How Long Does It Take To Resurface a Road?

The primary purpose of tarmac hotboxes is to apply road surfacing products and to build or repair roads. By doing this, they can ensure that critical road infrastructure is maintained or expanded, thereby ensuring that the UK can continue to function properly.

But that’s not an instant process. It takes time to apply, repair or replace a road surface. In this article from N.D Brown, we’re going to be going through the road resurfacing process and hopefully give you an idea of just how long it can take.

Stage 1: Analysing the Job

The first stage of any resurfacing job will involve analysing the situation of the road. For example, you may find that the entire road surface needs to be replaced, or you may find that you only have to replace certain parts of the road.

If an organisation needs to replace parts of the road, the process ahead will be relatively straightforward. However, if you have to replace the entire road surface, it’s not uncommon for the process to take much, much longer.

Stage 2: Removing Old Material

The next stage of the process resurfacing process will be to remove the old, broken material from the road. This old bituminous material should be removed while the bitumen is solid. There are two reasons why this material is removed solid and not melted first.

The first reason is that removing molten bitumen is much, much more difficult than removing solid bituminous material. Liquid bitumen has a consistency similar to honey.  At the same time, liquid bitumen can get hot enough to burn if touched with bare skin. 

The second reason why removing solid bituminous material is preferable is because it’s possible to recycle this bituminous material. In certain circumstances, both the binding agent and the aggregate material can be reused – making it one of the most recyclable materials in use in construction or manufacturing. 

Stage 3: Replacing the Material

Once the old material has been removed from the area, it is time to replace it. There are a number of ways of replacing the bitumen, depending on the size of the repair job. However, for most large-scale jobs, you will be using something similar to N.D Brown’s tarmac hotboxes.

N.D Brown carries a wide variety of tarmac hotbox sizes – from the smallest 7.25 tonne trucks all the way up to massive 26-tonne trucks. This means that you can reliably use our tarmac hotboxes for a wide variety of job sizes – anywhere from a small stretch of road to an entire motorway if need be. Our tarmac hotboxes are thermostatically controlled and gas heated, suitable for small and large-scale road repair, and you can use fresh or recycled aggregates.

In a situation where you are using a tarmac hotbox to apply the road surfacing material, the time it takes for the material to dry depends on a number of environmental factors, including the air temperature and the level of humidity in the air. Generally speaking, it will take anywhere from 3 to 24 hours for the surfacing material to dry.

As such, it can be understood that it will take anywhere from 3 to 24 hours to complete a road surfacing, with the further caveat that this time will increase depending on the size of the road and the temperature of the size of the road you want to re-surface.

High-Quality Tarmac Hotbox Rental From ND Brown

For over five years, ND Brown has provided our clients with high-quality HGV hire throughout the country. Our range of vehicles includes 4×4 trucks, cage tippers, and grab-hire vehicles. All our vehicles are suitable for long or short-term hire.

Contact ND Brown today to learn more about Tarmac Hotbox hire, tipper hire, and grab hire in London, Manchester, and throughout the United Kingdom.