ASPHALT ANSWERS Proper training and calibration is essential to a successful chip sealing job .
CHIP SEALING :
It ’ s Not Just For Municipalities Anymore .
BRIAN HALL
W ell , summer is here . I know , it ’ s not technically summer , but it really feels like we went from pushing snow to laying blacktop in a matter of days , completely bypassing spring . During my travels , it is really great to see the smiling faces on the crew as they are getting back to consistent work as the fresh smell of asphalt is in the air . Hitting the ground running is always a great way to gauge how the season will go . This month , going a little outside the box and talk more asphalt maintenance and preservation , more specifically , chip sealing . My father told me a story about how in the 1950 ’ s , my grandfather convinced the county road department that it was time that our little dirt road became a “ tar and chip ” road . Chip sealing was mainstream in rural America during the mid-20th century . Remember the gas crisis of the ‘ 70 ’ s ? Chip sealing was a cost effective way to satisfy the traveling needs of the American public . As the cost of asphalt fell , so did the popularity of chip sealing . But chip sealing is back with a vengeance , not only with municipalities , but contractors as well . I recently talked with a contractor who told me that during the recent slowdown in business , he promoted chip sealing as an alternative to paving to his driveway customers . The cost to the customer was close to half , but his profit margins were almost as high as if he had paved the driveway . I also work with many large highway contractors who use chip seal as their base layer instead of , say , a 19mm base course asphalt . Chip sealing can be done from the ground up to build a new road or as a rejuvenation of an old asphalt or previously chip sealed road . Let ’ s look at the chip sealing process . www . callape . com [ 42 ] 1.800.210.5923