Is this an acceptable repair job? (pavement outside home)

Molvik

As per the title, as we're genuinely not sure if this repair job has been done properly and will therefore protect the integrity of the pavement in years to come. I wondered if anyone here had the experience/knowledge to comment?

Context:

During ongoing works to install fibre cabling in the area a number of cuts where made into the pavement in order to create a trench for said cabling. On this stretch however several unnecessary cuts were made by the council's contractors (you can see where the actual cabling ends at the top of the first image - it then starts a few metres further along). The cuts were left open for several weeks before we were able to get someone to patch them up.

My assumption has always been that these cuts would allow water into the pavement causing damage over time - particularly as cars cross this stretch to access driveways, though maybe I'm worrying over nothing in that regard? At least compared to the rest of the pavement! 

Now, we have never seen a repair job like this in decades of walking city streets, which is what first raised an eyebrow. In layman's terms, it doesn't look like the material has been 'melted' properly to fill the cut and adhere to the pavement. This was, to some extent, confirmed when approx. 20% of the patching came loose from the pavement within 24 hours. For clarity, what's shown here has been in place for around 1 month with no further obvious issues. The 20% that came loose has just been fixed today in the same manner but I missed them doing it to talk to them further (after several weeks of chasing). 

Ultimately the fact it looks a total mess drew our attention to the quality of the job, but the aesthetics of modern pavements is hardly something to lose sleep over. I'm simply concerned about more unnecessary upheaval out front in the future if this hasn't been done properly in the first place. And since we don't really have any idea beyond appearances, it would be great to get a more expert point of view before going back to the contractors/council. 

Any thoughts appreciated.

Section62

Molvik said:

Now, we have never seen a repair job like this in decades of walking city streets, which is what first raised an eyebrow. In layman's terms, it doesn't look like the material has been 'melted' properly to fill the cut and adhere to the pavement. This was, to some extent, confirmed when approx. 20% of the patching came loose from the pavement within 24 hours. For clarity, what's shown here has been in place for around 1 month with no further obvious issues. The 20% that came loose has just been fixed today in the same manner but I missed them doing it to talk to them further (after several weeks of chasing). 

TBH I'm surprised they have made any attempt at sealing, the usual practice tends to be leaving the saw cuts and hoping they fill up with crud before anyone notices.  Sealing joints with bitumen used to be the norm, but to some extent it went out of fashion because it created patches of lower skid resistance that could be fatally dangerous to motorcyclists in the wet.  Routine sealing footway joins went out of favour around the same time.

Did you see how the strips were laid?  The regularity of the material suggests it was in preformed strips rather than hand-spread - perhaps then 'torched' down with a propane burner?

The quality isn't great, but if the highway authority aren't that bothered then I doubt much else will be done.  Water getting through the surface of a flexible pavement is generally not good news, but the kind of loading from pedestrians and cars using a crossover means there won't be a vast difference in service life even if water is getting in.

I'd actually be more interested in what is going on in the area which has been reinstated behind.  The surface between the green cabinet and the inspection chamber looks very uneven - possibly not compacted properly - and it appears that the surfacing around the far right-hand corner of the inspection chamber is quite a lot higher than the chamber cover.... possibly to the point of being a trip hazard.  It appears the cover has been laid level, rather than matching it to the surrounding surface.  I'd be happy to comment further on that if you want to post some more pictures of it.

MalMonroe

No. It isn't acceptable at all. And worse than that, it's an accident waiting to happen.

Virgin has recently been laying cable in our crescent and they have just filled in with a tar mix (whatever it's called - I'm not sure). It's a neat and tidy finish and the only complaint we could have is that the colour doesn't blend with the original pavement. But where they have filled in is flush with the original pavement.

If I were you, I'd contact the council as they are responsible for the state of pavements. If they cannot help then they should be able to tell you who can but normally when companies need to dig up pavements they have to go through the local council first. Everyone on my road received a letter from the council in advance of the work to advise that Virgin would be coming within the next few weeks. 

You have a valid complaint because what you have been left with is just plain dangerous. 

EssexExile

I really wouldn't worry about it. The gas/electric/water/sewage/tv/phone man will be along at regular intervals to dig it up again.

TELLIT01

There is a site called www.Fixmystreet.com and it could be worth raising the issue on there, along with photos.  There was a situation at the end of our road where tarmac patching was bodged by contractors following utility work.  It started to break up within a few weeks and potholes appeared.  I reported it and the main potholes were filled, but not the rest where all the top finishing layer had come away.  I reported it again but heard nothing, so reported for a 3rd time stating it was a skid risk to cycles and motorcycles coming round the corner.  I had an e-mail a few days later saying it had been reported for urgent attention.

Moral of the story - lay the risk on thick when reporting.

Section62

MalMonroe said:

You have a valid complaint because what you have been left with is just plain dangerous. 

From the pictures I don't think the sealing is.  Most HA's have a 'trip height' specification which is around 20 to 25mm - the sealing looks a lot less than that. But if they are actually pre-formed adhesive strips then they could become dangerous if they start detaching from the surface.

Unattractive and poorly executed - yes.  Dangerous - not really.

Molvik

I'd actually be more interested in what is going on in the area which has been reinstated behind.  The surface between the green cabinet and the inspection chamber looks very uneven - possibly not compacted properly - and it appears that the surfacing around the far right-hand corner of the inspection chamber is quite a lot higher than the chamber cover.... possibly to the point of being a trip hazard.  It appears the cover has been laid level, rather than matching it to the surrounding surface.  I'd be happy to comment further on that if you want to post some more pictures of it.

I've added some pictures below of this area. You're right, it's not in a great state either, but has been overpowered by the bizarre case of the strips. The inspection chamber was significantly disrupted during the works as you can see and is not inline with the pavement.

The strips were indeed from a long roll which was cut to length (you can judge the success of that from the pictures!) and then 'torched' down. Or not, in the case of the strip (about 2m) that came back off. 

Thanks all for your other comments - all useful in decided how much energy to expend!

Additional images:


 

Eldi_Dos

I would  say that is not acceptable. Never seen that strips of material before, might be ok for a temporary reinstatement,unless they are going to come back with some type of hotbox and melt it down and level it I would be unhappy with it outside my house. ( especially as it was their error which has caused the problem)
The most glaring issue is that is a footpath frame and cover which is over your driveway, it will deteriorate with traffic going over it and I would want it changed for carriageway frame and cover. Depending on which company it is they may see it another way, but if the roles were reversed and you had been applying for a dropped kerb to access your drive the issue of driving over that type of frame and cover would have come up.
If the project is still going on in your area the crews doing the work should have courtesy boards out with contact details on them but I think I would get in touch with council as well.

Section62

Molvik said:

I'd actually be more interested in what is going on in the area which has been reinstated behind.  The surface between the green cabinet and the inspection chamber looks very uneven - possibly not compacted properly - and it appears that the surfacing around the far right-hand corner of the inspection chamber is quite a lot higher than the chamber cover.... possibly to the point of being a trip hazard.  It appears the cover has been laid level, rather than matching it to the surrounding surface.  I'd be happy to comment further on that if you want to post some more pictures of it.

I've added some pictures below of this area. You're right, it's not in a great state either, but has been overpowered by the bizarre case of the strips. The inspection chamber was significantly disrupted during the works as you can see and is not inline with the pavement.

The strips were indeed from a long roll which was cut to length (you can judge the success of that from the pictures!) and then 'torched' down. Or not, in the case of the strip (about 2m) that came back off. 

Thanks for the extra pictures, they are a lot clearer.

It isn't a great piece of work, but about par for the quality of utility works these days. The main concern for me would be the difference in level along the long side of the chamber on the carriageway side.  It isn't clear whether it is more than 20mm, although you'd need to check your own council's threshold value.  If you send pictures to the council, try standing a 20p coin against the edge as this is one of the techniques used for witness photos during highway inspections and it will help the council see how bad it is, as well as letting them know that you know.

My suggestion with the sealing is to keep an eye on it and get back on the council's case if it starts lifting again.  It might be worth making a complaint again now, but in all honesty I'm not sure it is bad enough to warrant any action.

Molvik

My suggestion with the sealing is to keep an eye on it and get back on the council's case if it starts lifting again.  It might be worth making a complaint again now, but in all honesty I'm not sure it is bad enough to warrant any action.

This is pretty much where I've landed. Thank you for the detailed responses, very much appreciated.

Rosa_Damascena

My local council is now really pushing back on contractors that have left our roads a mess.