Sept 2019 All topic thread
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 5,873
Likes: 357
From: Mts. S. of San Francisco
Sort of. I think there are leaves or something in the cone. It registers, but there seems to be a significant time-delay. It starts raining, and nothing, nothing, nothing, then we get a tenth or two.
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 5,873
Likes: 357
From: Mts. S. of San Francisco
Today was "road day". They finished up putting new base rock on our shared road. I think we are up around 1,300 tons of base rock. Tomorrow around 9 or 10 in the morning, they will apply what they're calling "oil & screen". Depending on where you are from, it might also be called "tar & gravel", or maybe just "chip seal".
The process is simple. They spray a thin layer of 600 degree oil on the road (on top of the base rock), and immediately spread a thin layer of "chips". The chips are about 1/4 to 3/8 inch diameter chopped rocks with no fines whatsoever. They roll the chips into the oil (or tar) as quickly as they can, then they go back and do it all again. We will end up with a low cost (relatively) paved road for about 1/2 the cost (maybe even less than that). Our road does not get very much traffic, as there are only 9 homes. We are at the end, and our little stretch of road gets almost zero traffic.
The process is simple. They spray a thin layer of 600 degree oil on the road (on top of the base rock), and immediately spread a thin layer of "chips". The chips are about 1/4 to 3/8 inch diameter chopped rocks with no fines whatsoever. They roll the chips into the oil (or tar) as quickly as they can, then they go back and do it all again. We will end up with a low cost (relatively) paved road for about 1/2 the cost (maybe even less than that). Our road does not get very much traffic, as there are only 9 homes. We are at the end, and our little stretch of road gets almost zero traffic.
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Lead Driver
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 5,873
Likes: 357
From: Mts. S. of San Francisco
Depends a lot on the traffic. With us just driving a couple of vehicles a couple times per week, it should last years. Plus it is customary to patch it periodically, such that it gets thicker and thicker over time. After 10-15 years it is as hard or harder than asphalt.
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 5,873
Likes: 357
From: Mts. S. of San Francisco
I should also mention they put down 4 inches #2 base rock. They get an engineered base rock from Stevens Canyon Quarry that has ~~ 5% lime added to it. Once they get the base rock sculpted, it is sprayed with water and compacted with a vibrating roller. Once that is done, just the base rock is almost as hard as concrete. The tar & gravel treatment is put on top of that base.
They finished the job early this afternoon, and I think it looks fantastic. They said they will come back Sunday or Monday for a final vibrating roller treatment, They want to give it at least 24 hours to cool down before the final roller job.
They finished the job early this afternoon, and I think it looks fantastic. They said they will come back Sunday or Monday for a final vibrating roller treatment, They want to give it at least 24 hours to cool down before the final roller job.