There’s more than one way to approach pavement repair. The particular methods you employ will depend on your asphalt’s age along with the extent and type of damage it’s facing. Most minor cracks are easily fixed up via filling with the proper material. Larger cracks and potholes might need some additional work before they can be patched up, however – this is where cutting comes in. At first, asphalt cutting might seem counterproductive; After all, isn’t the idea to restore the material to the damaged section rather than remove it?
In order to make sense of this aspect of asphalt repair, you must understand what commercial paving companies mean when they plan on cutting asphalt. Let’s explore this process by breaking it down step by step.
The Asphalt Cutting Process
Cleaning, Marking, and Scoring the Damaged Area
Any damaged section of your asphalt parking lot or driveway is bound to be riddled with dirt, dust, and debris. Before cutting away any of this material, commercial paving experts will clean up the area in question for more efficient cutting and improved visibility. Then, they’ll mark and score the section they plan on cutting in a rectangular shape for a simpler repair.
Removing Existing Asphalt Damage with State-of-the-Art Equipment
Once the damaged section has been cleaned, marked, and scored, the actual cutting process can begin. A reputable commercial paving company will use a hard-bonded diamond blade for the job. For the best results, the blade must be adjusted to the right level of depth and carefully guided along the scored region for straight lines. The saw blade must not be turned while it’s running or else it might undergo damage.
Cleaning Up the Area to Prepare for Patching and Compaction
From there, your asphalt will be left with a squared-off hole at a uniform depth where damage once was. All of that cutting will produce more dust and debris which must also be cleared away before patching can begin. Indeed, all the work up to this point has been in service of properly patching potholes in asphalt. In other words, when a commercial paving company talks about cutting, they’re referring to half of the repair process – patching is the other half. Once the hole is clean and completely dry, new material can be poured in until slightly spilling over the ledges on all sides. Then the contractor will compact the material so the repair is strongly sealed, smooth, and level with the surrounding asphalt.
Cutting Before Patching
Sometimes you need to remove what’s there to make way for new material – such is the case with asphalt cutting. Cut and patch repairs are among the most common and cost-effective tasks performed by asphalt maintenance services. When properly done, these repairs can extend the lifespan of your asphalt pavement by several years, protecting it from moisture, pressure, and other threats. If your pavement could use some attention this spring and beyond, let the New England experts at Cassidy Paving assess, repair, and maintain your parking lot, driveway, or road with our wide range of services.
Call us today at 866-978-9788 to receive a free estimate on your next asphalt project.