Qustions on using Recycled Asphalt Millings to refresh old gravel private drive

   / Qustions on using Recycled Asphalt Millings to refresh old gravel private drive #1  

NonTypicalCPA

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Location
SW Michigan
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Kubota L3940
I live on a 1/2 mile private drive that serves 5 residents. We're sick of dealing with the existing gravel road and potholes. We add gravel every year to the problem areas, but in reality we could use 6-8 inches of new gravel over the entire road to get better drainage. We've got sand below us and the gravel just disappears over time. We've gotten a quote of $52,000 to have it paved, with additional gravel as needed to get a good graded base. Now we're looking into possibly going with recycled asphalt millings. Our goal is to reduce the pothole maintenance required and knock down the dust level from the existing gravel. Would millings be a good option? Are they typically graded then rolled, or just graded?
 
   / Qustions on using Recycled Asphalt Millings to refresh old gravel private drive
  • Thread Starter
#2  
Our quote for the 1/2 mile was for an 11' wide road.
 
   / Qustions on using Recycled Asphalt Millings to refresh old gravel private drive #3  
From all my reading, asphalt milling reports range from "as good as asphalt paving" to "no better than gravel."

There must be lots of variation in the material and the application.

Bruce
 
   / Qustions on using Recycled Asphalt Millings to refresh old gravel private drive #4  
From all my reading, asphalt milling reports range from "as good as asphalt paving" to "no better than gravel."

There must be lots of variation in the material and the application.

Bruce

In my use of rap, this can be true. There are several variables one is the millings itself. Milling an old road with most of the asphalt evaporated out is little more than fine gravel, where milled newer roads you can have a great result.
I've had the best results with millings that still have some of the magic juice left in it, put down at least 5" and rolled on the hottest temps you get in the summer. A 5 ton vibratory roller is minimum. I've also added old motor oil (once in place) and it helps "knit" things together although normally petro products destroy asphalt, it doesn't make sense but it works with dry millings. It sound's like where you have repeating pot holes you need to dig, scrape or rip down to the bottom elevation of the p/h and re grade it back, and if your loosing your gravel in the sand, you might consider "filter cloth" in those areas.
No matter your finish, a good base along with drainage & grading will extend your maintenance & repair cycle.

And yes, decent millings will not be dusty.
 
   / Qustions on using Recycled Asphalt Millings to refresh old gravel private drive #5  
Greetings NonTypicalCPA,

Rusty Iron has got a couple good points in his post.

But not the pouring of old motor oil on it. There are some important issues you have to deal with.

1. You have a sand base and then I'm assuming it was not water compacted before gravel was put on it.

2. Putting gravel on a porous surface requires compacting - because gravel wants to press down into sand. If you have not compacted - driving on it will pressure some areas and not others - hence potholes.

3. There are definitions when you talk about prior used blacktop. There is old blacktop and then there is "recycled for use" blacktop. the Recycled for use means contractors are allowed to add up to a set percentage of it in with new blacktop for road construction. If you get that type of recycled blacktop - then it has typically a 20% to 28% oil/petroleum base content remaining in it. If its simply old blacktop - its likely was thin cheap blacktop that can't qualify for road building amendment use.

4. Before I used recycled blacktop - I'd suggest compacting the gravel road with a "little" gravel infill in the potholes. Good recycled blacktop can knit together well - but alot depends on sun exposure and if snowplowing is done harshly or you have a bunch of "spin out" drivers. quality recycled blacktop that is pressure rolled well can be very durable to traffic pressure - but digging at it with snow blades or spinning burnouts breaks "the seal" created.

I really like quality recycled blacktop properly applied as you get no weeds or grass growing - and its much more stable for rains and normal wear than just gravel - its also much cleaner for dust issues.

But - no refuse oil - with a sand base - it will penetrate into your water.

jmho
 
   / Qustions on using Recycled Asphalt Millings to refresh old gravel private drive #6  
I don't know your specific situation, but if everyone is able to put the cash in the pot- wouldn't the 10 or 11 thousand be worth it in the end? I mean the ease of use and the resale when you do move on. I know that it's easy to spend someone else's money and many pardons for doing so.
 
   / Qustions on using Recycled Asphalt Millings to refresh old gravel private drive #7  
The county put in a stretch of recycled asphalt on our dirt road. It was nice for less than a year. Then it started falling apart in places. You could see where the county grader tried to fix potholes & cracks. Just scrape marks along the intact compacted asphalt & no help filling in the damaged bits.

They generally tear up worn out asphalt for a reason. Most of the binders are worn out. There are different grades I'm sure. And different qualities within locations in a given batch.

Personally I won't ever put in recycled asphalt on my driveway. To hard or impossible to maintain with my equipment. Crushed rock or recycled concrete might get hard & packed, but not so much I can't rip it loose with scarfiers on the box blade or LPGS. I can re-work things after its ripped up. Not so much with asphalt chunks.
 
   / Qustions on using Recycled Asphalt Millings to refresh old gravel private drive #8  
Hmmm.......all I've ever seen around here - - recycled asphalt millings are "re-asphalted" and reused for a "new" road surface. I've not seen stock piles of old asphalt millings.

The special equipment was used to do this to our county road out here. Its a very neat operation to watch. It left a surface that has MAXIMUM TRACTION. Like a cross between very rough sand paper and a carrot grader.
 
   / Qustions on using Recycled Asphalt Millings to refresh old gravel private drive #9  
I do this all the time. The trick to get it almost as good as asphalt is rent your self a roller (the heaviest you can afford the better) and the big trick is water the heck out of it as you roll it. Lots of people don't think water does anything, but it makes a huge difference.
We did our yards that have tractor trailers running in and out and turning and they are just like they were paved with new asphalt.

So for best results, get a grader to make it level, then water and pack.
 
   / Qustions on using Recycled Asphalt Millings to refresh old gravel private drive #10  
Can't find my pics at the moment of when we were doing it (we have a water truck and had a little one ton double drum roller), but you can kind of see what the packed millings looks like here.

There is some loose gravel on it from washing trucks and sweeping out the shop.
 

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