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AMS Equipment Spotlight: Seal Tractors
What is it? A seal tractor is a specialized piece of equipment used to spread liquid seal coat across large surfaces smoothly and evenly. It consists of a tractor with a squeegee attachment hitched to the back and may also have a large tank of water attached to the...
Paving Jargon: Reflective Cracking
What is it? Reflective cracking occurs when breaks or cracks in the underlying layers become visible on the asphalt surface through a patch, overlay, or seal coat. The original cracks can be caused by several factors (age hardening, temperature cycling, separation of...
AMS Equipment Spotlight: Rollers
What is it? A roller is a heavy piece of construction equipment used to compact soil, base rock, and for asphalt installation and is essential to the construction of roads, parking lots, and subgrades. There are several types of rollers, the main 4 being pneumatic,...
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AMS Equipment Spotlight: Water Trucks
What is it?A water truck, also known as a tank truck or tanker truck, is a vehicle designed to carry liquids from one location to another. These trucks are comprised of 3 components: the cab for the driver, the tank for the water, and pumping equipment for dispersing...
Is the Asphalt to Blame?
We have high expectations when it comes to the life of our asphalt pavement. It is almost always the most expensive asset to replace. The Reserve Study often states this major common area component has a 25-year lifespan, prompting us to ask “what happened?” when...
AMS Equipment Spotlight: 2- and 3-Axle Move Trailers
What is it? A move trailer is an essential piece of equipment used to transport our heavy paving machinery from our yard to your job site. Bumper-to-bumper, the 2-axle is approximately 67’ long and can haul around 40 tons (80,000lbs) of equipment; and the 3-axle,...
What is a Pothole?
What is it? A pothole is a depression in a road surface, parking lot, driveway, etc. where traffic and water erosion have removed broken pieces of the asphalt and underlying subgrade. What causes it? Potholes are generally the result of water erosion in the underlying...
AMS Equipment Spotlight: 4’ and 7’ Grinders
What is it? An asphalt grinder (or cold planer/cold milling machine) is a large piece of machinery used to grind away the asphalt surface or down to the base layer. The adjustable depth allows us to remove a small layer (1” to 1 ½”) off the surface for a simple...
What is Crack Sealing?
What is it? Crack Sealing is the process of using hot rubberized seal to seal cracks in the asphalt surface. This is an excellent method of treating cracks between ¼” and 1” wide. Anything smaller than ¼” is too narrow for the rubberized seal to penetrate, and...
Resurfacing versus Replacing
The ProblemSo, you’ve been noticing some issues with your asphalt and you know something needs to be done…but what? There are a few options for taking care of an unsightly or damaged asphalt surface and we’re here to help you sort through those options. We’ve already...
AMS Equipment Spotlight: Pavers
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...
What is Seal Coat?
What is it? Seal coat is a thin liquid layer applied to the surface of worn or freshly installed asphalt for the purpose of protecting the asphalt, extending its life, and enhancing its aesthetic appeal. Consisting of refined coal tar with water, emulsifying agents,...
What is Paving?
What is it? Paving is the application of new hot asphalt to either native soil or rock base material. The thickness of the asphalt section or the size of the rock used will change depending on how much weight and traffic the surface will be subject to. Base material,...