{"id":1283,"date":"2022-04-12T14:17:42","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T14:17:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cohesivehomes.com\/?p=1283"},"modified":"2022-04-12T14:20:42","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T14:20:42","slug":"recycled-asphalt-lifespan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cohesivehomes.com\/recycled-asphalt-lifespan","title":{"rendered":"How Long Does Recycled Asphalt Last? (Is It Good For Driveways?)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Asphalt is one of the most often recycled materials globally, and the roads you are traveling on have likely been resurfaced many times using recycled asphalt. Using recycled asphalt makes the cost of laying an asphalt driveway at your home cost significantly less than using freshly made hot asphalt driveways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As is the case with freshly laid asphalt, recycled asphalt needs to be repaired and resealed every two to three years. Recycled asphalt is an excellent option in areas with high rainfall, snowfall, and temperature extremes. If well installed and maintained, it can last for more than ten years.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recycling of old asphalt does not detract from the quality and durability of the driveway when correctly milled and reinstalled. Let’s look at why recycled asphalt is as good as newly laid asphalt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Is Asphalt Made And Why Is It Recyclable?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Road works dismantling of asphalt pavement for future re use<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Asphalt is the residue of the process of refining crude oil. This blackish-brown sticky substance is also known as bitumen and can be mixed with stone aggregate, fillers, and stabilizers to yield asphalt or Tarmacadam (Tarmac). Asphalt is ideal for laying roadway surfaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The asphalt is heated up to be pliable and workable when laying fresh or recycled roadways. The material can be shaped and compacted on top of a well-prepared surface to provide an ideal surface to provide vehicle tires with optimal grip and not generate road noise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The weathering effects cause the asphalt to lose the organic volatiles and cause it to become brittle and crack. If the surface is not repaired and resealed with regular maintenance, the top layer of aggregate will become loose and cause the roadway to become slippery<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Special machines are then required<\/a> to strip off the asphalt top layer to a depth where the substructure is stable. The stripped-off asphalt can be milled to a fine aggregate and mixed with fresh hot bitumen before being laid and compacted again. The laying of recycled asphalt is significantly less expensive than laying fresh asphalt<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Is Recycled Asphalt Hardened?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Asphalt processing and recycling plant transformation into gravel<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Once the old brittle asphalt has been stripped off-road surface and milled to a consistent size<\/a>, it is mixed with hot bitumen and other recycled filler materials such as rubber to form a freshly mixed batch of asphalt. The surface preparation of where the asphalt is to be laid is critically important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the sub-surface is not stable and well compacted<\/a>, putting on a fresh layer of asphalt is a waste of time<\/strong>. The warm asphalt is laid down to fill the roadway’s surface and is compacted using a combination of light and heavy rollers. Once the asphalt has been shaped and compacted, a dusting of Calcium Carbonate powder will help to harden the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Calcium Carbonate powder reacts with the bitumen in the asphalt due to a spontaneous (exothermic) reaction<\/a>, causing the bitumen to heat up and fill in all the micro-fissures and voids in the asphalt. When the asphalt cools down, it becomes a hard and compact structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On very hot days, the asphalt will absorb the sun’s heat and become soft and pliable. Heavy trucks will cause the asphalt surface to distort and form ruts and unevenness of the asphalt surface. The asphalt is mixed with stabilizer fillers to minimize the effect of heat distortion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Water will penetrate the asphalt into every void or fissure and freeze and expand in the cold, wet, and snowy weather. The effect is that the cold, brittle asphalt will develop cracks and start to break up under heavy traffic. Maintenance crews sprinkle coarse salt onto the asphalt to suppress the freezing point of water and prevent it from freezing and forming black ice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Required Maintenance To Maximize The Lifespan Of Recycled Asphalt<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Laying recycled asphalt on the driveway on your property<\/a> is a far more cost-effective way of surfacing your roadway when compared to paving or laying fresh asphalt. The surface preparation is critical to make the installed recycled asphalt last for as long as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related Reading:<\/strong> Does Sealing A Driveway Make It Slippery?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make use of a professional installer to lay the recycled asphalt for you. You can do some of the maintenance yourself to prolong the life of the roadway. Using a seed sprinkler, sprinkling of Calcium Carbonate powder to allow the surface to harden. Fill the seed sprinkler with powder and push the sprinkler over the tarred surface, ensuring even coverage over the entire surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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