Surface dressing: what you need to know

Over time, roads and highways get worn away by vehicle and foot traffic, changes in temperature, weather damage, leaking oil and many other factors. If left to deteriorate, this could make the road less safe to drive on and lead to long-term damage that’s expensive to repair.

By arranging high-quality surface dressing from a reputable contractor before your roads deteriorate, you keep them in top condition for as long as possible. This lets you improve road safety and save time and money in the long term.

What is road surface dressing?

Road surface dressing is a type of preventative maintenance treatment. It involves sealing the surface of an existing road with a mixture of polymer-modified bitumen and a layer of aggregate chippings.

When applied to a road that’s still in good condition, surface dressing helps protect against damage and decay. It’s a fast, efficient and cost-effective treatment that forms a vital part of any highway maintenance plan.

Surface dressing is also suitable for footpaths and driveways, even in home projects.

The experienced and fully accredited team at Hazell & Jefferies Ltd delivers comprehensive road surface dressing in Oxford, Reading, Berkshire and the surrounding areas. Get in touch for fast surface dressing at an excellent price with minimal disruption to traffic.

Why is road surface dressing important?

Surface dressing is most effective when applied to roads that aren’t yet significantly deteriorated. So you may be wondering why you should invest in roads that are in good condition while there are damaged roads that need repair.

By sealing the road against damage risk factors, road surface dressing greatly slows natural wear and tear. This prevents deformations and potholes, which are difficult, time-consuming and expensive to fix.

Protecting your roads with surface dressing before they decay, you can save a lot of time and money in the long term. This gives you more resources to complete repairs elsewhere and keep all your roads in good condition.

What are the benefits of road surface dressing?

• Improves skid resistance, which in turn reduces vehicle stopping time and makes the road much safer
• Waterproofs the road to prevent water from reaching and damaging the underlying road structure, which is harder and more expensive to repair
• Protects against ice and frost, making the road safer to drive on in poor weather and reducing surface damage
• Extends the life of the road surface and underlying structure by slowing natural deterioration
• Reduces spray caused by vehicles travelling on wet road surfaces, ensuring clear vision for road users
• Saves time and money by preventing potholes and other deformations
• The fast and efficient road surface sealing process ensures minimal disruption to road users, local businesses and emergency vehicles
• Preventative maintenance measures ensure optimal use of a limited highway maintenance budget

Types of road surface dressing

At Hazell & Jefferies Ltd, we’re equipped to provide all types of road surface dressing. These include:

• Single dressing: Standard dressing that involves applying binder and covering it with a layer of compacted aggregate chippings. For repairing minor damage on bitumen surfaces.
• Double dressing: Two coats of single dressing for additional strength and a smoother finish. Suitable for new road surfaces or existing bitumen roads in poorer condition.
• Pad coat dressing: A light layer of binder and chippings to create a uniform surface on new cement-stabilised road bases or dense crushed rock bases. Intended as a preliminary covering before application of a full road surface dressing solution.
• Racked dressing: A double layer of pad coat, the second using smaller chippings to lock in the first layer and enhance stability. Reduces risk of dislodged aggregate in areas with fast or heavy traffic. 
• Sandwich dressing: Layers of chippings installed before a single dressing. Applied to existing bitumen-rich roads or gradients to reduce flow of binder.

How long does road surface dressing last?

You can expect a high-quality road surface dressing from Hazell & Jefferies Ltd to last around 10 years. And on less busy roads it can last much longer.

You can apply surface dressing up to three times before the road may need resurfacing.

What’s the difference between road surface dressing and resurfacing?

Surface dressing is a cost-effective preventative measure intended for roads that are in relatively good condition. The dressing lasts for around 10 years and roads can be redressed up to three times before resurfacing becomes necessary. It’s a quick and efficient process that causes minimal disruption and inconvenience to motorists and residents.

Road resurfacing, on the other hand, is a more extensive structural maintenance treatment. It involves removing the top layer of a damaged road surface and replacing it with a brand new surface. The process is more costly and takes longer to complete, but restores the road surface to optimal condition.

As well as local and nationwide road surface dressing, the experts at Hazell & Jefferies Ltd also offer dependable and efficient concrete resurfacing. We’ve worked with private estates and developments, local authorities and the Crown Estate on projects large and small.

Speak with our team today for a road resurfacing quote.

Our surface dressing process

1. We close the roads, sweep them to clear any detritus and mask all ironwork to protect it from damage.
2. Using a spraying machine, we evenly spread bitumen binder emulsion across the road surface.
3. Then we add a layer of chippings, pressing them into the surface with a rolling machine to help them embed and provide optimal strength. We use more chippings than are actually required to ensure a uniform coating of emulsion and prevent traffic and pedestrians from picking up wet tar.
4. Depending on the type of surface dressing, our team may add more coats of binder and chippings.
5. We sweep to remove excess chippings, then reopen the roads. We also set up signs for an advisory speed limit of 15 mph and to warn of the risk of loose chippings.
6. When we’re confident the dressing has set and there’s no further aggregate loss, we remove all temporary signage.

Arrange reliable road surface dressing in Oxford and beyond

As a reputable family-owned business with more than 50 years’ experience, we support all manner of home and commercial projects with quality road surface dressing and resurfacing. We’re available for work in Oxford, Reading, Berkshire and the surrounding areas, as well as nationwide.Contact us today to get a quote for your upcoming project.