Posted by Jesse Willoughby on Wed, Jan 28, 2009 @ 10:18 AM
What is Pervious?
Pervious Pavement is a unique cement-based concrete product that has a porous structure that allows rainwater to pass directly through the pavement and into the soil naturally. This is achieved without compromising the strength, durability, or integrity of the concrete structure itself.
The pavement is comprised of a special blend of Portland Cement coarse aggregate rock, and water. Once dried, the pavement has a prous texture that allows water to drain through it at the rate of 3 to 5 gallons per minute, per square foot. That's impressive considering tests conclude that a square foot of bahia sod drains at the rate of 2.5 to 3 gallons per minute. This remarkable flow through ratio inspired the phrase "...The pavement that drinks water".
ADVANTAGES:
- Meets Storm Water Management & First Flush Pollution Prevention Criteria (Infiltration BMP)
- Reduce or eliminate storm sewer tie-ins
- Reduced grading reduceds engineering and construction time and expense
- Durable: 30 year + life
- Little to no maintenance
- Doesn't pollute
- No extra SWPP devices
- Light colored surfaces are cooler, safer, energy efficient
- Available in many color choices
http://www.perviouspavement.org/Pervious Concrete is provided through Graniterock
Posted by Jesse Willoughby on Mon, Jan 19, 2009 @ 02:37 PM
On Friday Jan. 16th, one our estimators, Mike McHugh and I went to the Graniterock Contractor Expo in Seaside, Ca.We learned a great deal about serving our customers with more quality products. The main reason I went, was to learn about all the green products coming out and the ones that many people are starting to use. I will be highlighting some of the GREEN PRODUCTS over the next few blog posts. In 2009 there are so many companies using green products, sustainable products, recycled, and environmentally acceptable products, and we want to offer those to our customers. Some of these are Pervious Concrete, High-Fly Ash Concrete, Interlocking Pavers, Recycled Baserock, Rock, Sand, and Gravel, Concrete and Asphalt Products, Parking Bumpers, Turfstone, ECO-Block, and Erosion Control Products. Many of these products are manufactured locally with recycled materials. Many of these products qualifyfor LEED credits. We are also in the process of becoming LEED Accredited and Certified Green Building. Stay tuned for more next about Pervious Concrete along with its advantages.
Posted by Jesse Willoughby on Thu, Jan 15, 2009 @ 12:17 PM
Pothole repair options have increased tremendously from a variety of types and sizes of equipment and proprietary mixes to help repair potholes faster, better, more safely, and more affordable. But when speed isn't the essence, and problems are deeper, and you want the BEST QUALITY you can have, you need to remove and replace the pavement. Here is how to construct the perfect patch.
1. Mark 1 foot into the sound pavement around the pothole. Sawcut a clean cut.
2. A vertical edge and right angles assure a sound patch. Once cut, break out and remove pavement within the sawcut area.
3. Remove material, including subgrade, until you reach a firm base. Compact. The Asphalt Handbook says deep patches can be backfilled with dense-graded mix.
4. Once compaction of the base and/or subbase is complete, apply a tack coat to the vertical sides of the cut. This helps it bond.
5. Place hot mix into the sawcut area. Rake or lute to level out the mix.
6. If placing mix in multiple layers, compact each layer after it is placed and leveled.
7. Add hot mix so the repair is slightly higher than the surrounding pavment (1/2 inch for a 2-inch deep repair is a good rule of thumb).
8. Sweep scattered mix onto the patch, then lute and level before final compaction.
9. Compact from the outside edges in toward the center of the repair. The next two passes here will be perpendicular to those already made.
10. Finish Compacting the entire patch. Vibratory plates are as effective as rollers. The size of the area to be compacted is the main determiner for whether compaction plates or rollers are used.
11. The end result of this step-by-step process is a structurally sound patch in which damaged pavement has been removed and overall pavement strengthened.
Posted by Jesse Willoughby on Mon, Jan 12, 2009 @ 04:57 PM
For the most part, knowing how a problem is started helps you understand how to prevent it again in the future. So let's take a look at how to create a pothole. I know, you're thinking pour oil on the ground and smash it with a hammer. Not really...
First, you have your soil, then your sub-base, and on top your pavement. The other ingredients are cracks, moisture,and the weather.
1. Allow pavement to become damaged, escpecially cracked. Moisture will work its way into the cracks and material beneath the surface will become saturated.
2. When wet material beneath the pavement freezes it expands, pushing the pavement surface up, weakening the pavement.
3. As temperatures rise, the frozen material contracts, leaving a space beneath the pavement surface. The weakened surface is unsupported creating a cavity between the pavement and the sub-base and/or soil.
4. The weakened surface collapses into the space beneath it, often as a result of traffic. The pothole is now created and without proper repair will expand.
Now how would you go about fixing this on your own, as opposed to using a contractor like Alaniz. It's best to fix a pothole on a warm dry day. (Remember sweat equity is required).
Use your shovel to dig out any loose asphalt or gravel in the hole itself. Be sure to get rid of loose (but still slightly attached pieces of asphalt). You want to get right down to the compacted gravel base of your driveway.
After you've removed the loose pieces, use your broom or shop vac to clean up the hole. Make sure you get rid of all the loose gravel in the hole, or your repair won't bond well.
Once your pothole has been cleaned up, give it a quick spray with your hose. You don't want to soak the hole, just make sure you wet it enough to keep any dust settled.
Fill your newly cleaned up and dampened hole with asphalt cold patch to about 1/2 inch above the surface.
Starting at the outside, tamp the patch down using the end of your 4" by 4". Tamping is hard work but it's important you compact the cold patch compound or it will quickly deteriorate and you'll be back doing the same job in a year.
If you have a tough time getting your hands around a piece of 4" by 4", you can buy hand tools specially designed for tamping. Another alternative (although it doesn't really do a great job of tamping around the edges of the hole) is to lay a piece of plywood over the repair and drive your car over it a few times.
Finally throw some sand or sweep some dust over your patch so it will blend in with your parking lot or driveway and the patch material won't stick to your shoes or tires.
Fixing a pothole is hot, messy dirty job. However, the upside is you've probably already most of the tools you need and cold patch is readily available and cheap. If you take the time to do it right you'll save yourself some bucks. If you have several potholes to be done, why not call a professional.
Posted by Jesse Willoughby on Sun, Jan 11, 2009 @ 08:00 AM
After 28 years in business, Jesse has seen a great deal of change. Despite the challenges that face our economy, Jesse visions a strong economy returning in the next two to three years. In this competitive market, Jesse recognizes the need to have a well defined plan to execute his work. He does not have a secret formula or "one-liner" for the key to success. If he has to put words to what has contributed to the success of his business, it is the realization that he cannot do it all; he must delegate and bring the right people into the company. Surrounding himself with good people has played a large role in the success of his business. His cousin (and Vice President) Raudel Perez has been with him for 10 years. His CFO, Rosy Alaniz has been with the company for 15 years. Laura Torres has been a great asset to the company for the past nine years in the accounting department. In the field, Victor Negrete and Joel Chavarin have anchored the operations of their core business operations. Providing for a continued revenue stream, Randy Peterson and the team of other estimators have constantly and successfully driven growth. The continuing challenges of meeting increasing environmental regulation plays a key role in where Jesse spends his time attending seminars, reading articles, and newsletters. The need to make conscious decisions to do the right thing with respect to environmental regulation and compliance is paramount, as the penalties for not doing things right can be deadly to a business.
During his morning walks with his wife Rosy, before the work day starts, what does Jesse hope for his business in the future? Jesse would like to see it stay with his family and for his family to have the same emotional investment in its success as Jesse does. His hope is to have his children make the business better and stronger. Jesse has one son, Edgar (11) and two daughters, Vanessa (9 yrs old) and Zaira (21 yrs old). While it is too early to tell whether that will happen or not, no matter what they do, Jesse hopes his children will have a passion for what they do, a fire in their belly, and a desire to make something happen. Not a bad philosophy for anyone in whatever vocation they pursue. It has certainly worked well for Jesse Alaniz and Alaniz Construction, Inc., a Friend of the Graniterock Family.
-reprinted from Graniterock Contruction Update
Posted by Jesse Willoughby on Sat, Jan 10, 2009 @ 08:00 AM
Having a passion for his work, a willingness to take risks, and wanting to improve, are the ideals that have driven Jesse Alaniz in life and in his work. Jesse Alaniz is the president of Alaniz Construction, Inc. located in Fremont, California. The local rolling hills provide a back drop to his office which is similar to the green hills of Atolinga, Mexico, where Jesse was born. Jesse returns to Mexico several times a year to visit his parents, but he does not regret leaving Mexico. He understands that the journey from Mexico to the United States has brought him to where he is today.
Alaniz Construction, Inc. employs approximately 50 people and runs four crews dedicated to four core business operations: asphalt, concrete, seal coat, and stripping. Their work is primarily within a 50 mile radius of their Fremont location and often takes them near Menlo-Atherton where Jesse completed his very first residential job. Without hesitation, Jesse remembers this job which he sold for $6,200. Jesse credits the homeowner of the residence for then promoting him throughout the neighborhood and allowing Jesse to build and strengthen his budding business. Starting with just $5,000, Alaniz Construction was registered as a business in 1989, and based its operation in Redwood City. Today, at the helm of his business, Jesse credits his almost five years, from 1982-1987, to Dryco for providing a fundamental base for learning the business. Also, Allan Henderson of American Asphalt Repair and Resurfacing helped further his business acumen and mentored Jesse for the two years when he was with American.
While growing up in Atolinga, Jesse aspired to become a diesel mechanic. Jesse had a passion for cars and was good with his hands. When he came to California in 1979 to stay with his cousin Raudel Perez, he did not anticipate that working with his hands would entail making $2.95 per hour as a dishwasher at a local restaurant. However, he still pursued his dream of becoming a mechanic by working on cars in his spare time for family and friends. Always wanting to improve himself, Jesse enrolled himself at Canada College to improve his English skills. At Canada College a ball and bat found a good match for his hands and baseball became his game. Jesse has maintained sports in his life and through the years has transitioned from baseball, to racquetball, then to golf, while stopping to run a marathon along the way, and even as not bowling a perfect 300, maintaining a non-to-shabby 228 average.
Posted by Jesse Willoughby on Fri, Jan 09, 2009 @ 01:42 PM
Asphalt history goes all the way back to ancient Mesopotamians who used asphalt to waterproof temple baths and water tanks.
Today, 96% of all paved roads and streets in the U.S. - almost two million miles - are surfaced with asphalt. Almost all paving asphalt used today is obtained by processing crude oils. After everything of value is removed, the leftovers are made into asphalt cement for pavement. Man-made asphalt consists of compounds of hydrogen and carbon with minor proportions of nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen. Natural forming asphalt, or brea, also contains mineral deposits.
The first indications of constructed roads date from about 4000 BC and consist of stone paved streets at Ur in modern-day Iraq and timber roads preserved in a swamp in Glastonbury, England.
Similarly, ancient Phoenicians, Egyptians, and Romans used the binding and insulating effects of natural asphalt (found naturally in both asphalt lakes and in rock asphalt).
The word "asphalt" comes from ancient Greeks, from the Greek word ""asphaltos," meaning "secure".
While the most ancient uses of asphalt were to waterproof and bind material with asphalt, the first uses for road-building occurred in Babylon, 625 B.C.
Asphalt History - 1800s
The use of asphalt as a road-building material increased exponentially during the 1800s.
One of the builders, Thomas Telford, built more than 900 miles of roads in Scotland, perfecting the method of building roads with broken stones.
Similarly, John Loudon McAdam, used broken stone joined to form a hard surface to build a Scottish turnpike.
The construction method was later improved, to reduce dust and maintenance, as builders used hot tar to bond the broken stones together, producing "tarmacadam" pavements.
In 1870, a Belgian chemist named Edmund J. DeSmedt made the first true asphalt pavement in the U.S. in Newark, N.J.
The first asphalt plant was opened by The Cummer Company in the 1800s, while the first modern asphalt production facility was opened by the Warren Brothers in East Cambridge, MA, in 1901.
The first asphalt production patent, meanwhile, was filed by Nathan B. Abbott of Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1871.
Asphalt History - 1900s to 2000s
In the year 1900 Frederick J. Warren filed a patent for "Bitulithic" pavement, a mixture of bitumen and aggregate.
As advances in the use of asphalt increased, the production of refined petroleum asphalt outstripped the use of natural asphalt by early 1900s.
This innovation boom was fueled by the fact that as cars grew in popularity, the demand for more and better roads led to innovations in both producing and laying asphalt.
During World War II, asphalt technology improved vastly, primarily due to the fact that military uses needed surfaces that could withstand heavy loads.
Standards development within the asphalt industry took a leap 1955, as The National Bituminous Concrete Association(now known as the National Asphalt Pavement Association or NAPA) was founded.
As car ownership since World War II skyrocketed, innovations for heavy equipment to facilitate more road-building included electronic leveling controls, extra-wide finishers for paving two lanes at once and vibratory steel-wheel rollers.
The energy crisis of the 1970s spurred the need for recycled asphalt.
As a result, asphalt is the most recycled material in the U.S. today, with more than 70 million metric tons of asphalt paving material being recycled each year.
In fact, the major innovations in the industry today have to do with improvements in recyclable asphalt methods and equipment.
Also, the industry has developed advanced pavement materials including Open Graded Friction Course (OGFC), Superpave, and Stone Matrix Asphalt (SMA), also called gap-graded Superpave.
The major development efforts of today include asphalt development for less noise, greater durability, enhanced skid resistance, reduced splash and spray in rainy weather, and a smoother ride for today's demanding drivers.
To Learn More go to
Asphalt History FAQs
Posted by Jesse Willoughby on Thu, Jan 08, 2009 @ 09:25 AM
Green technology is becoming more creative. There are many ways to capture solar energy - some are even passive and offer other added benefits. One that I came across are parking lot "umbrellas" that are actually solar panels. The company, Envision Solar International is creating "solar trees" to help capture some of the heat given off by the sun in those asphalt paved parking lots all across America. Also they will offer a bit of shade to motorists and their cars.
These solar panels are about 12 feet tall with a 1,200 square foot canopy covered in solar cells. You can now find them in parts of California (always ahead of the "green" and environmental curve). Amazingly, the typical grove in a shopping mall generates enough electricity to power 500 homes.
Envision Solar plans to make parking lots into beautiful power plants with their Solar Groves and Solar Trees.
Envision Solar takes the hassle out of designing structures for solar with their turn-key solutions. Although the company is working on a next generation design for the Solar Tree, the current iteration includes 64 Kyocera solar modules laid out in total measuring 30' x 40'. The panels sit at a five degree angle and provide shading for six vehicles, too. Envision Solar has found success installing these parking canopies near commercial buildings and retail parking lots because the energy can be sold to businesses through power purchase agreements.
What's interesting, though, is what our country would be like with Solar Groves all over the place. With plug-in electric vehicles and plug-in slots near Solar Trees, parking lots could be the transportation energy stations of the future. Electric vehicles wouldn't be nearly as bad as they are right now if they're getting the bulk of their power from renewable sources.
As far as costs are concerned, Envision Solar seems to be aggressive in their pursuit of good deals. Depending on site conditions, the company says a good Solar Grove could pay for itself in five years. The good news is Envision Solar International makes it affordable for lot owners.
Posted by Jesse Willoughby on Wed, Jan 07, 2009 @ 10:57 AM
Did you know that more asphalt pavement is recycled than any other product? Hot Mix Asphalt can be engineered to accept recycled products from other industries, helping to reduce our reliance on landfills.
How much asphalt pavement is recycled each year?- Volume:80.3 million tons (73 million metric tons)
- Rate: 80% of the asphalt pavement removed during resurfacing projects.
-Federal Highway Administration
- Only 28% of post-consumer goods in the municipal solid waste stream
Let's look at the numbers; the volume of recycled asphalt pavement is...
- 13 TIMES greater than recycling of newsprint/paper
- 27 TIMES greater than recycling of glass bottles
- 89 TIMES greater than recycling of aluminum cans
- 267 TIMES greater than recycling of plastic containers
What is recycled or relcaimed asphalt used for?
- New Roads
- Roadbeds
- Shoulders
- Embankments
Other recycled products are used in making asphalt pavement:
- Old tires
- Slag aggregate
- Roofing shingles
- Foundry sand
SLAG AGGREGATE:
A by-product of steel production, works especially well for high-volume and/or skid-resistance applications such as:
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway
- Automobile manufacturer's test tracks
ROOFING SHINGLES:
Factory rejects are recycled into high-quality pavements. It also works well for industrial and commercial parking lots.
FOUNDRY SAND:
Already screened, blended and ready to use in Hot Mix Asphalt. It reduces cost of sand by about 40% and 100,000 tons were used in Hot Mix Asphalt in 2000 alone.
Recycling of asphalt pavement benefits everyone. It maintains high quality, reduceds taxpayer cost, and rewards good environmental stewardship. Also, it helps qualify for LEED projects.
If you're going green this year or anytime soon, go green with paving as well...the most recycled product in the U.S.
Posted by Jesse Willoughby on Tue, Jan 06, 2009 @ 11:28 AM
What if you could buy enough gas for a years worth of driving at today's prices? Would you find a way to come up with the money to save on the large increase in prices that are sure to come? Well, if you are thinking of having asphalt placed on your property you surely will want to have it done in the next few months.
The oil that makes asphalt is a by-product of petroleum and thus rises and falls with the cost of a barrel of oil. Prices are down this winter and are sure to go up this summer with the increase in travel for vacations. Some industry analysists are even predicting a price of $5 a gallon at the pumps in 2009. It is safe to say that gasoline and asphalt prices will never be cheaper than they are right now. So if you have any work that requires new pavement, repairs or scheduled maintenance you should get it done during the slow winter or early spring months. Asphalt companies are especially hungry for business during this time of year so they sharpen their pencils to get the best price for you.