What is it?
A paver is a piece of construction equipment used to lay asphalt on roads, bridges, parking lots, etc. It lays the asphalt flat and provides minor compaction before it is compacted by rollers. The paver is comprised of two main components: the hopper, and the screed or vibratory screed. The hopper is the collection receptacle for the raw asphalt material and the screed is where the asphalt is extruded from the machine.
How does it work?
Raw asphalt material is dumped from our transport trucks (where it had been received from the production facility at 325°F – 350°F) into the hopper at the front of the paver. The asphalt is pulled through a conveyor belt that feeds the augers to disperse the raw material. The raw asphalt material is then passed through the back end of the paver (known as the “screed”) where it is spread onto the area being paved. All that’s left is for the heavy rollers to finish the compaction, and the light rollers to smooth out any lines or imperfections. This smooth surface is important for aesthetics as well as the longevity of your asphalt investment. Bumpy, uneven asphalt can allow water to pool in low spots and cause cracking, resulting in both surface and underlying damage.
Meet our fleet
Weighing in at roughly 35,000 lbs. (that’s over 17 tons), the Blaw-Knox paver is one of the biggest of the four types of pavers we use here at AMS Paving. It is approximately 10 feet wide and can pave areas up to 20 feet in width using hydraulic extensions. We use these for our larger jobs as 1 single Blaw-Knox paver alone can lay approximately 2,000 tons (4 MILLION lbs.) of asphalt per day, requiring around 110 truckloads of raw asphalt material.
Our Volvo paver is also a heavyweight at 10 feet wide and ranging between 39,000 and 48,000 lbs. (19½ to 24 tons) alone and with the screed. With the screed extensions, the Volvo can pave areas up to 26 feet in width. Its large hopper can hold up to 234 cubic feet of raw asphalt material, which is enough to fill a 7’ by 4’ room with 7’ ceilings.
The Carlson paver is our mid-sized machine that paves areas 8 to 15 feet wide with a max width of 17 feet. With the screed attached, it weighs in at 22,000 lbs. (11 tons) and paves at around 1.75 mph.
The LeeBoy paver is the most compact of our fleet and is essential to completing paving jobs in tight spaces such as apartment complexes, some HOAs, and smaller business parking lots. This machine is also ideal for completing patching projects. The LeeBoy is a relative featherweight at approximately 17,200 lbs. (roughly 8½ tons). Its screed can extend to pave areas as narrow as 8’ up to 15’, and at a breakneck speed of 160 feet per minute! Yes, that’s a whopping 1.8 mph.