On Thu, 21 Aug 2014 21:36:11 -0400, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:

"stryped" wrote in message
...
I have an asphalt driveway that has always looked horrible. It was put
in when I built the house in 1998. It is uneven, has cracks, crators,
etc.

I have an aspalt batch plant 13 miles away where I can purchase hot
mix, loaded in my trailer for 70 bucks a ton. My idea would be to
"skim coat" the driveway with the small aggregate hot batch.

Obviously, I don't have on eof those several ton rollers that the
highway department has. The only thing I have is a concrete roller I
made for my yard. (I took one of those concrete form tubes, filled it
in concrete with a bar through the center as an axle, and made an
angle iron fram to push it with the lawnmower.

I am assuming this would not be adequate. Would renting a vibratory
compactor work? Will the hot asphalt "stick" to it just creating a
mess?

I was worried about keeping the hot mix hot while traveling 13 miles.
The guy at the plant said it would be no problem. Is this true? Is
there some way to ensure the stuff stays hot short of purchasing
expensive equipment?

I don't have the money to pay someone to tear the driveway out and
start over and to be honest, contractors for the most part in my neck
of the woods are not known for very good work or being reliable. (not
all but most I have ran into)

I appreciate any help as I have not worked with asphault. My idea is
to haul it home, shovel it on the driveway, use a rake to spread it
out evenly and then compact it.

Is this going to look stupid?????

=======

I had some asphalt work done that included a drain which they sculpted
by hand with shovels, wide rakes and long-handled rammers. The crew
they brought in figured out to about one man per 4-5 square yards.
They moved the asphalt mix from the dump truck with wheelbarrows,
spread it with rakes and compacted it with a roller a little smaller
than a Bobcat.

It did NOT look like a job I could do satisfactorily myself without
OJT experience. A neighbor who has worked on a paving crew didn't try
do do his own asphalt walk by himself. It's hard enough to rake a
large patch of sand smooth without the time pressure.

You might look into "rap", Recycled Asphalt Product, or its ground-up
concrete equivalent. I'm told it makes a decent temporary driveway and
an excellent base for proper paving later.

I would strongly suggest that you get a reputable driveway paver to
come in, apply a "tack coat" i.e. either an emulsion of asphalt and
water, or asphalt diluted with solvent spray, then resurface with a
fine aggregate topping mix. My driveway was reconstructed in 1997 and,
although I have some cracking in the outer couple feet I will wait
another ten years before I power wash and fill them, then have it
resurfaced. BTW, I have never had it painted (sealed).
---

Gerry :-)}
London,Canada