[Shop-talk] Repairing bump in asphalt driveway?

[nick brearley]

---- On Tue, 11 Sep 2018 14:53:46 +0000 Jim Franklin 
<jamesf at groupwbench.org> wrote ----

 > That the driveway is 50 years old and quite steep and in New England 
would be my guess, but I just need it smoothed asap. How did you cut it 
open? Does a gas powered stone cutter work or would it get gooped up 
with hot tar?

Hi Jim,

A gas powered disc cutter is the tool of choice. If you rent one get a 
stone cutting disc (not metal cutting). Also get a dust mask and safety 
goggles. Most rental places offer those as a matter of course. Ear 
defenders are good if you plan using it for any length of time.

It's what a contractor would use. No need to worry about hot tar. Some 
cutters have a hose connection for dust suppression. Worth using because 
the dust clouds can be spectacular.

The simple alternative is to use a 3 or 4 inch chisel with a lump 
hammer. But that takes away the fun of using one of the best bang for 
the buck tools on the market, cutting metal at night is quite a display.

Moving on to the repair the important thing is that the foundation is 
well tamped. In the UK we can buy a ready mixed cold bitumenous topping 
in 20 kg bags for just this small repair job. Not as good as hot mixed 
material but adequate. I expect you can get it at HomeDepot, Lowes or 
similar. In an ideal world you would seal the joint with a hot bitumen 
caulk, there may even be something available in a tube that would do the 
job.

After you've laid it brush over your existing drive to get some dust and 
grit. Scatter this over the new, it will help to make it less 
conspicuous and the surface less tacky.

Good luck.

Nick Brearley