Leeds Surface Dressing

Car park surfaces can be constructed on a number of materials depending on factors such as cost, durability, local regulations and drainage factors.

Choices include tarmacadam, concrete and shingle. We recommend tarmacadam car parks for most urban parking areas, as they provide the best combination of factors, plus allow easy line marking for parking bays.

Permeable surfaces (also known as porous or pervious surfaces) allow water to percolate into the soil and filter out pollutants, recharging the water table.

Tarmac/Asphalt, Resin Bound, Gravel/Shingle and Block Paving are all classes as permeable surfaces.

As a completely natural and fully recyclable material tarmac can be considered one of the most environmentally friendly methods of surfacing available.

Potholes are commonly caused by the shape of the underlying ground. After the road surfacing has been laid, it will soak up rain. When temperatures drop below zero degrees the water freezes and expands causing damage to the surfacing. When thawed, it will cause the surface to break in a way that matches the underlying shape of the ground therefore creating a pothole.

Tarmacadam is often referred to by its brand name of ‘Tarmac’ and is very common on UK roads. The binder in Tarmacadam is tar, whereas asphalt uses a bitumen binder. Both terms are often used interchangeably.

Unlike block paved or concrete driveways and surfaces, tarmac can be laid directly onto any existing surface, whereas the other materials require a full depth bedding layer before work can even begin.

Top layers of roads generally need resurfacing or surface dressing every 10-15 years. Full road tarmac replacement is often only required after a number of decades.

The majority of UK roads are made of Tarmacadam/Asphalt, which consists of sand, gravel and stone in a bitumen binder. This material is very hard wearing and can support great weights and fluctuations in temperature. Some roads may also be made of concrete.

Surface dressing must be carried out when the road is dry. The process is relatively quick, with busy sites taking less than a day to complete and quieter roads needing only 1 to 2 hours, depending on the size of the road.

Surface dressing involves treating roads which are in relatively good condition with preventative maintenance treatments to maintain their good condition.

Resurfacing is a more extensive structural maintenance treatment which involves removing up to 300mm of a worn out road surface and replacing it with new material.