Reclaimed asphalt driveway

[MG44]

I have a driveway that is rather long and goes to the rear of my house. Off the top of my head it is probably 60 yards of concrete to surface. It is not in the budget right now.

The driveway is worn out gravel at the moment. It needs to either have more gravel applied, or a different surface. People have been telling me about reclaimmed asphalt as a cost effective solution. I am considering it, the only problem is I have not seen a driveway with this applied. Supposedly it is pulled up and crushed asphalt from roads that can be recompacted and event "bonded" together with certain liquids to make a surface more permanent then gravel.

Does anybody have any good photos of a driveway or parking lot with this surface?

 

[gungatim]

Knew a now deceased Farmer up north had his drive around the shop done. Not as nice as real asphalt but more solid than gravel. Ive been thinking of doing mine -450' or so, but nibody around me has it ir knows who can do it....post back if you get it done and what cost

 

[xtremek]

No photos, but my parents driveway is asphalt millings. Theirs was really cheap because my dad was able to get the local road commission to dump loads in his driveway when they were making updates to nearby roads ($12 a yard delivered). Great stuff. No dust. Laid it over regular driveway gravel. I use crushed concrete, because no place close has asphalt millings.

 

[flat tire]

I have worked construction and have seen this done.
in order for it to work properly it has to be a hot day . it needs to be sprayed with diesel fuel as a bonding agent. the sad part is it needs to be compacted. such as a vibratory roller
it is still not a permanent solution. it will crumble and come apart over time depending on weather and amount of traffic .
then you start over again regrade etc

 

[ynned]

I have worked construction and have seen this done.
in order for it to work properly it has to be a hot day . it needs to be sprayed with diesel fuel as a bonding agent. the sad part is it needs to be compacted. such as a vibratory roller
it is still not a permanent solution. it will crumble and come apart over time depending on weather and amount of traffic .
then you start over again regrade etc

A hot day and some added oil certainly helps (a lot), but neither is really necessary. Compaction can be done with your own vehicles if you have enough width to overlap the tracks enough. Personally I prefer crushed limestone for residences, especially this time of year, but it's not that much difference in price around here since trucking costs the same for either. If you don't get screened millings, there will be quite a few larger pieces, which are kind of a pain, but not that bad. If your drive is soft to the point that a car ruts it much, you're better off with a base of bigger stone, as the millings won't bridge much.

If you can wait for a hot day, they really roll in a lot better. I just like the appearance of limestone better for homes.

 

[G-ManBart]

The driveway to my barn is asphalt millings, and has been for many years (there was a house there prior) without needing to be redone. I spread millings around my barn and then made a 25x25yd area behind my barn for a shooting range out of millings (just the floor). I used millings because the dirt was clay, the area was low, and it would turn into a mud bog with the slightest bit of rain.

I spread the millings with the dozer and back dragged with the blade on a couple of fairly hot days, but didn't add anything. I'm not driving on that area regularly, but I am around the rest of the barn and it's been totally fine.

 

[livwell]

I had my driveway repaved @ 2 yrs. ago and decided to use the recycled asphalt on the side of my garage @ 15ft.x 30ft. they rolled just like they did with the driveway,its packing nice and hard [still a little loose on top in some areas] but they told me the longer it sits the better it will get..I dont drive on it everyday,but I wanted a nice place for parking along the side of the garage...up here it sells for @ $17 a yard..i dont regret doing it.. ill take some pics in the spring..good luck!!

 

[lakeroadster]

Does anybody have any good photos of a driveway or parking lot with this surface?

We used reclaimed asphalt on our barn driveway. They made a base using crushed concrete, compacted it, then used reclaimed asphalt and compacted it.

Ideally you would have it installed on a hot day, the hotter the better. This allows the remaining asphalt in the mix to aid in adhering the particles together during compaction.

Ours compacted hard enough that I can push my tool cabinet that has 3" casters back and forth between my barn and the attached garage.

The only negative is that when the reclaimed asphalt is wet, it tracks sandy asphalt particles into the barn... Much the same as limestone "chips and dust" does.









Hope this helps. Good luck with your driveway.

 

[3 Gun Shooter]

In California I did a large parking lot with reclaimed asphalt, place was close about 7 miles from where they were 'scraping' it off the streets. At that time the company was paying to get rid of it so it worked out all around. I spread it with a bucket on my tractor then rented a roller to roll it. Did a $40,000 paving job for $400. Not as perfect as real new asphalt but it beat the parking lot being mud/dust.

 

[thickhead]

If you Google "RAP driveway" you can see tons of photos of this.

 

[bullnerd]

Neighbor did the same. The road we live on was being repaved. They gave him as much as he could handle for free. Saved them time from the trucks traveling to dump.

 

[DieselDent]

I like it a lot I have about 1200' of it plus a large parking area and it has been really easy to maintain and easy to clear snow off, around here its half the price of blue stone and holds up better too.

 

[reader2580]

The street in front of my house was done with asphalt millings less than 10 years ago. It looks like pavement that needs to be redone. I thought it was asphalt pavement that needs a fresh layer until I called the city and they told me it is millings.

I have seen millings on driveways that are like black gravel and doesn't look like a paved road like in front of my house. I would have millings put on my driveway if they looked like pavement and didn't have loose pieces.

 

[Bondo]

If you Google "RAP driveway" you can see tons of photos of this.

Ayuh,.... I'm sure that google don't know the difference, But,....
Rap is not asphalt millings,....

Rap is made usin' asphalt millin's, but is not the same,....

Rap comes outa the truck lookin' exactly like hot mix asphalt, because it IS hot mix asphalt, made with old millings takin' the place of some of the virgin materials used in other mixes of hot mix asphalt,...

I've been in the blacktop biz for over 24 years,.... things have changed abit in that time,....

As for the OP's question,.....
Yes, asphalt Millings make a darn nice driveway,...
Best case, is it's spread over a solid stone base, 'n left down abit to allow it to be capped at a later date with real hot mix asphalt,....
In other words, it makes a Great binder layer, rather than top coat,....

If ya wanta use just asphalt millings, it don't need extra oil added, especially diesel fuel, which melts the asphalt causin' it to seep outa the mix,....

It does need to be spread fairly evenly, 'n is best compacted with a double drum roller,...

Even without the roller compaction, it will lay down, 'n tighten up with time, 'n sunlight,...

It is also much more durable than compacted stone, but not near as nice as hot mix asphalt or concrete,...

1 more point,..... The material should be Millings, 'n not crushed old asphalt,....
The millings are much finer, spread easier, 'n tighten's up much better,....

Where as crushed old asphalt makes better fill stone, rather than a driveway toppin',....

 

[thickhead]

RAP is crushed and/or screened millings.
Recycled Asphalt Product.

RAP added to HMA or PMA or WMA is just a mix component.

 

[colt zantop]

We did 2 of our rental properties with this about 2 years ago. Overall seems to be holding up, I did have some grass pop through in a couple spots that must have been thin spots but it does compact well just from driving on it. And no dust....

 

[Kevin54]

Around here we call it "grindings". But you had better be up before the crack of dawn to get some if they are grinding the roads or parking lots anywhere as they go fast. You can't put your name in, it's just first come, first serve. And they are all spoken for by 9:00am. Most of the time, you get them for free, but anymore, they are so much in demand that I think the drivers charge for it, just to pocket extra money.

 

[1320stang]

You gotta watch what you're getting. Our HOA paid to have our roads redone with recycled asphalt, what we got was mainly dirt. Most of it washed down the street, it sucked. Unfortunately it was my idea, a friend's dad lived about a mile away and had it done in his neighborhood and it looked great and lasted for years. It was my idea, but I didn't source it or oversee it being put down. We now have shoot & chip and finally our roads are up to spec that the county took them over.

 

[xtremek]

No dust and no mud when it rains, unlike most limestone.

 

[Carp]

We have them applied on top of really old asphalt. I hate it. They have fine dust that tracks into the house and cars.
But we have them at work and they were compacted over gravel. Lot's less mess, more like asphalt. Wish the previous owners had done that instead of just dumping them on old asphalt.

 

[jkeyser14]

We have asphalt millings on a ~1000' driveway. It is cheap and slightly nicer than gravel, but it isn't trouble free. People turning their wheels on the driveway tear it up. Wheels pick up small pieces in the treads, there is still plenty of dust, and the surface loosens with time. Also, if the driveway is on a sloped surface a good rain will erode loose millings from the top surface of the driveway.

 

[MikeF2316]

I had these guys grinding the road, adding stuff to the grindings, then laying it back on the road.
They did come back about a week later and put a fresh layer of "real" asphalt
over this though.

 

[machsnell]

Correct here RAP is recycled asphalt product. It is put back in w virgin material and liquid asphalt to make HMA hot mix asphalt.

I mill tens of thousands of tons every year. I have used it for a base. Straight out of the mill machine it can be chunky sometimes. When it is processed you get more fines and it spreads better and bimds together better.

Bottom line is that like any compactable material it would rather have a solid (er) base to bind together amd achieve better density in attempts to bind it together.

If ground under is not solid and moves a lot then it will have a hard time bimding and will remain rather porous.

If you have a somewhat solid base it binds together very well especially when hot.

I have a yard i rent (2 acres) and i cut out the bad soil and installed 2 feet of broken asphalt amd millings and compacted with large rollers (the bigger the better) and then i capped with 4 inches of regular road base stone. It was solid as can be.

I will tell you that when we got heavy rain the stone washed off the top amd the asphalt millings were not eroded in the least.

They can be used very effectively.

It is like any road or stone surface the more you drive on it or roll it (over time) the better it will be and stay tight.

Around here i have a hard time getting rid of it because the plants are full for the most part. I truck it and give it away free. It is a full time job trying to find a home for 2000 to 5000 tons a week here.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Mr.wolf]

I have a question about this. My gravel is almost as high as i would want it and it was not cut in just laid over the grass, but it's b en driven over by a 12,000lb skid steer many many times and by my truck lots. Could I add like 2" of killings and get near the same effect. My budget is near blown but I know I will need a load of gravel soon and if this is near the same and I know a buddy with a compactor, would it be much better than gravel? I'm tired of the gravel rutting in certain places. I have no standing water other than low spots but my property is wet. Thanks for posting this, great idea.

 

[lakeroadster]

The correct method: Top soil removed, a good base installed and compacted, then the recycled asphalt applied.

If you leave the top soil it will eventually work it's way up through the aggregate and you'll have a mess.

 

[Mr.wolf]

Thanks that's what I was afraid of. I need to do it right.