I have absolutely no background in asphalt however the other day I was approched by an elderly woman who was wondering if i could take a look at her driveway. It seems that the driveway has experienced a frost heave in two sections resulting in a bubble in two spots measuring approx. 2' x 2' each. I am assuming that in order to repair these spots I need to cut out each section and patch with asphalt. my questions are.. do I need to use hot mix ? Is cold patch acceptable? how do I go about pricing this out. I know that top mix goes for approx $40 a ton up here and not sure if i can get any smaller than a ton. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated
much like the crummy roads we drive on everyday, I don't believe cold patch will last. The only thing is that a drive gets a lot less abuse than a road. Sometimes if you're nice to the dpw guys, and they're right in the area, they will actually throw a little in there for you. If they aren't around, grounds control was right--find a local paver and ask for a couple bucket fulls of the hot stuff. Make sure to put a decent base down first and tamp the heck out of it.
I met with the customer on friday and took a look at the driveway. There are two potholes approx 2'x2' each and some extensive cracking and sagging. The complete damaged section is aprox 497sq feet I went back to the customer today and discussed several options. I have access to an asphalt plant so getting hot mix isnt a big deal Option one Repair two small holes in the driveway and charge $150. Option two Overlay the damaged section of driveway (aprox 497 sq feet) , level and use a plate compactor.and charge $500 Option three Remove the section of driveway with skidsteer (aprox 497 sq feet), re-pack subbase (add material if needed), lay new asphalt and compact with plate compactor. Charge $1500.00 Im waiting for the owner to get back to me. They are a nice elderly couple and I would really like to do a good job for them. I have some experience with patching pot holes and installing storm drains (patching around etc.) but have never had to price out a job on my own. ( i recently was laid off and now out on my own). Can i get away with using the plate compactor or am i gonna need to rent a drum roller? any help would be greatly appreciated. Ive explained to the owner that option three was the right way to do the job but that I was understanding of money being an issue.
I did asphalt repair for a few years. You are correct, remove bad sections by cutting them out. Use hot mix, cold will not last much more then a year if that. Plate compactor, or if the area is small enough a tamper will due just as good. This job should take much more then an hour. I would charge around $250-$350 depending on what your rental expenses were if any.
will th e plate compactor provide a good enough finish if im doing either option 2 or 3 (497 sq feet) or am i gonna have to go out and rent a skidsteer.
Plate compactor will be fine. Do the job in 2 layers, any low spots you can add a little mix, high spots can be raked out. After your done, spray it down with water and you will be able to drive on it within an hour although I would say stay out it for a day if possible just to be safe.
As far as doing the job in two layers.. are u saying put down a layer rake out and level then .. compact and then add a second layer, rake out and compact .. or do one layer. rake out and then add second layer, rake and compact? So I called and verified with the customer that I would be there wednesday to do the job. Now they want to have a drain put in. Im having a bad feeling about this project. .. How long will the overlay last before cracking since im not really repairing the cracking below
well i decieded to rent a roller and thank god i did. The job took us way longer than expected. almost 10 hours although it was just my girlfriend and i. We didnt make much money off the job but at least we got it done although i dont plan on doing much asphalt work in the future. The customer was happy and has already started on a list of other work. i will attach photos as soon as i can.
