After suffering with an old bitumen driveway that had deteriorated to a point where it was no longer usable, the owners of this semi-rural Wungong home in the Perth Hills needed a new driveway that could handle use from a variety of vehicles.

They received a recommendation from not one, but two family members that had previously had work done by NK Asphalt and were delighted with the finished product. The owners contacted NK Asphalt for a new asphalt driveway that would be able to withstand the wear and tear of the business operations at the home.

 

Removing the Bitumen Driveway

There were several challenges the NK Asphalt team faced with this project, firstly the removal of the old bitumen driveway that, due to the incline and busy use from vehicles, had developed large potholes and loose bitumen material. The existing condition of the bitumen driveway meant that the owners were struggling to gain access up to the house and this also meant that it was affecting their business operations.

 

What’s the Difference Between Asphalt and Bitumen?

The deterioration that occurred on this semi-rural driveway is not uncommon for old bitumen driveways, particularly if they are on an incline. When you compare the differences between asphalt and bitumen, one of the big advantages that asphalt has it that it is more durable than bitumen.

In this project, the home was at the top of a hill with a sloping driveway that ran up to a flat area at the front of the house. The gradient and the use of heavy vehicles on the semi-rural driveway meant that the bitumen driveway was taking a lot of wear and tear, and it weakened as a result.

The angle of the entry to the existing bitumen driveway meant that cars and trailers were bottoming out and scraping the surface of the bitumen, causing it to fail. This combined with the rain running down the incline of the semi-rural driveway resulted in potholes and loose materials washing away, causing problems walking and driving on the hill.

Aside from being a smoother material for semi-rural driveways, asphalt is also a lot more durable, and with the addition of kerbing, can avoid a lot of the deterioration that occurred at this property by diverting water to drainage points which then collect some of the run-off for future use in the garden.

 

To remove the old bitumen driveway surface, NK Asphalt needed to overcome the poor condition of the driveway and the incline to allow our equipment access. Once we did this, we then pulverised the existing gravel and roadbase materials with the old bitumen seal and rather than dispose of the waste, we recycled it for re-use as a sub-base material under the new granite roadbase.

A special note, that while the semi-rural driveway was under construction, NK Asphalt was still able to provide the owners and their visitors access to the house and carport, creating as minimal interruption to their business as possible.

 

Creating a New Asphalt Semi-Rural Driveway

As the homeowners had already struggled with the gradient of the existing bitumen driveway damaging their vehicles, as well as the old bitumen, NK Asphalt decided to eliminate this problem by changing the gradient altogether.

The semi-rural driveway was reshaped to reduce the steep gradients that could catch the bottom of vehicles, this included reshaping and compacting the new base works and adding kerbing to the driveway entry. We also constructed the driveway’s shape to facilitate the new drainage system the owner had installed to collect the runoff rainwater for re-use.

The total area of the semi-rural asphalt driveway was around 1,100m2 and included kerbing each side to channel water to the drainage points. The team was challenged by the incline of the driveway but were able to overcome this when delivering roadbase, concrete and asphalt materials. These materials were then laid to the required levels and compacted ready for the next stage.

 

An Outstanding Result On Time & Budget

With any challenging project, there is always a risk of going overtime or budget, but the team at NK Asphalt are committed to delivering the highest quality professional work that is on time and on budget. This was the case again for this Perth Hills semi-rural asphalt driveway. In total the job took almost two weeks to complete from the removal of the old bitumen driveway to the laying of the roadbase, kerbs and new asphalt surface.

The homeowners were delighted with the result of their new asphalt driveway and were happy to show off their latest project to visitors and family, including the brothers that had recommended NK Asphalt.

If you’ve got a driveway that is starting to deteriorate, crack or loosen, talk to the team at NK Asphalt. We work on medium to large semi-rural driveways and have successfully worked in the Perth Hills for over thirty years. We happily provide friendly free advice and would be pleased to arrange a prompt measure and quote.

We pride ourselves on completing all quotes and the subsequent jobs within the agreed timeframe and budget and hope to be of assistance when you need us.

 

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If your job is 150m2 or more and in the Perth or surrounding areas.

Paul Calnon

Paul is a Director of NK Asphalt and has over thirty years of experience in the asphalt and bitumen industry since joining NK Asphalt in 1994. He’s an expert in all aspects of asphalt works - and can give advice on baseworks, kerbing and other site services. He is dedicated to providing the right solution for clients - and can give great advice on the pro’s and cons of different methods clients may be considering.