Tarmac Driveway + large vehicles

sudgolf

Hello all

Earlier this year we had a new tarmac driveway installed. We have quite a heavy car running on mud tyres (Jeep Wrangler).

In the past month I have noticed that the drive is sinking in four locations, where my tyres rest when the car is parked. I do not dry steer, and when I reverse onto the drive my tyres are kept at the angle they were when steering onto the drive.

When Ive raised this with the company that did the work they are putting the sinking down to a couple of reasons...
1.The recent heat we've had in the UK....
2. The weight and size of my 'abnormal' car (their words, not mine)
3. My tyres

As stated above, I do not dry steer when on the tarmac. 

The company is essentially refusing to repair the sinking as they see it as self inflicted rather than a defect to the drive way. Even though they gave a 5 year guarentee apparently this isnt covered. 

In my opinion this shouldnt be happening. They mentioned that the tarmac used for driveways uses smaller 'chips' than that of roads due to cosmetic reasons. 

I wondered if anyone has had a similar issue with a similar type of vehicle. Am I justified in my frustration or is this something to be expected given the parameters given?

I appreciate your comments.

Chris 

jon81uk

Did they know you have a heavy car before installing the drive?

tripled

I'm sure you'll get plenty of opinions either way, not sure how much use that'll be! My take is

1) Summer usually happens around this time every year. Some summers are warmer than others.
2) You do have a heavy car, but I wouldn't go as far as abnormally so. Were they aware of the size of the vehicle being parked on the drive before they started work, and if so did they warn you their driveway wouldn't support it?
3) Do the tyres distribute the weight over a similar (or larger) area to a standard tyre? If so it shouldn't contribute to the sinking.

Aylesbury_Duck

Park it in a slightly different place each time, and in time, you'll have a level driveway again.

Sandtree

What work were they actually contracted to do? Just lay the tarmac over a surface already prepared by you/others or do the whole job of installing a new driveway?

born_again

sudgolf said:

Hello all

Earlier this year we had a new tarmac driveway installed. We have quite a heavy car running on mud tyres (Jeep Wrangler).

In the past month I have noticed that the drive is sinking in four locations, where my tyres rest when the car is parked. I do not dry steer, and when I reverse onto the drive my tyres are kept at the angle they were when steering onto the drive.

When Ive raised this with the company that did the work they are putting the sinking down to a couple of reasons...
1.The recent heat we've had in the UK....
2. The weight and size of my 'abnormal' car (their words, not mine)
3. My tyres

As stated above, I do not dry steer when on the tarmac. 

The company is essentially refusing to repair the sinking as they see it as self inflicted rather than a defect to the drive way. Even though they gave a 5 year guarentee apparently this isnt covered. 

In my opinion this shouldnt be happening. They mentioned that the tarmac used for driveways uses smaller 'chips' than that of roads due to cosmetic reasons. 

I wondered if anyone has had a similar issue with a similar type of vehicle. Am I justified in my frustration or is this something to be expected given the parameters given?

I appreciate your comments.

Chris 

So what exactly did they do when installing the drive?

As hot weather does make a difference. You can clearly see that on roads where bus stops are. As you can see where the wheels stop. Despite then having a very solid hardcore base to the roads.

sudgolf

Thank you for the comments thus far.

To answer a few questions.....

1. Yes they were aware of the vehicle when the work was carried out. Apparently I was advised there would be issues however I do not recall this conversation nor was anything confirmed in writing.

2. For reference I have 33" BFGoodrich Mud Terrain tyres. Although not 'flat' like a normal road tyre they are by no means an aggresive off-road tyre. (they are road legal and the tyres than the Wranglers are supplied with from the factory)

3. The work carried out was to remove the existing front garden, install hardcore and tarmac drive.  

pbartlett

I expect you know already, but tarmac (asphalt) is not solid like concrete but is actually a viscous material. That is most likely the reason for your depressions - a heavy weight on a small area. The plus side is that, unlike concrete, it can fairly easily be patched and repaired.

Alfrescodave

If your drive is actually sinking rather than the tarmac being moved ( due to the recent hot weather) then I would suggest that the problem is due to failure of the sub base. Either insufficient hardcore was used or it was not compacted correctly. 
Even though you have a heavier vehicle than a standard family saloon, a correctly laid drive should be able to accommodate this.