FAQ

In repair of potholes and small utility cuts and trenches, ® Patchmate is superior to hot mix asphalt because ® Patchmate is a permanent repair material whereas hot mix bitumen repair is a temporary over lay for few months only .

a)-Patchmate remains pliable below the surface indefinitely. Because of this self Bonding characteristic it will not crack or separate from the existing pavement. Hot mix asphalt hardens with declines in temperature and when used in small areas will become brittle and crack under low temperature conditions rainy season. This causes the potholes to resurface when repaired with hot bitumen or other conventional material.

b)-On bridges, on streets over subway tunnels, or any other roads which experience vibrations and movement; ® Patchmate flexes with movement and vibration, but ® does not crack like asphalt. Patchmate can be used at any temperature, winter or summer. Hot mix asphalt is not even manufactured during winter weather because it crystallizes when used rainy & cold weather ® temperature. Patchmate can be used in wet rainy weather with no adverse effects and it will still remain to permanent.

c)-When using Patchmate , there is no need for tack coat. It’s composition is such that it will strongly adhere to bricks/stone, wood/ steel, asphalt, and concrete; but at the same time, it does not adhere to rubber tires or shoesoles.

d)-The equipment required for placing and compacting ® ® Patchmate is one man crew. Patchmate can be poured directly from the bag into the pothole and traffic can be used as the compaction device. Occasionally, plate compactors or hand tampers may be required. Hot mix asphalt requires a dump truck, road roller, pavers, bitumen boiler and whole team of more then 7 crew members for road restoration.

® Patchmate has proved very useful to contractors and maintenance personnel to minimize time of repair on high traffic volume roadways and eliminate constant repeat call backs necessitated when using standard cold patch and even hot asphalt to make repairs on the same damaged areas. Utility contractors such as T.V. or fiber optic cable installers, location and test pit investigators using conventional or vacuum method technology, as well as sewer, water, and gas repair contractors have ® found Patchmate to be an extremely useful material to permanently repair their utility cuts. Small or big repair ® Patchmate is usefull for all pavement works.

Experience shows that wherever repairs to utility cuts, potholes, or roads are made using hot mix asphalt, within three 30 day smooth to 300 days after a standard repair, there will be a gradual increase in the separation of the old paving from the new paving. This separation is due to the difference in the thermal coefficient of expansion between dissimilar materials. This separation allows water to penetrate under the repaired area paved. This leads not only to gradual disintegration of the repaired area, but extends to the street base up to 100 meters away. The only solution to this unavoidable ® problem is to substitute Patchmate for hot mix asphalt. ® Patchmate eliminates this separation, because ® underlying the hard surface layer of Patchmate is a ® pliable layer of Patchmate acting as a large expansion joint constantly sealing the interface between the ® surrounding paving and the new Patchmate repair material.

Immediately after the repair is made, Patchmate® is ready for traffic. Since Patchmate® contains pressure sensitive polymer, the greater the amount of traffic, the faster Patchmate® sets up.

There is no need to resurface over the areas which have ® been repaired using Patchmate , as Patchmate becomes as durable and long lasting as the surrounding paved areas. However, if the need arises to resurface the entire street or paved area which includes the area ® patched with Patchmate , as soon as the surface of the ® Patchmate has become hard, any time thereafter, the entire area can be resurfaced.

a)-When using Patchmate , there is no need for tack coat. It’s composition is such that it will strongly adhere to stone, wood, steel, asphalt, and concrete; but at the same time, it does not adhere to rubber tires.

b)-The equipment required for placing and compacting ® Patchmate is minimal, and in many instances, not ® required. Patchmate can be poured directly from the bag into the pothole and traffic can be used as the compaction device. Occasionally, plate compactors or hand tampers may be required. Hot mix asphalt requires a dump truck, raking and smoothing equipment, and proper compaction equipment.