Our Services

Paving

Royals has been paving since our inception in 1995. There are basically two types of paving:

• Resurfacing – The installation and compaction of various thicknesses of asphalt over an existing asphalt surface. This method requires a thorough cleaning of the existing surface and a Tack Coat to bond the new asphalt to the old.
• New Installation – This installation and compaction of various thicknesses of asphalt over a prepared aggregate base course or soil subgrade. In this method , the asphalt will only be as good as the base course . If the base has any weak or yielding areas, the asphalt will not support itself.

Asphalt is made up of various sized aggregates, sand or screenings, and AC-20 ( Tar ). It is mixed thoroughly and heated to approximately 300 degrees. It is most important to install the asphalt while it is still hot in order to achieve maximum compaction as well as blending the various “mats ” behind a paver and having them bond together. The stronger “B” and “H” mixes have larger aggregates basically for strength and durability. The mixes, S9.5A and S9.5B, are your surface mixes and have a much smaller aggregate size as well as more sand or screenings for smoothness. A paving project done well should produce a life of +/- 20 years depending on use and how well the surface is maintained. If a lot or street remains dirty even with fine grit over a period of time will experience rapid deterioration. The grit will act as sandpaper and wear the “fines” out of the surface of the mix, exposing the aggregates, and faster wear.

The following are representative pictures of some of the various types and applications of Pavin , Royals has done in recent years.

Milling

Royals Contracting has been in the milling business since 2003. We bid a project for NCDOT to do the asphalt patchwork on Highway 64 East from the Neuse River to the Knightdale Airport. We had bid the work to be done by sawcutting and excavating the patches with a backhoe. The first night we worked, we discovered 13″ of asphalt and only did 13 tons of patchwork. The second night was basically the same production. We were holding up the resurfacing operation in that we had anticipated doing an average of 50 tons of patching per night. We were in trouble!!

There was only one company that owned a Milling Machine in Raleigh at the time. We worked it out with the owner to rent his machine and operator at night. The first night we produced 150 tons! We averaged this production through the completion of the project. One month later we purchased our first machine. Today we own and maintain a fleet of 5 Milling Machines which range from 36″ – 78″.

Milling Machines are basically used today to mill asphalt. The Asphalt Millings are a very valuable product in that RAP (Recycled Asphalt Product) is recycled back into new asphalt mixes. The machines are mainly used to to remove existing full width streets so resurfacing meets flush to the curb & gutter. Machines are used to do patchwork up to 13″ deep, widen roadways by excavating shoulder material, tie-ins (“butt joints”) at the ends of streets for smoothness, and have the ability to mill concrete to certain depths.

Milling has truly impacted our industry. Productivity, when doing patchwork, have at least tripled. The fact that some millings are so fine, they can immediately be used in recycled asphalt mixes without crushing, hence cutting costs of mix production. The pictures in this section will give you a much better idea of what milling is all about. We continue to learn more and more on a daily basis of ways that Milling Machines can be utilized in the many aspects of our business. If you should have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Concrete

Royals has been pouring concrete since it’s inception in 1995, both Commercially and Residentially. Concrete is basically made up of Cement, sand, screenings, water, and different sized aggregates, depending on the mix design and strength. A typical thickness for pouring residential driveways, sidewalks, garage slabs, and sidewalks is 4″. Most of this concrete is poured on a prepared subgrade (natural solid ground) except for the garage slabs which are underplayed with plastic and washed stone for moisture control. Normal concrete has a curing period of 28 days to reach a normal average strength of 3,000 psi (Pounds per Square Inch).

It is most important to properly space both Contraction and Control Joints in order to prevent cracking in concrete. Control Joints are hand tooled into the concrete and should be formed ¼ of the depth of the concrete, ie. 1″ deep control joints for 4″ thick concrete. If the control joints are installed properly, the concrete should crack down in these control joints where it is not as obvious on the surface. Contraction joints are formed using ½” thick Asphalt Impregnated Expansion Material installed the full depth of the concrete. This expansion material allows the concrete to expand and contract with temperature changes. Concrete typically expands in the warmer weather and contracts with cooler temperatures.

Cracking in concrete , whether old or new , is very difficult and expensive to repair. Most of the time, depending on the severity of the cracking, the concrete should be removed and replaced. There are many Flexible Caulks on the market that can be installed, down in the crack, after they are thoroughly cleaned. The main challenge is to prevent water from soaking down and under the concrete which saturates the subgade and allows the concrete to move or it freezes in winter and heaves the concrete upward which causes it to crack and/or eventually break.

Concrete is also available in most colors. We do a Patterned Concrete called Artcrete which offers many different patterns,sizes, and shapes. With any of the colored concretes, it is most important to apply a good quality sealer to maintain a consistent color over the years and prevent fading or oxidation due to sunlight.

We would be more than pleased to answer any technical questions you might have. Just contact us through this website or give us a call.