In lieu of crushing concrete (for a demolition project where the crushed concrete is specified at 2" maximum size), a contractor has asked what the size requirement would be for “rubberizing concrete and masonry (possilbe 12” - minus)?" While I can find “rubberizing concrete” on the web, I cannot find an explanation or definition of what “rubberizing” is as it pertains to concrete. Any help would be appreciated.
Head scratching continues here in our office, but one thought so far points to this–
http://www.rubberpavements.org/library/sacramento_noise_study/outside.html
Not sure it this fits your situation or not.
Are you sure the contractor didn’t mean rubbleized concrete?
The exact quote is stated above. I DID find references on the web to this (as well as rubberizing asphalt). But in order to know if it’s OK to do instead of crushing, I need to know how/what and I DIDN’T find any explanation of the process. It was as if everyone was expected to know!
Am I sure? No. We are asking him what he means by the term. The lack of information is curious.
12 inches is vastly larger than the 2 inch max for general fill we specified and smaller than the 1 square yard for basement slab breakup. So even my guesses are just that, and I can’t justify guessing what a contractor means.
Rubberized … rubbleized … Could this possibly be another one of the efflorescence vs effervescence issues?
Rubberizing concrete is a process generally associated with road and highway work, whereby motorized equipment “lays rubber” in a thin film, usually in narrow parallel strips, on concrete pavement. It is best done by means of the inflated smooth rubber cylinders (“racing slicks”) of specialized equipment (“dragsters”). Similar rubber deposition also takes place inadvertently in unexpectedly sharp curves, unexpectedly short stops, etc. Asphalt pavement may also be rubberized. The practice is discouraged in most jurisdictions, except on purpose-built “drag strips.”
Thank you, Robert. That fits well with what I did find and I am now able to tell the contractor (who I am now sure did not know what it meant either) that we will not allow rubberized concrete to be used in the general fill for this project. It’s totally inappropriate.
I knew I could get the answer here. What a wonderful resource!
Not to get off Lynn’s subject, but the practice of rubberized asphalt is very much alive and well within the Phoenix metropolitan area. The AZ Department of Transportation has been using rubberized asphalt in all new highway construction, and has been overlaying existing highways with the material.
The result, significant noise reduction inside and outside of the vehicle. I can actually hear the radio without cranking it up during my commutes to and from work.