Spreading Asphalt Millings?

[avc8130]

A buddy of mine up the street is looking to get some asphalt millings from a local paving job to "pave" his 1/4 mile driveway. We were working out the best way to spread and level them after the dump trucks drop them. He is saying bull dozer, I am thinking there must be a way with the tractor and some implements. Anyone have any suggestions or experience?
ac

 

[beenthere]

I spread them with the bucket on the FEL, and a rake and a shovel. But not much left to do after spreading and backdragging with the bucket (except drive over them to pack them in good). Then a coating of used motor oil will lock them in better yet.

 

[Egon]

Using the chains on the dump truck and then shaping with a grader is the way it's usually done commercially.

So, with limited equipment, use the dump truck chains to spread the load. The driver should know all about this.

Then for grading use a back blade with gauge wheels.



The dozer will have a tendency to do a very poor job unless handed by a very skilled operator.

Then a coating of used motor oil will lock them in better yet.

Use the used motor oil for cleaning tools that have asphalt on them. It dissolves the bitumens in the asphalt and leaves one with just the aggregate in the asphalt. The oil sure makes it look originally though but destroys it in the end.

 

[Soundguy]

i've spread them and crushed concrete with a loader or box blade or angle blade.

soundguy

 

[wolc123]

With millings, it is best to spread them soon after they are produced. Just about anything will work, but a cheap and very effective tool is a 3-point back blade. The bucket will also work by backdragging but with that it is much harder to control the grade. After you have them spread, it is very important to compact them. If you can get a roller, thats great, but they are hard to come by for most folks. What worked very good for me was my pickup truck with a heavy camper on the back. It does not have duals so the rear tire loading is very high and it gave great compaction, probably better than a roller would have. The downside is, it takes many more passes than a roller since you only get the width of the tires. The town milled our road a few years ago and they gave me quite a few loads of the stuff. It makes a great diveway/parking lot. Compacted, it is almost like blacktop and it stays in place for snowplowing, unlike crushed gravel or concrete. When my driveways were stone, I had a heck of a lot of raking to do each spring to clear the adjacent grass. Thanks to the millings, those days are over.

 

[taborekle]

I've always had the dump truck chain the tail gate so that it only opens about a foot (or less) and then they raise the bed as they drive forward. This puts a nice spread on the road.

For finishing, I've found that back dragging the front end loader on the millings does a very good job of leveling and spreading.

 

[bigbull338]

what your buddy is wanting todo is very easy.you just need the bucket on the fel an a straight or boxblade to spead out an level the asphalt.are you getting reclaimed asplat that they milled off the highways or hotmix from the plant.if reclaimed you can spead it an itll set up nicely.we have 5 driveways made either with leftover asphalt or reclaimed asplate from the highways.

 

[willfick]

I pulled this thread back up from way last week 'cause seeing it I finally got around to doing something with the pics I took eight years ago. I've been busy.
Wm
Untitled Page

 

[EddieWalker]

A buddy of mine up the street is looking to get some asphalt millings from a local paving job to "pave" his 1/4 mile driveway. We were working out the best way to spread and level them after the dump trucks drop them. He is saying bull dozer, I am thinking there must be a way with the tractor and some implements. Anyone have any suggestions or experience?
ac

Asphalt is an excellent road material if the sub base is properly built up and compacted. It is a TERRIBLE material on dirt or anywhere that water will collect. It also needs to be at least 2 inches thick when brand new and applied profesionally on a proper sub base. 2 inches is good for auto traffic, but not so much for heavy vehicles, or RV's.

Depending on where you are located, the weather conditions and how well the soil is both drained and compacted will decide on how much road base rock that you need. Spreading and compacting the sub base is MUCH MORE IMPORTANT then the asphault. That is just a covering to smooth things out.

Not doing this will result in a mess that will fail in a year or less, depending on the soil and amount of rain. Making it thicker then 2 inches wont make up for not having a proper sub base. Asphault has not strength, and has to be on something that does.

Since you didn't ask about spreading the road base rock and compacting it, I'm worried that this very important step was not taken.

Good luck,
Eddie

PS. I use my front bucket to spread out material. I like it a lot better then my box blade. I would never consider using my dozer to spread asphault. The tracks would cause more damage then the blade could ever fix.

 

[k0ua]

+1 on the FEL back-dragging technique. I have a back blade but rarely use it, I do all spreading and leveling with the back-dragging thing, It is much more precise as you have control of angles instantly to drag more or less material and feather it at the end of the drag. You need to go pretty fast for best results. It takes practice, you are not going to be good on your first try, but with a good Hydro-stat tractor to change direction instantly, and one hand on the loader control, you can smooth out any fine material precisely and quickly. My 2 cents

James K0UA

 

[zmansmac]

I am also thinking about getting asphalt millings on my limestone driveway. I've read before where some companies have rather large chunks in their millings which seems like it would be a problem trying to get a fairly level, smooth surface. Is there a particular size I should look for? I also understand that it's better to do this when it's warm but here in Michigan right now we're lucky to see a 70 degree day now and then.

JohnZ
B7500

 

[Soundguy]

Not doing this will result in a mess that will fail in a year or less, depending on the soil and amount of rain. Making it thicker then 2 inches wont make up for not having a proper sub base. Asphault has not strength, and has to be on something that does..

err.. not exactly.

research black base.

you can cut subgrade out of raw existing material, and lay asphalt right ont he subgrade with no stabilizer or rock or red clay... may places do this for turn lane additions to limited access roadways that cannot have traffic closed for any length of time.

black base takes less prep to install, goes in faster, and is driveable faster, with a minimum spent on MOT ( mantenance of traffic ).

for instance.. instead of boxing out 12", installing say 8" of lime rock, then 3-4" of asphalt, etc, you can cut and lay 10-12" of asphalt . BTDT, had great results.

soundguy

 

[EddieWalker]

Soundguy,

I never heard of blackbase, but appreciate that there are a dozen or more ways to get the same results. Local conditions and what is available are the final deciders in any build, but the basics are always going to be the same. Get a solid foundation before building on it if you want it to last. How and what is used is realy the core of any type of construction project.

I'm not a big fan of fabric either. I know it has it's place, and it will make up for a lack of a solid base to some degree, but it's not the ideal aproach. Getting rid of the water and drying out the ground you want to build on is the ideal approach. No need for fabric if that's done, but of course, fabric will help stabalize a well built road, just like it will a poorly built one. Relying on it is where you take the chance that it might not last or overcome the conditions present and not last very long. When spending thousands of dollars on anything, it's nice to know it will last and not wash away in a few years.

Eddie

 

[Egon]

Eddie; asphalt laid down in a much deeper lift on the existing base[ground] may be what is being referred to.

Alongside of existing roadways or repairing holes etc. it may be much easier to just dig out and replace with a deep lift of asphalt. Means less traffic interference and less damage to existing roadway surfaces. ??

In the north frost heaves may be dealt with in this manner. A hole to below frost level-coarse granular material and then a heavy layer of asphalt.

The fabric does have it's uses as in crossing larger swamp areas through which a road must be built.

In the past these type of area's were filled with dirt till it reached a solid base or had just enough fill dirt hauled in to provide a solid surface but still "Float" on the muskeg. In the north country this type of approach works best in the winter when the frozen muskeg allows easy travel for the equipment. Of course come spring time it takes a while and some work before it can be called finished. Some cases an extra two feet or so of dirt is hauled in and left for several years after which it is removed

Fabric may be over recommended when there is no local knowledge of the site.??

 

[Soundguy]

exactly.. black base is just deep asphalt.. no stabilizer material.

box and lay.

fast.. less traffic maint.. lest disturbance of existing road and utilities, quick ( equates to cheaper ).. sure he asphalt is more $ up front than the stabilizer material.. but it becomes a was when you can drive up to a grassy median and have a dozer and loader driving in front of you boxing, and an asphalt machine laying behind them and do a 1/4 mile of installed road in a couple hours at a time.

as for eddies comment on working in wet areas.. yuck.. hat eto do it. Have worked in areas where the water table is simply a few inches under the road bed. in mst of those cases we have either went soil cement.. or soil cement sub stabilization with black base over it. pretty bad when the ground oozes up water as the heavy equipment drive over it.. BTDT.. got the soggy boots.

not a real fan of fabric either..

soundguy

Eddie; asphalt laid down in a much deeper lift on the existing base[ground] may be what is being referred to.

Alongside of existing roadways or repairing holes etc. it may be much easier to just dig out and replace with a deep lift of asphalt. Means less traffic interference and less damage to existing roadway surfaces. ??

In the north frost heaves may be dealt with in this manner. A hole to below frost level-coarse granular material and then a heavy layer of asphalt.

The fabric does have it's uses as in crossing larger swamp areas through which a road must be built.

In the past these type of area's were filled with dirt till it reached a solid base or had just enough fill dirt hauled in to provide a solid surface but still "Float" on the muskeg. In the north country this type of approach works best in the winter when the frozen muskeg allows easy travel for the equipment. Of course come spring time it takes a while and some work before it can be called finished. Some cases an extra two feet or so of dirt is hauled in and left for several years after which it is removed

Fabric may be over recommended when there is no local knowledge of the site.??