Asphalt

[angelcat]

Does anyone here know how to lay down asphalt? If so, how difficult is it to lay it down, and keep a straight edge to it?

[Knothead]

Whenever I've seen 'em do it, it comes in a big, hot, smoking pile, and stinks to high heaven.

The ground is prepared with stakes with a wood form to delineate the coverage.

This area is covered with gravel (and I believe there's sand under that), and flattened out with a handy steamroller.

Then the hot, sticky asphalt is poured (or shoveled) out onto the gravel bed. Then it is again steamrollered, and you only have a little while to stick a series of pennies into it to form your name, before it cools down and hardens.

[thekingofpain]

Yow---ive seen it done by pros---wouldnt wanna attempt it myself...(is it something a homeowner can do?)

[samwichse]

It's not something a homeowner can do. It is basically (this is a simplification) really viscous tar and gravel mixed together.

I has to be mixed up in a big batch and "worked" while it's still over 450 F if I remember right. So you have to mix it up all at once, bring it in dumptruck and lay it out pretty quickly, which generally is done with a highly specialized machine, and then roll it over with a steamroller, otherwise it won't be "dense" enough.

My mom used to drive a dumptruck (yeah, I'm from Kentucky, what's it to you???).

EDIT: Have you considered concrete? That can be done by a homeowner, just do yourself a favor and order it by the cubic yard and have it delivered, it's way easier, and the pouring is a piece of cake .

[BobOmega]

yeah but thoes pennies get real hot. thats the trickey part make sure its facing how you want or oh man its not fun getting it back up.

[CERuppel]

Situation is more... delicate than AC is letting on...

[angelcat]

Well, our neighbor got a job laying down a driveway for someone who shall remain nameless. It looks like a blind man did it. The edges are wavy, there are holes where it looks like they jammed tooles down into it, the surface is wavy, not to mention, he had told her that he was going to use top grade asphault, and used stuff with big gravel chunks, and didn't even bother to have the correct tools to heat it to the temp to spread it properly. He used at least two different grades of asphault, and it looks crappy.

[CERuppel]

Now for why this has me pissed off...

I recommended him. He is my nieghbor, and works the ashphalt biz. I've seen the work he does, and it is good. Only later do we find out that his part of the job is following orders.

He didn't know how to set the edges, what tools to plan for, only to complain about not having them. Then he expects the job to be excepted, despite the 'waves' curves, pocked surface, crumbling edges, and general ugliness.

And this is the man I recommended. I will now slink off to the nether regions.

[Knothead]

You know, this sounds a lot like the guy was desperate for money, and took a job that he thought he could do, but then found out he couldn't. However, there should be a way he can make it right.

The edges could be chopped with maybe a concrete saw, (which he could rent) and the entire job given a "blacktop".

I have never seen any construction job that could not be made right, although you gotta get him to agree to make it that way. But it IS possible.

[korgul]

You could probably use a cold patch asphalt material to fix some of it. You might be able to create forms as knot said and redo the edges.
find out more about cold asphalt
http://uscoldpatch.com/

Here is a step by step
http://doityourself.com/patch/asphal...0112.htm#steps

good luck