Tips from experienced builders on how to make high-quality asphalt with your own hands. How and from what you can make real asphalt yourself

Mass construction of cottages, dachas is inextricably linked with the improvement of the territory. Of course, the primary task, upon completion of construction, is to ennoble the entrance and path to the house, since walking knee-deep in mud on a rainy day is far from an attractive prospect. At the same time, laying tiles is a rather expensive and time-consuming task, concrete is a relatively short-lived future, but laying asphalt, the price of which is much lower than paving slabs, is a rather attractive option, and the laying process is quite simple, so asphalting the territory on your own will not cause any special difficulties. The main thing is to choose the right type of asphalt and follow the technology of its laying.

Benefits of asphalt pavement

Despite the relative environmental friendliness of asphalt mixtures, the demand for given material is unlikely to come to naught, since the advantages of asphalt surpass most similar materials in many respects, including:

Excellent waterproofing;
Does not deform under sharp temperature fluctuations;
High degree of wear resistance;
moisture resistance;
Resistance to oils, acids;
Lack of labor-intensive care;
Ease of repair of damaged areas;
Duration of operation;
Practicality;
Acceptable cost.

Among the disadvantages of asphalt mixtures, an important role is played by bad smell, which appears in hot weather due to the release of toxic substances from a hot coating, although in most cases this nuance is simply omitted.

However, the manifestation of all the advantages of asphalt pavement is possible only if you have complete information about how to lay asphalt in the yard. Based on this, the initial task is to right choice type of asphalt regarding the conditions of its future operation.

Asphalt and its types

Asphalt is a combination of mineral materials with bitumen. Depending on the method of its production, asphalt is released:

Natural origin. Asphalt is formed under the influence of oxidation and hypergenesis of heavy oil fractions, or light components obtained from the residues of fractions in the process of evaporation, followed by mixing with sand, gravel, forming rather thick layers on the surface. This type of asphalt is widely used in areas where oil comes to the surface.
artificial origin. Asphalt, obtained by mixing sand, crushed stone, and also mineral powder with bitumen in the factory, is called asphalt concrete, through which the main asphalting of roads, sidewalks, etc. is carried out.

The main difference between natural asphalt and artificial asphalt concrete is due to the high content of bitumen in mixtures, reaching 60-75%, which provides the laid asphalt with increased strength. In artificial asphalt percentage bitumen varies from 13-60%, which explains its division into several subspecies used for various works and areas of destination.

Varieties of artificial asphalt, their characteristics

AT recent times the demand for asphalt products is increasing markedly, so manufacturers are constantly striving to improve the technological composition of raw materials and the method of its manufacture, which leads to the emergence of new types of asphalt.

To date, the following types of asphalt are produced:

1. Hot - made from a composition that includes sand, mineral powder, liquid or viscous bitumen, as well as crushed stone or gravel. Under the influence of high temperatures, all components are thoroughly mixed, forming a homogeneous mass. At the same time, asphalt laying is carried out immediately, within 4-5 hours from the moment of production of a certain volume. If the mass temperature drops below 120 °C, the degree of adhesion will decrease, worsening the quality of the coating.

Advantages:

High hardened coating strength;
High degree of adhesion to the surface;
Durability;
Acceptable cost.

Flaws:

To compact the coating, it is necessary to use rollers, vibrating plates;
Efficiency of work in order to avoid cooling of the asphalt mass;
It is possible to operate only after 5-6 hours;
Ability to work in warm weather.

2. Cast, along with hot asphalt, has a similar composition, but has a high content of bitumen and mineral fillers. Mastic asphalt concrete pavement differs from other types in its slight relief and small layer thickness, while performance characteristics several times higher than hot and cold asphalt.

Advantages:

Excellent water resistance;
No material corrosion;
Resistance to various kinds deformations;
High degree of adhesion to the surface to be coated;
Coating sealing is not required;
Resistance to temperature fluctuations;
All-season work;
Small weight due to high density mixtures;
Durability.

Flaws:

The use of special equipment that delivers and lays the finished mixture;
High price.

3. Colored - can refer to both hot asphalt and cold asphalt, produced by heating the components, followed by cooling and packaging for storage. Colored asphalt is obtained as a result of the use of colored crushed stone, as well as the introduction of colored dyes into the mixture.

Advantages:

Excellent sound absorption;
High adhesion with rubber;
In the dark, the color track is visible much better than the gray one;
Durability.

However, due to the high cost, colored asphalt is mainly used for applying a contrasting pattern to the road, for marking paths in parks and gardens.

4. Cold - is distinguished by the use of not viscous, but liquid bitumen, or a bitumen emulsion in such a way that the constituent elements of the mixture are packed in a bitumen film. In the course of production, special additives are introduced into the mixture, which prevent bitumen from hardening during the storage of the finished mixture, as well as increasing the storage time.

The polymerization process begins at the moment of compaction of the coating;
On the laid asphalt, you can immediately move, drive;
Coating resistance to expansion, shrinkage caused by weather conditions;
Possibility of carrying out all-season work;
The minimum content in the composition harmful substances;
Fast laying;
Durability.

Manual tamping of the coating is required, or with the use of a roller;
High cost compared to hot types of asphalt.

5. Asphalt crumb is a recyclable material obtained as a result of:

Milling of the obsolete top layer of asphalt. The cost, along with the quality of the crumb obtained in this way, directly depends on the composition of the processed asphalt mixture and the speed of the cutter. The highest quality is considered to be warm asphalt crumb, consisting of a fine fraction. However, you can purchase material only in the warm season, when repairs are carried out.

Crushing pieces that have broken off from the asphalt pavement. Crushing of chips entering the production is carried out in a crusher, as a result of which the asphalt crumb is immediately sorted by the size of the fraction. During processing, the bitumen remains in a frozen state, as a result of which the coating with such chips will have a somewhat loose structure. In addition, asphalt chips can come with adhering pieces of concrete, soil, deteriorating the quality of the processed material.

Thus, the quality and cost of crushed asphalt after milling exceeds those of the material obtained by crushing.

In general, paving asphalt with aggregate is simple, resulting in the following advantages:

Does not wash out with water;
Under the action of the sun, the bitumen liquefies, contributing to the sintering of the composition;
Provides good drainage performance;
Low cost.

Flaws:

To give the coating strength, it is necessary to use a rolling device;
fragility.

Despite the variety of asphalt mixtures, the same type can have a different purpose, depending on the size of its constituent fractions:

Coarse-grained asphalt is characterized by the presence of large and small fractions in the composition of crushed stone and is intended for laying as the bottom layer of the coating;

Fine-grained - based on crushed stone, mainly fine fractions for laying the top layer of the coating, when using a multi-layer coating intended for the roadway;

Sandy asphalt, which is based on sand, with the addition of a small amount of fine crushed stone, bitumen and mineral powder. Ideal for arranging paths, paths, park areas.

Thus, when choosing one or another type to lay asphalt in the country, in the yard or near the garage, it is necessary to pay attention not only to the financial side of the issue, but also to the composition, as well as the method of producing the mixture.

Asphalt paving technology

After choosing the type of asphalt, answering the question of how to lay asphalt with your own hands is already quite simple, since it remains to prepare the base and directly lay the mixture.

ground preparation

Before laying asphalt, the following work must be done:

Mark the future path or territory, taking into account the location of underground utilities, the distance for installing curbs, as well as the presence of trees with a developed root system, which can subsequently damage the coating;
Remove a layer of soil to a depth of 20-30 cm, making a slope for water runoff from the coating by 6-7 mm every meter;
Install a curb stone along the edges of the trench;
At the bottom of the trench, pour rubble or gravel with a layer of 10 cm and tamp;
On top of the rubble, with a layer of 5 cm, pour sand and also carefully tamp, after moistening with water.

If the territory will be used for the arrival of vehicles, then the layer of crushed stone and sand must be increased by another 10 cm.

asphalt mix paving

Direct laying of asphalt is carried out as follows:

Distribute the mixture brought along the entire perimeter of the territory intended for asphalting, using a shovel and a tool specially designed for leveling in the form of a mop;
Compact the leveled layer with a roller, vibrating plate, or manual rammer. At the same time, so that the asphalt does not stick to the rink, it must be moistened with water;
Rolling of the asphalt layer occurs from the bottom up, and then perpendicularly to remove the formed seams.

If the path is asphalted, then a sufficient coating layer is 4-5 cm, and if vehicles enter the territory, then 8-10 cm.

Thus, the question of how to lay asphalt correctly can be answered as follows: choose the type of asphalt, follow the base preparation technology and lay the asphalt pavement. It should also be noted that a slight deviation from some points of the technology can lead to the loss of asphalt properties and a shorter service life.

16 /04/2016

To make asphalt yourself, you need to know a few details that will help you avoid injuries during work. The main materials for asphalt are crushed stone, resin and sand. In addition, you need polymer materials, with which the surface is laid. At first glance, making asphalt on your own is not at all difficult, but before you start, you need to prepare for this process. First you need to find a container in which all the ingredients will be mixed. You also need a small fire, which should burn for at least 8 hours. In order to cool the suspension, about 100 liters of water must be prepared. To keep all materials together, you need to use a paste in the form of resin or bitumen.

cold asphalt
To date, there is another type of asphalt - cold, that is, polymer. The main advantage is that its laying is carried out at any temperature. Through testing, it was found that the viscosity of this asphalt is maintained even at -15. It is this fact that gives huge advantages to this type of asphalt, as it allows you to repair roads at any time and weather. For such laying, special equipment is used, including the use of a service such as renting an unpaved roller.

hot asphalt
1. Prepare the container.
First of all, you need to make an item that would do the job of a concrete mixer. For this you can apply iron barrel. From above it needs to be covered with a lid, and at the bottom in the very center you need to drill a hole with a drill. Then you need to thread a thin pipe or rod and weld it so that the barrel does not leak. A L-shaped rod must be welded to one of the edges of the pipe and a skewer will be obtained.
2. In homemade concrete mixer we fall asleep crushed stone, and sand according to the principle 2: 1 and mix everything well. Do not pour wet mixtures, as they dry out very quickly and are difficult to pick out.
3. Bitumen must be heated in another container. A bucket is better for this. Heating to boiling need to add polymers. To make the bitumen elastic, you need to add a little shampoo. As a result of boiling, it will burn out, and it will become much easier to mix the mixture.
4. Hot bitumen must be added to the barrel, where sand and gravel have already warmed up. Under no circumstances should bitumen be poured into cold barrel as it will dry out quickly.
5. Before pouring asphalt, the pits must be well cleaned. In addition, with the help of a compressor, you can blow out all unnecessary debris. gulf hot mix into the pits, you need to tamp the material with the help of a roller. In order for the tool not to stick to bitumen, it must be moistened with water.

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

We will also consider methods, proportions and technologies. self-manufacturing asphalt from bitumen, sand, crushed stone and old asphalt. Learn how to properly lay homemade asphalt on 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.

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, and not coal. You can also add used oil there, or old roofing material.

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 shovel heavy fractions from the bottom.
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.

Please note that old asphalt will be reduced by more than 2 times. And if you have a standard 200's 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 pour asphalt, level it wooden board and immediately throw small 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 an upright 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 placed 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 summer cottage. Asphalt pavement has only a few main advantages - low cost, high strength, simple technology creation and versatility. Often asphalt is chosen only because it has the most low price compared to paving materials such as paving slabs, paving stones, decking, natural stone etc.

The disadvantages of asphalt are very significant factors that affect not only landscape design 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 into winter period: water enters the 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 ready mix at a road repair company. AT 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 into 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.

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 circle 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 a roller, it is necessary to move slowly while making only rectilinear movements (reverse movements are prohibited). During rolling, seams will form at the joints 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 surface or concrete screeds, then the terrain preparation process 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

To repair the asphalt pavement with your own hands, it is recommended to use cold asphalt, which can be laid even with 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 on top of the asphalt paving slabs or pour concrete screed

As for the first method, everything construction firms road repairers 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 would be difficult and economically unprofitable.

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 foundation - 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 metal container together 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, but in domestic production for the regeneration of old asphalt, in standard version, use conventional installations for mixing such compositions. Also, additional equipment for the storage, transportation and dosage of asphalt concrete mix is used.

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

Types of asphalt

Asphalt production in the factory

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.

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, and 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.

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 placed 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:

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, in 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.

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 directly to the place of laying, all that remains is to quickly level it, compact it and roll it.

Do-it-yourself preparation of the area for asphalting

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 circle 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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, additional equipment for the storage, transportation and dosage of asphalt concrete mix is used.

The reliability of the asphalt pavement depends on the use of quality components in the mixture, their uniform mixing, maintaining 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;
capabilities fast food 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 decline specifications 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 in critical areas 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 it operational period much bigger.

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 workshops. 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 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 paving, special or liquid detergent. 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 by this time you have not finished 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, falling 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 track, it is necessary to take into account the presence of possible underground engineering communications, location garden trees and 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 leveling process, it is necessary to check for slopes using building level. Compaction of the asphalt concrete layer on garden path best to do .

It should be noted that the process of laying asphalt with your own hands depends on weather conditions. This work should not be done with negative temperatures and in damp rainy weather.

Asphalt Recycling Technology

Need for savings Money during the repair and construction of new roads with asphalt pavement 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 up to 170 ° C with the addition of required amount 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 pavement made of asphalt mix allows home master to equip the personal plot with comfortable and neat asphalt walkways, 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 product quality conformity to the buyer of asphalt state standards. 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.