresh asphalt being hosed. Maybe it's different where it's much hotter (AZ, say).

Bob

When I had my parking lot done I spread sand over it, fresh blacktop is rather sticky and I fiquered that would limit the tar carried inside. Water is also a good idea to cool it off. The lighter color of the sand will limit the solar heating effect too.

I waited 3 months to drive the forklift on it and still made ruts, now a year later it's finally solid. I think it not only has to cool off but solvents need to evaporate too.

To avoid tire marks, never turn your wheels if the car is not moving for at least the first month.

Thank You, Randy

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After it has been compacted is NOT the time but It is really helpful to run a few stray chunks of pipe/conduit under the drive. Useful for the "new yard light", the new "security gate", sprinkler system, etc.

Asphalt and c> Am having an asphalt driveway** installed in the next few days.

Too late now. You need application standards written into the contract and you or an outside engineer standing there with a thermometer. Good asphalt results are mostly about keeping it hot and rolling it plenty while hot. The typical driveway job is not done properly. The problem is that an improper application lasts years and looks good at the start, so without an expert you're stuck with something that falls apart in 5 or 10 years instead of 20 or 30.

Having done this for 40 years---the bare dirt/rock should be PRIMED with a .25 gal/sqyd cutback asphalt primer! anything less than 1.5" of hot-mix is just wasting your money. 2" is much better. The prime seals the surface below the asphalt and prevents water from penetrating thru the microscopic cracks that occur during shrinkage, curing, sudden cold spells,etc.. there are the new asphalt-emulsion type primers-jest takes a little more.. the state of OKla has quit using this, because it doesn't penetrate well.

A good coat of primer should stand up on a slick clay type dirt, penetrating the rock & dust & binding it together.. after a 24-48 hr cure for the primer, the wet places should be blotted with sand to facilitate working on it w/o picking up.

As for spraying with water, they have to do that to keep the mix from sticking to their rollers. You must live up north, sounds like all the gypsies use hotmix/coldlay with the solvent in it--I cannot see any other reason for spraying water on it after it has been final-rolled.

Make sure that any large rocks have been removed, down to the frost line or as close to it as you can easily go. Nothing like seeing a large rock try to work its way up through your nice asphalt. And they do.

There is a new TV show here in Maine, called Hot & Cold. Local. They had a professor of civil engineering on, explaining about frost heaves. Interesting. With rocks seeming to grow out of the ground, the gist of it was that since the rock is a better conductor than the surrounding earth, the cold working down freezes the ground under the rock before the surrounding ground, which causes the rock to lift.

John Martin

And under the kick/center stand of your motorcycle if you ride.

Only if the asphalt is not properly compacted on a properly compacted underlying layer (gravel or asphalt). I have had a DC9 cross fresh asphalt before it was finish rolled without leaving tire marks. Gerry :-)} London, Canada

Funny story about that. At least funny to me, who did not own the Goldwing. The family is checking in to a motel in Paso Robles, CA. (a lot of years ago) Nice new Goldwing parked just outside the window if the lobby. Owner of motel is owner of GW. Is telling me how nice his new GW is, when it starts to, and finishes falling over. Kick stand has sunk into the blacktop.