If you have to regularly repair a pavement or road, then you might be looking for a new way to fix the surface's problems. While you don't want to keep making the same repairs that don't last for long, you also don't necessarily want to rip up the surface and install a new one. This will be a costly and time-consuming process.

In some cases, you can repair a surface and reduce the chances of future damage by using foam bitumen stabilisation techniques. Here, you add other materials — such as air, water, cement and lime — to hot bitumen. This mix foams and expands. You then use it to make your repairs.

What are the advantages of this repair technique?

Fix Underlying Surface Problems

If a pavement or road keeps getting the same problems, then regular repairs will only ever be a short-term solution. You know that a fix will only last for so long.

Regular surfacing repairs can't always get to the root of a problem. They restore the road or pavement for a while. However, underlying problems, such as low strength, inadequate fatigue resistance and stiffness/flexibility inconsistencies, won't go away.

Foamed bitumen stabilisation helps you make repairs that last. The foaming process adds characteristics to the surface that it might lack right now.

For example, adding cement or lime to the mix will improve the surface's strength and stability. Foamed mixes can make surfaces more flexible and less prone to cracking under stress or repeated use. They become more water-resistant.

So, the surface will stay in better shape for a longer time. Your maintenance costs will reduce, and you won't have the extra expense of removing and replacing the surface completely.

Recycle Existing Materials

Road and paving repairs have material costs. You have to buy new materials for every repair. While these costs are lower than full surface replacements, repeated repairs will push up your costs.

If you use foamed bitumen stabilisation to repair surfaces, then you benefit from recycling. You can remove some of the damaged surface and use it in the mix. You simply need to add the required extra materials to make the mix foam. This is a more cost-effective process. It is also better for the environment.

If you can recycle part of a damaged surface, then you don't have to dispose of it. A stabilisation repair is less environmentally-damaging than a full resurface. Plus, if you do take up old surfaces to make new roads or pavements, then you can store some of the materials and turn them into foamed bitumen for future stabilisation jobs.

To find out more about foamed bitumen stabilisation and how this process will work on your jobs, contact paving contractors.