Pothole patching for a tarmac virgin.

[Stroppymonkey]

Our shared/rented yard at HQ is suffering from potholes again. Landlord wont pay contractors to come in so looks like me and him need to sort it out. (Please bear in mind I pay about £2/sq ft for space - so cant rock the boat too much)
Local quarry 10 min away will supply 6/10/20mm. 10mm I assume is the right size for filling holes? They vary in size upto 1m x 1m in area and upto 4" deep. We will probably collect 3 ton at a time in a skip and then tip out in a heap and use micro to load wheel barrows/track barrow. £126+vat collected price.
Questions.
If I clear all loose material from holes first - how best to prime/ where to get it from?
We have a choice between 60kg wacker plate and 800kg wacker plate. Assume a roller is better but can we get away with the BIG wacker plate?
I see people using watering cans? Is that to stop the plate/roller sticking?
Diesel to spray buckets and barrows first?
Do you need an edge sealant or is that a waste of time on a rough yard with low speeds?
Any other top tips?

 

[doobin]

Don't go treble handling like that- by the time you have done that, the thermal transfer x3 will leave you with a lump of cold crap, especially as you haven't done much before.

If it's only ten minutes away send a lad in the Transit tipper and shovel off the back.

You should use tac coat for the holes. If there's a lot then try to get a big drum, the aerosols are silly money.

 

[groundworker]

@Smiffy is your man for this, he came and worked with me to show me how to do it.

Cut edges back square, clean and dry out the hole and prime with tack coat (can usually buy this in 25l drums from tarmac plant or civils supplier) applied with brush, especially to vertical edges.

Barrow in and wack down. Pour water on the wacker to stop tarmac sticking. Diesel on tools, barrow etc. to stop sticking.

I collect 2t on my plant trailer lined with celotex and ply, covered with a tarmac sheet. It gets cold quickly and becomes unworkable otherwise.

Lots of passes on your small Wacker would be fine I think.

At 100mm deep I'd do 60mm of 20mm tarmac then top with 40mm of 10mm.

The trick to getting a good flush finish is raking it so it's just the right height above existing then compact down flush and tight... I haven't quite worked this bit out yet.

I haven't used it but there's burn on overbanding strips to seal the edges, not strictly necessary but I guess it depends how tight your landlord is!

 

[Stroppymonkey]

Cheers guys great advice.
Have ordered a couple drums of tac coat. Cheaper to buy 25l online than 5l from local JDP. Also ordered a couple of brushes and a gas torch to dry out where needed.
Taken on board comments about temp. I shall use 2t tipper and look at insulating. Landlord may have some steel/PIR insulated cladding sheets knocking about. If I could make a box liner out of that then we could reuse in future.
Man maths and google says my IW TT2515 tipper (allowing for insulation) will hold 1 cube at 35cm depth and that will be about 2200 kg for loose tarmac?
Rakes /Cutters and all that stuff already in workshop.
Shan't bother with edging as too rough round here for that.
May look at getting a load of 20mm for deeper holes first pass.
Just checked and its 8 miles / 15 minutes from here. Hopefully that + insulated trailer + warmer weather will mean okay handling.
Would you reckon me + 1 could lay that okay in the time? Provided prep work done first.

Also.. assume the trench rammer also can be used if foot lubed up?

Thanks for help. Will put photos up when time comes.

 

[Storrsy]

A real farmer would just shove a load of 803 in there!

 

[DaveDCB]

Get a sheet for it too, they do insulated ones or just a very very thick version - which is what we use no probs.

Tarmac Jute Sheets

Tarmac Jute Sheets are designed to keep fresh tarmac warm and workable. Made from environmentally friendly materials, these sheets include ropes and eyelets for secure covering. While they feature a wax layer, they are not fully waterproof. Ideal

www.lsengineers.co.uk

 

[Stroppymonkey]

A real farmer would just shove a load of 803 in there!

That is what I did last time trouble is we have 2 skip wagons
running over it - plus 10 or so of my vehicles.... and the front yard has all the MOT customers and the forklift.

 

[Stroppymonkey]

Get a sheet for it too, they do insulated ones or just a very very thick version - which is what we use no probs.

Tarmac Jute Sheets

Tarmac Jute Sheets are designed to keep fresh tarmac warm and workable. Made from environmentally friendly materials, these sheets include ropes and eyelets for secure covering. While they feature a wax layer, they are not fully waterproof. Ideal

www.lsengineers.co.uk

Ordered

 

[groundworker]

Cheers guys great advice.
Have ordered a couple drums of tac coat. Cheaper to buy 25l online than 5l from local JDP. Also ordered a couple of brushes and a gas torch to dry out where needed.
Taken on board comments about temp. I shall use 2t tipper and look at insulating. Landlord may have some steel/PIR insulated cladding sheets knocking about. If I could make a box liner out of that then we could reuse in future.
Man maths and google says my IW TT2515 tipper (allowing for insulation) will hold 1 cube at 35cm depth and that will be about 2200 kg for loose tarmac?
Rakes /Cutters and all that stuff already in workshop.
Shan't bother with edging as too rough round here for that.
May look at getting a load of 20mm for deeper holes first pass.
Just checked and its 8 miles / 15 minutes from here. Hopefully that + insulated trailer + warmer weather will mean okay handling.
Would you reckon me + 1 could lay that okay in the time? Provided prep work done first.

Also.. assume the trench rammer also can be used if foot lubed up?

Thanks for help. Will put photos up when time comes.

You'lI be fine in mild weather, I collect 2 ton first thing and what's left is still warm by lunchtime. I'm normally doing trench reinstatements (slow work) with one labourer and this way works fine for me.


Trench rammer will leave a god awful finish

 

[Lancs Lad]

Trench rammer will leave a local council pothole repair finish

Correction

 

[V8Druid]

Correction

I dream of that level of finish ... 1 man, 1 shovel, ..... shovel it in and whack it down with the back of the shovel -- return 5 days later to repeat

 

[pettsy]

Transit back wheels will leave a council spec finish

 

[6feetdown]

I thought they used bags of cold tar

 

[Smiffy]

I thought they used bags of cold tar

When a pothole is called in they have 2hrs to react to it. It would be inefficient to have a gang with a hotbox waiting around or being pulled of another job to fix so they send an emergency gang out. These gangs will deal with everything that may be reported to the council from car crashes to fallen trees right through to dead badgers. They carry a few tubs of cold lay, some chapter 8 signs and barriers a pole saw, spill kit. Alsorts of problem solving stuff. But this is only a temp fix until a patching gang can get to it.
The cold lay they use is usually very good. And better than hot lay if the prep work is done right. It's is very expensive though.

Viafix Cold Pothole Repair Available in Bags or Tubs 6mm Aggregate | 25kg

Viatec pothole repair compound is comparable to hot fix solutions, but is applied cold! No special equipment required and easy transport. Buy online today!

startsafety.uk

 

[Lancs Lad]

When a pothole is called in they have 2hrs to react to it. It would be inefficient to have a gang with a hotbox waiting around or being pulled of another job to fix so they send an emergency gang out. These gangs will deal with everything that may be reported to the council from car crashes to fallen trees right through to dead badgers. They carry a few tubs of cold lay, some chapter 8 signs and barriers a pole saw, spill kit. Alsorts of problem solving stuff. But this is only a temp fix until a patching gang can get to it.
The cold lay they use is usually very good. And better than hot lay if the prep work is done right. It's is very expensive though.

Viafix Cold Pothole Repair Available in Bags or Tubs 6mm Aggregate | 25kg

Viatec pothole repair compound is comparable to hot fix solutions, but is applied cold! No special equipment required and easy transport. Buy online today!

startsafety.uk

Random question...

I've used a bit of the Tarmac yellow bagged coldlay

Recently patched up a gatepost and it was absolutely shite with a couple of bags I'd had sat in the garage for a month..Like took days to set etc and still feels soft all round crap.

In the past I did a trench full roadway width and it was perfect the following day . Only difference there was I used wacker and black jack primer and it was straight from supplier.

Does it go off or what ? Dead short shelf life?

 

[Smiffy]

Random question...

I've used a bit of the Tarmac yellow bagged coldlay

Recently patched up a gatepost and it was absolutely shite with a couple of bags I'd had sat in the garage for a month..Like took days to set etc and still feels soft all round crap.

In the past I did a trench full roadway width and it was perfect the following day . Only difference there was I used wacker and black jack primer and it was straight from supplier.

Does it go off or what ? Dead short shelf life?

Yeah it does go off. It's official name is deferred set. Basically instead of heat making it soft it is a chemical reaction that hardens it. If it sets in bag and you break it up it then won't re-bond. The shelf life on it is pretty short. The last place I worked used quite a bit of it for temp work around iron work or raised joints but still couldn't get through it quick enough to bulk buy.

 

[Lancs Lad]

Yeah it does go off. It's official name is deferred set. Basically instead of heat making it soft it is a chemical reaction that hardens it. If it sets in bag and you break it up it then won't re-bond. The shelf life on it is pretty short. The last place I worked used quite a bit of it for temp work around iron work or raised joints but still couldn't get through it quick enough to bulk buy.

In that case I reckon it was dead before I got it. Prob Wickes or somewhere ..Brilliant
Oh well good to know

 

[V8Druid]

When a pothole is called in they have 2hrs to react to it. It would be inefficient to have a gang with a hotbox waiting around or being pulled of another job to fix so they send an emergency gang out. These gangs will deal with everything that may be reported to the council from car crashes to fallen trees right through to dead badgers. They carry a few tubs of cold lay, some chapter 8 signs and barriers a pole saw, spill kit. Alsorts of problem solving stuff. But this is only a temp fix until a patching gang can get to it.
The cold lay they use is usually very good. And better than hot lay if the prep work is done right. It's is very expensive though.

Viafix Cold Pothole Repair Available in Bags or Tubs 6mm Aggregate | 25kg

Viatec pothole repair compound is comparable to hot fix solutions, but is applied cold! No special equipment required and easy transport. Buy online today!

startsafety.uk

better send Monmouthshire CC a link to this product then ... what they put in doesn't last a week and is like driving on a Gaydon wash board test track for suspension travel

 

[Lancs Lad]

better send Monmouthshire CC a link to this product then ... what they put in doesn't last a week and is like driving on a Gaydon wash board test track for suspension travel
View attachment 71187

Imagine that in a Tesla

 

[V8Druid]

I put some cold lay in some dips in our drive several years ago and tamped it down well .... has stayed perfect TBH -- B&Q's best