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Dura-Therm
pavement marking system
I attended a
demonstration of the installation of
this product. It has been used
successfully for decorative
treatments of city intersections and
other areas where the appearance of
ordinary asphalt is undesirable, but
the difficulty of maintaining
ordinary discrete paver units is prohibitive.. In this first photo,
I show an intersection where the
product has been in place for some
time. A coating provides the brick
color.
In the
following pictures, the installation
is taking place in the same town,
Amherst, OH.
1.)
After the asphalt has been
installed, it is heated using the
SR-60 pavement heater, this does
about a 10’x10’ area in about 10
minutes.
The heating elements go back and
forth across the rails to soften the
surface. In the
foreground is the
grid pattern which is fashioned from
wire rope.
2.)
Mechanical plate tampers are
used to imprint the pattern into the
softened asphalt.
3.)
Using different grid
patterns, the effects can be made
more ornate
4.)
Thermoplastic materials made
to match the grids are placed on the
surface
5.)
The heater is again applied
to melt the thermoplastic into the
prepared asphalt indentations. This
results in a finish which is flush
with and about the same durability
as asphalt. It is said to be
impervious to snowplows, salt and
other environmental attacks. It has
glass beads embedded in the plastic
which are said to improve visibility
On the left, the thermoplastic has
been melted, on the right, it awaits
the heat..
The cost of the imprinting and
coloring is said to be approximately
$3-$8 per sq. foot, depending on the
size of the job. The cost of the
Dura-Therm inlay is said to be
$11-18 per square foot, and includes
imprinting, materials and
finishing.
Overall, this appears to be a
reasonable alternative for paving
bricks, stamped concrete or other
decorative treatments for surface
paving. The Contractor who did the
installation is named Gerken Paving,
of Napoleon, OH.
http://www.gerkenpaving.com/
More information on Pavement
imprinting and Duratherm products
are available from
www.streetprint.com
Report by John G. Dzwonczyk, P.E.
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