CONCRETE & STONEWORK
URBAN PAVING REPOINTING - FOR THE LONG-TERM !
1 . What is Urban Paving ? ‘ Urban Paving ’ is the term used for paved roads and pavements in our towns and cities , including the trafficked paving around all types of public buildings , retail and commercial developments and facilities , as well as other paved areas with public access , such as in our historic market squares for example . This type of paving is always installed as ‘ rigid ’ or ‘ bound construction ’ paving , with a substructure and build-up that is designed to accommodate the traffic load , with the paving elements bound into a bedding layer and securely jointed , again to accommodate and distribute the load stress into the substructure , as well as to prevent water wash-out in service .
The selected paving and jointing materials must also be able to withstand continual exposure to weathering and the seasonal extremes of temperature , from direct sunlight to winter frosts and the significant thermal movement this causes at the surface –
In Summer a sudden rainstorm can cause a surface temperature change of more than 20 ° C in just a few minutes . Urban paving can also receive spillages of many different types of material , from vehicular fuel and hydraulic oils to all manner of foodstuffs , and everything in between on our roads and public spaces . In winter the sometime heavy use of de-icing salts . All this is followed by frequent and generally aggressive cleaning regimes , including by mechanical brushes , detergents , and high-pressure waterjetting by mechanical street cleaning machines .
There are many different types and sizes of paving elements for urban paving , and these were and are traditionally cut natural hard stone , though precast concrete , and reconstituted stone ( crushed stone sands with cement ) flags are also used where suitable for the intended traffic and exposure , principally to reduce cost in less severely exposed pavements and pedestrian areas , or parking areas with limited use / loadings . Urban paving elements can also be divided into two main types according to their size .
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