Tips from experienced builders on how to make high-quality asphalt with your own hands. Asphalt laying technology on old asphalt How to lay old asphalt

Today we will talk about how to make or make high-quality asphalt yourself at home with your own hands.

We will also consider the methods, proportions and technologies for self-production of asphalt from bitumen, sand, crushed stone and old asphalt. How to properly lay homemade asphalt on a personal plot

First of all, let's consider what classic industrial asphalt is made of?
Asphalt concrete is produced from crushed stone, sand (for better filling of small holes that crushed stone cannot fill), mineral filler (sandstone, limestone and others are used for better enveloping) and bitumen (a kind of binding material, "glue"). Gravel may also be included in the recipe. Each component in the manufacture of asphalt concrete is necessary for better compaction of the asphalt pavement.

Types of asphalt

Asphalt concrete, depending on its components, can be sandy (sand + bitumen), crushed stone (crushed stone + sand + bitumen + mineral powder) and gravel (gravel + crushed stone + bitumen + mineral powder). Only the right proportion of these components can result in quality asphalt.

Asphalt paving can also be hot and warm. But the difference in degrees is not that big. During hot laying, the temperature of the asphalt mix ranges from 130 to 170°C, while during cold laying, it should not be lower than 80°C. Cold laying of asphalt concrete is used for local (patching) repair

Asphalt production in the factory

The production of asphalt concrete takes place in several stages. First, the quality control of the source material (crushed stone, bitumen and mineral additives) is carried out. After that, the process of processing inert materials begins. As already mentioned, the production of a standard asphalt mixture is made from crushed stone, sand, mineral material and bitumen.

To begin with, the sand is sifted, and the crushed stone is divided into fractions of various sizes (from 5 to 20 mm) using a screen. Further, in accordance with the recipe, they enter a special drum for drying. A high temperature is maintained inside the drum in order to completely remove water from the mixture during the manufacturing process, as it degrades the strength of the future asphalt concrete. In addition to the fact that sand and gravel (it is possible to add screenings) are dried in the bunker at a temperature of about one hundred and sixty degrees, they are mixed with each other. Simultaneously with the drying of solid materials, the bitumen in the tanks is heated up to the same one hundred and sixty degrees. During the heating process, it is very important to maintain the correct temperature, the binder must not be too liquid or too solid.

At the next stage of production after heating, all components of asphalt concrete (crushed stone, sand, mineral additives and bitumen) are mixed. The material is mixed with special blades in a separate hopper.

Mixing is necessary for better enveloping, adhesion of bitumen with grains of crushed stone and sand, mineral additives also improve the quality of asphalt concrete (filling unnecessary voids into which water can enter and destroy the road). In some factories, the asphalt mixture is passed through a series of sieves during mixing, thus, the asphalt is divided into the required number of portions with a uniform distribution of the asphalt concrete components.

For asphalt, it is very important to keep the proportion during manufacture, since the quality of the future road depends on it. After all, asphalt can melt in summer, and crack in winter precisely because of the wrong selection of components and laying temperature.

After thorough mixing, the hot asphalt goes into a storage bin (which is also kept at a high temperature).

Recipe for making asphalt at home:

Take the old compacted asphalt, crumble it into pieces 5x5x5cm in size. Add bitumen crushed with the same pieces 5x5x5cm. Proportions 3:1.

Put a barrel or a deep trough on a fire, pour bitumen into it first, then asphalt and cook so that there is more fire from the fire, not coal. You can also add used oil there, or old roofing material.

And cook, stir occasionally with a wooden stick until the whole mass becomes liquid. moreover, it is better not to take out the stick, you must constantly keep one end in the barrel. The finished asphalt becomes liquid and is divided into a more liquid fraction, which floats to the top, and all the pebbles sink down.

It is necessary to pour asphalt from a barrel into a bucket as follows: tilt it, the upper edge rests on the substituted bucket, and begin to scoop out the contents, raking heavy fractions from the bottom with a shovel.
To pour asphalt into the next bucket, you must first mix the entire mass in the barrel, otherwise the entire light fraction will pour out first. And it just contains a lot of bitumen, but it has few mineral additives.
Keep this in mind when pouring, otherwise you will not achieve the desired effect.

While you are pouring, keep the barrel of asphalt all the time on the fire, it is better to put it upside down on the coals so that the mass is very hot all the time. As asphalt was poured into a bucket, be sure to count the molten asphalt from the walls of the barrel, then it will not cool down and accumulate on the wall.

Please note that old asphalt will be reduced by more than 2 times. And if you have a standard 200-liter barrel, then you need to fill it halfway, and then it will not be so difficult to mix and tilt it. Even such a barrel will cook for 4-6 hours. It will need 15 buckets: 12 - asphalt, 3 - bitumen.

When you wake up pouring asphalt, level it with a wooden board and immediately throw fine gravel on top, before everything has thickened yet. If there is some asphalt left in the bucket, next time you can put it on a fire next to the barrel and melt it.
And after cooking, be sure to clean the bottom of the barrel from slag, which burns to the walls and to the bottom.

Another way to make asphalt yourself with your own hands:

For 12 buckets of old compacted asphalt, crushed in pieces ranging in size from 5x5x5cm to 10x10x5cm, add 3 buckets of bitumen, crushed in pieces no larger than 5x5x5cm.

First pour bitumen into the barrel, then asphalt. Cook in such a way that there is more flame from the fire, and not coals, you can use waste oil, old roofing material from the roof, especially if rotten wood is used as firewood.
When it becomes more or less liquid, periodically stir with a wooden stick for uniform heating, keep the end of the stick in the barrel where the asphalt is being cooked, without removing it.
It is convenient to cook on a slope, placing bricks under the barrel, one brick from the side of the hill, from the side of the slope - two supports, two bricks on top of each other.
When welded, the molten asphalt becomes liquid, easily mixed with a wooden stick or a shovel, is divided into a more liquid fraction at the top and with pebbles at the bottom.
To pour asphalt into a bucket, a pair of bricks is taken out from the side of the slope and placed in two rows on the sides of the expected slope of the barrel so that the barrel does not roll to the sides.
Then the barrel is tilted and placed along the slope, resting its upper edge on a substituted bucket, and the contents are poured into the bucket, helping with a shovel, scooping up the heavier fractions from the bottom.

Before pouring the asphalt in the barrel is mixed every time. Anyway, the lighter fraction is poured first, containing more bitumen and less mineral additives, which must be taken into account when pouring.
Having filled the bucket, hold it so that it does not tip over the slope, and return the barrel to a vertical position so that it lies on the bottom of the coals from the fire and the contents continue to heat up while the pouring process takes place. After returning the barrel
in a vertical position, you need to clean off the molten asphalt from the wall to the bottom with a wooden plank so that it does not cool on the wall.
You can dig a hole for the bucket and fill it with bricks, in this case, at the beginning of pouring, the bucket is placed on the bricks on the same level with the ground, and during subsequent pouring, the bricks are gradually removed from the hole so that the bucket sinks deeper
and the barrel, leaning on the edge of the bucket, each time leaned lower and lower, until the bucket sank to its full height and the barrel fell completely to the ground.
If, from the beginning of cooking, a bucket filled with asphalt and bitumen is placed next to the barrel on the fire, then two more buckets of cast asphalt can be additionally welded while the asphalt is being cooked in the barrel.

Old asphalt is more than doubled. A 200-liter barrel should be filled to no more than half (15 six-liter buckets - 12 asphalt and 3 bitumen), otherwise it is difficult to mix and turn a full barrel. Such a barrel is brewed from 4 to 6 hours.
When pouring, the asphalt is leveled with a wooden stick or board, and fine gravel is immediately thrown onto the flooded area while the asphalt is still liquid. Asphalt, which thickened in the bucket and remained in it, is left for the next cooking to be put in the same bucket next to the barrel on fire and melted.
Molded asphalt melts much more easily than compressed asphalt. The barrel and bucket must be cleaned every time after cooking by beating off the slag sticking to the walls and bottom, otherwise the cooking time next time increases very significantly. Speaking about asphalt, I immediately want to say that this building material has more disadvantages than advantages in relation to a summer cottage. Asphalt pavement has only a few main advantages - low cost, high strength, simple creation technology and versatility. Often asphalt is chosen only because it has the lowest price compared to paving materials for garden paths such as paving slabs, paving stones, decking, natural stone, etc.

The disadvantages of asphalt are very significant factors that affect not only the landscape design of the garden plot. Among the most significant shortcomings are:

1. In hot weather, asphalt evaporates and exposes the human body to the influence of harmful substances. In addition, the unpleasant smell itself will not allow you to have a rich rest in the garden, which is what we need.

2. Asphalt coating practically does not have a decorative ability, therefore, it will not only not be suitable for decorating a site, but, on the contrary, will worsen the situation. Asphalt paths practically do not fit into garden styles, which is also very bad. The only exception is colored asphalt, to which various pigments are added, so that the coating can be not only the usual gray color, but also green, pink, blue, etc.

3. With poor-quality laying, asphalt quickly collapses in winter: water gets into cracks, freezes, and when it freezes, it destroys the coating.

4. During the heat, the asphalt melts.

As you can see, the disadvantages of asphalt pavement are more significant than the advantages, but despite this, asphalt paths are recommended to be built at the functional nodes of the garden: for example, between the garage and the utility block. It is strictly forbidden to build asphalt paths near recreation areas, because of the harmfulness of asphalt.
How to lay asphalt with your own hands?

In order to put asphalt in the country with your own hands, you need to carefully prepare the area, know the technology of laying asphalt and have at least a home-made manual roller for asphalting.

You should immediately draw your attention to the fact that it is very difficult to make asphalt on your own, because. it is necessary to heat the bitumen, mix it with crushed stone and additives and know the correct proportions. Since asphalt is not expensive, it is best to order a ready mix from a road repair company. In this case, you will not lose a lot of money, for that the asphalt will be brought to you hot, straight to the installation site, all that remains is to quickly level it, compact it and roll it.

Do-it-yourself preparation of the area for asphalting

First of all, we mark the boundaries of the future asphalt track. At this place, it is necessary to remove a layer of soil (at least 30 cm, it all depends on the purpose of the path) and make sure that tree roots do not pass near the future path, otherwise they will soon begin to destroy the asphalt. If there are roots, then we cut them down with an ax. After that, along the entire perimeter of the track, we install borders, which will be the borders.

The role of the curb is not only to prevent the spread of asphalt, but also a decorative function. To install the curbs, we dig a small, even trench and plant them on cement mortar in this trench. To create an even border, we stretch the rope from the beginning to the end of the sides of the track and navigate along this rope. As a border, you can use bricks that are laid not only on the side faces, but also on the side.

Next, we proceed to create a pillow under the asphalt. We carefully tamp the bottom of the trench for the track, fill it with the first layer - crushed stone (10-15 cm thick, large fraction) and again tamp. On this layer we fall asleep another layer of rubble, but only of a finer fraction, the layer thickness is not more than 10 cm. Well, the last layer is sandy, about 5-10 cm. Once the pillow is created, fill it with water and, using the skating rink, carefully roll out.

In order to prevent water from collecting on an asphalt path, make a small drain in advance: build the path at an inclination of 1-2 degrees and surround it with drainage that directs the flow of water into the soil.

Self-laying new asphalt

As we said earlier, it is more expedient to order asphalt at the factory. After the asphalt is delivered to your site, you must immediately proceed to laying it, because the solution quickly hardens.

First of all, we spread the asphalt with a shovel over the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe track, making it evenly filled. Further, using a mop-engine, we level the asphalt along the entire path, while throwing asphalt into the pits, and leveling the bumps. It should be noted that the minimum thickness of the asphalt pavement must be at least 5 cm to ensure the strength of the garden path, so this requirement must be observed.

As mentioned earlier, asphalt hardens quickly, so it’s better to invite a few helpers to create a path so that the process goes faster.

As soon as part of the track is planned out, we take a hand roller and begin to roll this segment, while the rest plan the track further.

Mandatory requirement: before rolling the track, lubricate the skating rink with diesel fuel so that the asphalt does not stick to it and the track is perfectly flat. You can also lubricate the shovels with diesel fuel, so that it would be easier to throw asphalt onto the track.

When working with the roller, it is necessary to move slowly at the same time, making only rectilinear movements (reverse movements are prohibited). During rolling, seams will form at the junctions between the lines, in order to remove them, it is necessary to roll across the seams.

Never leave the roller on the track after work.

For high-quality rolling, the roller should protrude beyond the border of the track by at least 10 cm.

If the weight of the roller is not enough for a good rolling of the track, then you can ask one of the assistants to stand on the frame of the roller, then the weight will increase.

Laying asphalt on the old pavement on the plot

If you decide to lay asphalt not on the soil, but on the old asphalt pavement or concrete screeds, then the process of preparing the area will change. Instead of a pillow of crushed stone and sand, you just need to repair the old coating. To do this, you need to rid the surface of dirt and various debris, if there are small cracks, they must be expanded by hand, so that in the future they would be tightly clogged with asphalt.

After that, it is necessary to pour molten bitumen around the entire perimeter of the future garden path and, using a mop-engine, smear the bitumen into strips of 50 cm (not less). Along the entire length of the path, it is necessary to make transverse bituminous strips in increments of half a meter, and then we create an asphalt path with our own hands using the technology indicated above.

How to repair an asphalt path yourself?

Even if you have laid the asphalt with your own hands with high quality, the path will still begin to collapse sooner or later. The most common damaging factors are:

Asphalt began to melt in hot weather

Water got into the cracks in winter and when it thawed, it destroyed the coating

Heavy equipment, for which this track is not designed, drove onto an asphalt path

In order to repair the asphalt pavement with your own hands, it is recommended to use cold asphalt, which can be laid even at low temperatures (minus).

How to cover broken asphalt?

If the paved path has completely collapsed and is not suitable for repair, then this situation must be corrected. There are two ways to fix a broken asphalt path:

1. Remove asphalt and re-pave

2. Lay paving slabs on top of the asphalt or pour concrete screed

As for the first method, all construction companies engaged in road repair must remove the broken asphalt, re-create a cushion of crushed stone and sand, and roll out a new asphalt surface. For an inconspicuous garden path, this process will be difficult and not economically viable.

It would be more expedient to fill a layer of sand (at least 5 cm) on top of the asphalt, fill it with water and start paving paving slabs.

In order to save money, today they often resort to the restoration of asphalt that has already been in use. Let's take a closer look at how to use old asphalt and what it takes.

The secondary use of asphalt is possible only after regeneration, which is carried out at the plant. But this process is simple and quite allows you to do all the work yourself.

Having carefully tamped the soil in the place of future asphalt laying, we equip a pillow of sand and gravel, water it and re-compact the layer. This completes the preparation of the base - now you need to acquire the source material that remains with you after the dismantling of the old coating, or simply buy old asphalt. You will also need a few kilograms of bitumen and physical strength.

In order to melt the old asphalt, we load it into a metal container along with the purchased bitumen and heat it up. To do this, simply place the container over the fire. We constantly stir the composition until it melts to a homogeneous mass, after which we add a little more crushed stone and sand so that the mixture has a crumbly consistency. The recycled asphalt can then be laid on top of the previously formed base. To avoid sticking of the composition to the surface of the stacker, it is possible to treat the sealing surface of the device with old oil mining.

That, in fact, is all you need to know about how to use old asphalt at home.

Recycling of asphalt at the plant, as mentioned above, is carried out by the regeneration method. In this case, while mixing the molten composition of the old asphalt, new mineral fillers and plasticizers are sometimes added to it, in addition to standard bitumen.

The solution to this problem was thermal crushing in steam plants. In such aggregates during crushing, the material is heated up to 80°C. But this is abroad, and in domestic production, in order to regenerate old asphalt, in the standard version, conventional installations are used to mix such compositions. Also, additional equipment for the storage, transportation and dosage of asphalt concrete mix is used.

In order to save money, today they often resort to the restoration of asphalt that has already been in use. Let's take a closer look at how to use old asphalt and what it takes.

The secondary use of asphalt is possible only after regeneration, which is carried out at the plant. But this process is simple and quite allows you to do all the work yourself.

That, in fact, is all you need to know about how to use old asphalt at home.

Recycling of asphalt to improve the efficiency of recovery plants, it is better to do it after grinding. Also, this method significantly increases the degree of accuracy of the batch recipe. But, in this case, it is necessary to additionally deal with the sticking of asphalt material on the working elements of crushers. The solution to this problem was thermal crushing in steam plants. In such aggregates during crushing, the material is heated up to 80°C. But this is abroad, and in domestic production, in order to regenerate old asphalt, in the standard version, conventional installations are used to mix such compositions. Also, an additional complete set of installations with equipment for the preservation, transportation and dosage of asphalt concrete mixture is used.

Asphalt has unique qualities that allow it to be used as a road surface. Such a choice is practical and effective, in addition, it is suitable for any road, regardless of their purpose. In addition to GOSTs, asphalt laying technology must comply with SNIP (SNiP 2.05.02-85 and SNiP 3.06.03-85), and other regulatory documentation.

General information

The rules for laying asphalt make it possible to clearly divide all the work into several most important stages:

preparation of the working area;
formation of a carrier layer (sand-gravel mixture);
application of a coating layer (coarse fractional asphalt KZ-7, or KZ-10);
compacting roller treatment.

Defects during asphalting and immediately after it appear in the roadway quite often. To quickly eliminate them, you can use cold asphalt, which differs from the usual one in a modified composition, high frost resistance and plasticity. It is a functional and durable material, which is perfect for spot repairs, paving in areas adjacent to the railway, preventive road maintenance, etc.

Necessary equipment:

Mixing device;
Tanks in which bitumen compounds will be located;
Temperature control devices;
Mixing mechanisms for the preparation of asphalt mortar.

“Before laying, cold asphalt of a fine-grained (0.5 cm) or sandy (1-1.5 cm) fraction is mixed with bituminous thickeners.”

Special preparation of the surface for laying cold asphalt is not required, you only need to remove excess debris and get rid of excess moisture. Cover the breakdown in the roadway with the prepared mixture and leave to harden. It is not specifically necessary to compact it, this will happen by itself due to the natural compaction on the site.

Types of stackers used

The technology of laying asphalt on old asphalt with an asphalt paver involves the use of the following types of mechanisms:

road cutters - devices that allow you to remove the top layer of road surfaces;
pavers - devices used at the main stage of laying;
rollers - mechanisms that provide compaction and compaction of the soil.

Asphalt pavers, in turn, are also divided into several groups.

According to the type of chassis, they can be:

caterpillar (used mainly for the construction and reconstruction of the roadway);

wheeled (more suitable for repair by laying the upper thin layer).

There is also a division of these mechanisms by standard sizes:

Laying width 1-3 m: used for processing widening lanes, footpaths, sidewalks;
Paving width 2-4.5 m: covers one lane of the road;
Paving width 2.5-7.5 m: covers two lanes of the road at once;
Paving width 3-9 m: used for work on roads of the 1st and 2nd technical category with a two-lane carriageway.
Paving width 3-12 m: used for work on roads of the 1st and 2nd technical category with a three-lane roadway.

What is the minimum layer to be applied on old asphalt?

The minimum layer of asphalt during laying should be at least 80 mm thick. It must be applied at a uniform speed, without stopping. The structure of the road surface may include two layers at once, then each of them individually may not correspond to the specified value, but their total thickness must be at least 8 cm.

The technology of laying new asphalt on the old one

The technology of laying asphalt on old asphalt will differ depending on the nature of the damage and the degree of wear of the previous coating. For example, individual pits can be repaired with cold asphalt. If the damage is non-local, it is possible to use the method of hot or cold milling, which involves removing the top layer of the old asphalt, texturing the base and applying a new coating.

Finally, you can apply the method of asphalt restoration. In this case, you will need:

carry out a major cleaning of the old asphalt (this will require a watering machine);
lay a crushed stone layer (this work is done by a grader);
clean the edges of the road surface and warm it up;
lay a layer of reclaimed asphalt concrete using rollers.

When the procedure is completed, all seams and all joints are impregnated with bitumen. If the asphalt concrete sheet has worn out evenly and is generally in good condition, then it can be “built up”. It is enough to lay on top of a carefully cleaned old layer - a new one.

The correct technology for laying asphalt on old asphalt (GOST R 54401-2011, 9128) implies the implementation of road works of any type only when dry weather and acceptable temperature.»

An asphalt layer laid in the rain can immediately be considered defective.

How much does laying for 1 m2 of new asphalt on the old one cost?

In order to accurately calculate how much it costs to lay asphalt for 1 m2, you need to take into account the cost of consumables and the work itself. Specific figures may vary depending on the region or the features of the selected technology. However, the average cost per square meter of asphalt with laying ranges from 400 to 1000 rubles.

What documents are required for repair work?

Like any other type of construction activity, repair work is accompanied by relevant documentation.

Laying agreement (sample):

Contract for asphalting the territory (sample):

Conclusion

We must not forget that any construction work must be completed with the complete removal of garbage. Also, do not save too much asphalt concrete, otherwise you will soon have to get back to work. Compliance with all technological requirements will extend the life of the road surface up to 5-10 years.

The reliability of the asphalt pavement depends on the use of high-quality components in the mixture, their uniform mixing, maintaining the temperature regime during manufacture and storage. In addition, the planned place for laying the asphalt pavement should be located as close as possible to the place of its production, so that the time for transporting the material is as short as possible.

Advantages and disadvantages of the material

The main advantages of asphalt paving are:

affordable cost, especially in the case of low-tonnage applications;
the possibility of quick preparation in the factory;
durability of the coating, subject to the technology of manufacture and installation;
the relative ease of laying asphalt in the presence of special equipment.

The disadvantages of asphalt concrete are:

a sharp decrease in technical characteristics when heated under the influence of sunlight;
evaporation of bitumen during heating and the release of harmful fumes;
the need to maintain the required temperature until the laying of the asphalt pavement.

At the same time, despite the presence of serious shortcomings, a price alternative to asphalt concrete has not yet been found. The path of paving slabs will come out noticeably more expensive.

Work to improve the quality and versatility of the material is being carried out as part of the selection of more effective mixtures. Good performance gives the addition of polymer mixtures and a decrease in the volume fraction of bitumen.

Purpose of constituent components

Asphalt concrete with and without mineral powder.

The first asphalt was made on the basis of natural bitumen. Then they began to use bitumen, obtained as a result of oil distillation, by heating liquid hydrocarbons. Today it is the most common binder for the production of asphalt mixes.

Sand, gravel or crushed stone in asphalt play the role of the main working fillers. Sand is needed to more evenly distribute pressure within the asphalt layer and fill voids between individual stones. Together with bitumen, it binds larger stone fractions, holds them and does not allow them to go up beyond the layer.

Fractions of gravel and crushed stone determine the group of asphalt concrete and its area of application. All asphalt pavements are conditionally divided into three groups according to density, depending on the size of the stones used:

dense, with a fraction of gravel 5-10 mm, for paving yards, sidewalks, paths and other coatings with a low load;
porous, with a stone size of 10-20 mm, for laying the lower layers in multilayer coatings;
highly porous, with a crushed stone fraction of 20-40 mm, for use on critical sections of highways.

This porosity distribution determines the ability of asphalt to pass moisture and remove it to the drainage layer for further removal to the ground. Therefore, highly porous material is more difficult to lay, but its service life is much longer.

Finely powdered chalk, limestone or sandstone are added as mineral fillers. They fill the last residual voids and make the paved path more homogeneous. Moreover, the best mineral filler is made from sandstone, as a chemically neutral substance.

When adding rubber crumb, crushed to a size of 1.0-1.5 mm, plasticity and hydraulic stability increase. Therefore, asphalt with it is often used to cover the roof of industrial enterprises. Asphalt concrete with rubber crumb is less likely to crack and has springy properties.

Reinforcement with polymer mesh.

Polymer additives in the form of reinforcing plastic fibers significantly increase the strength of the material. This cooking technology is used only for the most critical areas. The strength of an asphalt path can also be increased by adding cement to it, but in this case limestone cannot be used as a fine aggregate.

Do-it-yourself asphalt production

Do-it-yourself asphalt does not allow it to be used for laying roads and city streets. However, such material can be effectively used for arranging garden paths or areas with a low weight load during operation. To make asphalt with your own hands, you will need:

ordinary, even if not washed sand;
gravel or crushed stone of fine fraction;
solid bituminous resin with a melting point of not more than 120°C;
wide tub or concrete mixer;
metal barrel and bucket;
shovel;
wide sieve or metal mesh for sifting sand.

Prepare a dry mix of sand and gravel in a bucket or concrete mixer in a ratio of 1:2 by volume. Set the barrel on a stand and light a fire under it. Pour a bucket of water inside.

At the same time, put a bucket on another fire, filled with a third of water. When the water in the bucket begins to boil, put bitumen in it to heat and melt. Pour the gravel-sand mixture into the barrel. Boiling water in a bucket and in a barrel will maintain a temperature regime of 100 ° C.

Pour the gravel-sand mixture into the barrel and wait until the water boils. Boil the bitumen in water until the bitumen melts and the water gradually boils away. Then pour the molten bitumen into a barrel with gravel-sand mixture and start stirring actively. Mixing is recommended to be done with a metal pipe or other durable object. At the time of transfusion, there should be boiling water in the barrel; hot bitumen cannot be poured into cold water.

The ratio of the volume of bitumen to the volume of crushed stone-sand mixture is approximately 1:15. More precisely, the density of asphalt can only be determined visually.

In order to improve the plasticity of the asphalt mass, simplify mixing and facilitate subsequent installation, special or liquid detergents can be used. The plasticizer is added in accordance with the instructions, liquid detergent at the rate of 1 cup per 40-50 liters of asphalt.

As soon as the water boils away, the homemade asphalt is ready and can be laid on the track. If at this point you have not finished the preparatory work, then add water to the barrel again. At the same time, keep in mind that you can only add boiling water, cold water that has fallen on a hot surface can instantly boil and cause burns.

Asphalt paving

Do-it-yourself laying work begins with the adoption of planning decisions and markings. At this stage of work, it is necessary to clearly define:

with track location;
its width and height above ground level;
with the type of curb and the height of its installation;
with drainage areas.

When determining the location of the path, one should take into account the presence of possible underground utilities, the location of garden trees and the direction of slopes for rainwater runoff. After making decisions, you need to hammer pegs around the perimeter of the future asphalt pavement, determining its exact contours.

According to the marked contour, it is necessary to dig the so-called “trough” or trench, 15 cm deep. Lay a layer on its bottom, which will prevent the germination of weeds and allow moisture to freely go into the lower soil layer.

Install and fix the curb and fill the “trough” to the top with rubble. The surface must be carefully compacted. The durability of the asphalt pavement depends on the quality of the tamper.

Next, you should buy asphalt or prepare it yourself and lay it on top of the rubble with a layer 4-5 cm thick at a time. Preliminary leveling can be done with an inverted rake or a wooden squeegee.

During the alignment process, it is necessary to check the presence of slopes using the building level. Compaction of the asphalt layer on the garden path is best done.

It should be noted that the process of laying asphalt with your own hands depends on weather conditions. These works should not be carried out at low temperatures and in damp rainy weather.

Asphalt Recycling Technology

The need to save money in the repair and construction of new asphalt roads has led to the development of an efficient recycling system (secondary use of materials). In this case, the processing of asphalt removed from the road surface is carried out, both in stationary factory conditions and in mobile equipment at the place of work.

According to this technology, the asphalt concrete pavement is removed using a special mechanism with a mechanical cutter - a remixer. Further, the removed material is crushed to a fraction of crushed stone and can be used for the preparation of dry mixes for the construction of a road base and backfilling of suburban highways and roads.

Asphalt base.

According to the second technology, the collected and crushed material is placed in a furnace and heated without access to fire to 170 ° C with the addition of the required amount of fresh bitumen and additives. This method of processing is widely used in the repair of city streets and yards, since the price, production and laying of asphalt in this case is much lower.

Recycling asphalt at home

The old road surface made of asphalt mix allows the home master to equip comfortable and neat asphalt footpaths on the plot, which may well replace paving slabs. Such do-it-yourself asphalt can also be used, for example, to cover the floor in a garage or in front of it.

It is necessary to remove only the top bituminous layer. The removed material must be broken into pieces as small as possible. The maximum fraction should not exceed 40 mm.

Method for testing the quality of asphalt pavement

Each manufacturer of building materials is obliged to issue a certificate of conformity of product quality to state standards to the buyer of asphalt. To do this, the plant must have a certified laboratory that can conduct the necessary set of tests. In addition, in all major cities there are independent laboratories for checking the quality of construction and the manufacture of materials.

At the construction site, the check is carried out by drilling a core of a given diameter from the roadway, followed by the restoration of the road surface. Externally, the quality of the imported asphalt can be determined by its temperature and the presence of a black greasy film on the surface.

Historians claim that the first mention of something similar to asphalt concrete appeared in the 6th century BC in Babylon. But the technologies of those times were not reliable, plus unnecessarily expensive, as a result, such roads were forgotten until the twentieth century. The construction of asphalt concrete pavements in Russia began in 1928 and to this day it is predominant.

What it is

This composition is used everywhere, from laying federal highways to the arrangement of city squares and garden paths in private construction.

According to GOST and SNiP, the arrangement of asphalt concrete pavement can be different.

But the general composition of the mixture has remained unchanged for more than 100 years:

First of all, bitumen is included as a binder..
Sand and large mineral fillers are necessarily present in one way or another..
Rounding out the list are various mineral or synthetic additives..

In those days when the composition was developed, natural bitumen was used, but since it is scarce in nature, an artificial analogue was synthesized based on refined products, which is still successfully used by road builders all over the world.

Sand is taken from a quarry, as for a large filler, along with various, crushed rocks and some crystallized slags are widely used.

Natural mineral or synthetic additives are used to increase certain useful properties of the coating. In particular, frost resistance, the level of road adhesion, the viscosity coefficient and much more are increased.

What compositions are produced

The range of presented types is quite wide, depending on the percentage of components, as well as on what additives were used, experts divide asphalt into the following varieties.

For the arrangement of sidewalks, garden paths or the inner space of urban courtyards, sand compositions are used.
Fine-grained compositions cover city streets with medium and high traffic intensity.
Coarse-grained asphalt is used as an underlying layer in multi-layer paving technology.
Polymer-bitumen coatings are used in the installation of bridges, volumetric parking lots or road junctions. They have increased strength and durability.
Crushed-stone-mastic types of asphalt are considered the strongest; they are laid on federal highways and high-speed autobahns with increased traffic load.
For stadiums, running or bicycle paths, as well as other sports facilities, there is a rubber-bitumen coating.

Making asphalt at home

The manufacture of a road surface is considered to be a difficult and inaccessible matter. But, nevertheless, there are enthusiasts who are ready for experiments. Of course, such trains are not designed for the federal highway, but in the country it is quite possible to prepare such asphalt with your own hands.

Tip: from experience, we can say that a mixture prepared in an artisanal way, of course, is suitable for arranging, but more often it is used to repair potholes on an already finished coating.

Classic recipe

For cooking, we need ordinary river or quarry sand, bituminous resin or bitumen and crushed stone of a fine fraction. From the equipment you will need a metal barrel and a bucket.

It is better to cook asphalt over a fire, as using gas is unsafe and expensive.

Initially, we fall asleep crushed stone with sand in a ratio of 2: 1 and mix well. All this should be filled with water and hung over the fire.
At the same time, we prepare the bituminous base. To do this, we take a metal bucket and heat the bitumen in it to a boil, synthetic polymers can be added as a plasticizer, but it is cheaper to use shampoo or any detergent.
When the resin is warmed up, and the water in the barrel with rubble also boils, they need to be connected. Water is needed so that the crushed stone with sand does not warm up above 100ºС. Next, this broth must be stirred, maintaining a boil until all the water boils away. While the solution is hot, it can be poured.

Important: be careful, at 80 ºС bitumen melts, and at 100 - 120 ºС it boils.
But already at 170 ºС, bitumen can ignite.
Actually, in order to prevent such a fire, we use water.

Use of old pavement

Dismantling of asphalt concrete pavements and bases can be a good material for the preparation of new asphalt.

The technology partly resembles the previous version, but with some amendments.

The very disassembly of the asphalt concrete pavement is carried out by the old-fashioned method, using a sledgehammer and other impact tools. Only the top layer of asphalt bound with bitumen is used, the road cushion can be left alone.
The old road surface is broken into pieces with a fraction of no more than 40 mm. For 100 kg of old asphalt, 10 kg of bitumen is taken.
After that, the crushed substance must be poured with water and boiled in a barrel until melted. Further, the technology repeats the above option. The heated bitumen combines with molten asphalt and water evaporates.

cold asphalt

The two methods described above are well suited for economical repair of damaged asphalt in the yard or near the yard. If you need to cover an area with a large quadrature, then we recommend using cold asphalt.

This coating appeared on the market of our country about 5 years ago. The principle of operation here is similar to the well-known cold welding. For the binder, modified bitumen is used, so that it can be laid even at sub-zero temperatures. Instructions are on the packaging.

The only disadvantage of this material is the significant price. But, as you know, asphalt from the factory is released hot and should also be laid hot. Therefore, for remote locations, cold polymer asphalt is the only alternative.

Important: when repairing the road surface, the problem is the quality of the joint in the asphalt concrete pavement.
Polymer-based cold asphalt completely solves this problem, as it bonds reliably with any bitumen-based compound.

Rules for laying coatings

The construction of asphalt concrete pavements is a responsible business and it is not so important whether you lay it yourself or hire professionals. Laying and acceptance of asphalt concrete pavement is carried out in accordance with SNiP 2.07.01-89, as well as a number of GOSTs.

Only a specialist can understand these documents, so we have outlined the main provisions of these norms and rules in a more understandable language.

Preparatory stage

Any work begins with markup. You need to clearly decide where the asphalt will be laid. Where will the curb be mounted, and what will it be like. It is also very important to take care in advance that the drainage, drain system and drainage systems are fully installed.

All work on the installation of underground utilities by this time should be fully completed. If you are equipping the parking area or driveways to the office, then it is better to find out in advance where the city communications pass, since, if necessary, municipal services will disrupt your coverage and may still impose a fine.

It was mentioned above about the varieties and purpose of existing types of asphalt. So, at the preparation stage, you need to choose what kind of material you are going to lay.

Important: the estimate for the installation of asphalt concrete pavement should contain not only data on the cost of the material and the amount of work.
It will be useful to include transport costs in it, as well as leave a column for unforeseen expenses, such as permission to carry out work from the relevant official or service.

If a footpath or a platform with occasional passage of cars is being laid, then the crushed stone and gravel cushion can be made up to 15 cm thick. The thickness of the asphalt concrete pavement will be in the range of 4–5 cm.

If you are equipping gas stations or any access roads along which, with a high degree of probability, heavy vehicles will periodically pass, then in this case the thickness of the gravel cushion will be about 25 - 35 cm. Plus, the asphalt itself is laid at least 2 layers.

After marking, the arrangement of the so-called trough or foundation pit for the road begins. In urban areas or in private construction, as a rule, roads and sites are made approximately at the same level, so the soil must be selected completely for the entire thickness of the "road pie". Federal highways are equipped with a slightly different technology, but we will not dwell on it.

When the soil is selected, the entire site must be well compacted, this is done with a roller or a vibrating plate. Pay attention to the presence of trees nearby, the roots can tear the asphalt over time, so it is better to remove them immediately if possible. Although the cost of the work will be slightly increased, we advise you to cover the ground with geotextiles so that the vegetation does not break through the coating.

Important: at this stage, curbs are installed, they play the role of a kind of formwork for the "road pie".
If, when laying paving slabs, the curb is made below the level of the road, then here, on the contrary.
In this regard, it is necessary to immediately plan drains for water drainage.

Now you can start dumping the crushed stone pillow. For footpaths with a cushion thickness of 10 - 15 cm, 1 layer of crushed stone with a fraction of 30 - 40 mm is sufficient. More powerful foundations are stacked in several layers.

The bottom layer is used for drainage in case of rising groundwater, it is covered with large gravel with a fraction of 40 - 70 mm. The next layer with a fraction of 20 - 40 mm will be responsible for evenly distributing the load on the road base.

The final layer of backfill is made of fine gravel with a fraction of 5 - 20 mm. He will also be responsible for load distribution, but in addition, he will turn the pillow into a dense, monolithic structure.

All laid layers must be tightly packed. For serious coatings, road rollers weighing from 2 to 10 tons are used. Each dump ball is compacted separately, the roller must pass over it at least 5 times, plus modern road rollers have a vibropress function, which increases efficiency several times. During the tamping process, the surface should be watered regularly.

Tip: in the process of ramming, you must immediately take into account the angle of inclination of the road, on average it is done about 1º per 1 running meter.
To do this, periodically check with the markup or level data.

Asphalt paving

After tamping the cushion, you can proceed directly to the laying of asphalt. As mentioned earlier, for sidewalks and adjacent territories, it is enough to lay a fine-grained composition with a layer of up to 50 mm. Heavy road rollers are also not required, you can get by with a light roller or vibrating plate.

Note!
This type of coating according to SNiP is not recommended to be laid in places for recreation.

More serious objects are paved in 2 layers. In this case, the bottom layer is laid with coarse-grained asphalt at a level of 40 - 50 mm. A fine-grained composition is applied to it almost immediately, which in most cases is the finishing one.

Currently, technologies have been developed, according to which a reinforcing mesh of polymeric materials should be laid between the layers of hot asphalt. As a result, the durability and strength of such a road increases significantly. This technology is used when laying federal highways and roads with increased load.

Important: the restoration of asphalt concrete pavement in our country is most often done only with hot bitumen.
Although, according to GOST, thermal profiling of asphalt concrete pavements should be performed.
This procedure involves preheating the roadway to a depth of 2-5 cm.

The mixture must be delivered to the site hot, as a rule, it is delivered by dump trucks with a carrying capacity of 7–20 tons. After that, the asphalt is evenly distributed manually or by machine along the road plane, observing the slope. On average, 1 ton of asphalt is consumed per 10 m² of the roadway with a thickness of 40 mm.

The construction of asphalt concrete pavements is a weather-dependent process. In the cold season, that is, at temperatures below +5 ºС, work is generally not recommended. Plus, during rain or in wet weather, the quality of laying is significantly reduced, as the composition is moistened and cools faster.

Conclusion

We have outlined the general basic principles of quality asphalt paving, but science does not stand still and technologies are supplemented and improved. In the video in this article, you can consider the process of laying asphalt in more detail.

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