Asphalt contractors use many different pieces of equipment to achieve those smooth, even roads and parking lots you drive on everyday. Here’s just a few:
Surveyor Level
Before excavation and paving can begin, a surveyor uses a tool called a level to determine various angles and grades relative to the earth’s horizon. This is to ensure that the paved surface will be as “level” as possible. This level looks a lot like to a small telescope with a tripod.
Shovel
Among all of the high-tech paving tools that modern paving contractors take advantage of, the old fashioned shovel is still used for big and small jobs, alike.
Round-nosed shovel – mainly used for digging areas that could not be reached by machinery.
Square-nosed shovel – usually used for distributing asphalt and dirt into gaps that the machinery could not reach.
Asphalt Lute
An asphalt lute is a device that looks similar to a rake, and it’s used to create a smooth surface across the paved area, by pushing the asphalt forward and backwards. This is done until the area appears flat and even.
Pothole Tamper
A pothole tamper is a mechanism for fixing potholes in parking lots and roadways. The pothole is filled with hot asphalt and then compressed to form a solid, by pressing the tamper down onto the asphalt. The device is usually engine-powered – which vibrates a heavy plate over the asphalt. Sometimes it’s just a rod with a flat end that can be manually struck against the asphalt repair surface.
Crack Bander and Melter
This wheel-like drum is used for pouring crack filler into gaps on the newly asphalted surface. It is stocked with a filling compound, and subsequently, run along the length of a crack, emptying the compound into the crack. Crack banders tend to be used mainly for larger jobs.
Sealcoat Squeegee
Once asphalt is laid and smoothed out, the job is not yet completed. Asphalt ought to be sealed with a protective coating, also called “sealcoat.” Much like the asphalt itself, sealcoat needs to be made even, and a sealcoat squeegee is the appropriate tool to achieve this.
If you’re interested in commercial asphalt paving services, don’t hesitate to contact Dykes Paving, you’re top Atlanta paving contractors!
