Asphalt road maintenance


  #1  
Old 01-22-17, 11:39 PM
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Asphalt road maintenance

Live in sub with association, we are responsible for our road maintenance.

Was out walking the dog through the neighborhood recently and noticed that every crack that we have filled over the past three or four years was sitting wide open. They are not like that over the summer so it's the contraction of the road bed due to cold temps.

I sent an email to the company inquiring about this, seems like it makes sense to fill the cracks in the winter. They responded with something along the line of frost moving in and out of the ground but they do not service them in the winter but would take a look.

The whole point of sealing is to keep the water out and yet all the work that has been done isnt doing much good. I'll see what they say, inquire with other companies but any truth to my observation?
 
  #2  
Old 01-23-17, 03:59 AM
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With the exception of emergency repairs I've never known of anyone repairing asphalt in cold weather. Filling cracks isn't a permanent fix but rather a way of postponing repaving. Asphalt always needs regular maintenance after it's been down a few years. Let us know what the company representative says.
 
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Old 01-23-17, 11:04 AM
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A lot of it depends on the kind of sealing and filling that was done. Was it patched with cold patch? Mastic? Chip seal?

We have good luck here with hot mastic sealants (they wind up looking like giant black squiggles down the road), but those have to go on before freeze-thaw damage can really take effect. It's typically a summer activity, sealing hairline cracks before they can get worse over the winter.

If it's big enough that you can dump cold patch in, the damage is already severe. The patch may improve the ride for cars, but like Mark said, it's going to have to be replaced. Cut it out, leave nice straight edges, put fresh hot mix in during better weather, and then seal those seams with mastic.
 
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Old 01-23-17, 04:34 PM
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These are just small cracks that have been filled over the past 3-4 years with some type of hot tar. Everything looks great in the summer, but the cracks open up in the cold. Just seems like if they should be filled when they are the largest. No reply so far!
 
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Old 01-24-17, 09:47 AM
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All asphalt work I've seen is done when temperatures are warmer. For repairs I would assume that there is an adhesion problem is the asphalt is too cold. And, if your cracks close in summer but the cracks are filled during winter you might have heaving our buckling.
 
  #6  
Old 01-24-17, 02:17 PM
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Asphalt needs to cool in a controlled manner. Putting hot asphalt down on a cold surface on a cold day will cause compaction issues and surface problems. Surface and air above 50F is a general rule of thumb.

Mastics can go on slightly colder, ~40F, but below that they experience adhesion issues.

I would guess that there's a bigger problem contributing to this, such as insufficient pavement depth or a poor base that's causing it to succumb to earth movement. Or it's just in need of replacement due to age.

Will be interested to hear what the contractor says.
 
 

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