Stone Mastic Asphalts in Hardstone

Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) offers high levels of durability making it ideally suited for heavily trafficked roads, commercial and industrial areas subjected to heavy loading and will stand up to the stresses that modern vehicles with power steering create on driveways.

Our SMA is available in a 14mm, 10mm and 6mm aggregate sizes and is produced using a fibre additive to give maximum strength and durability in compliance with BS EN 13108.

General Information about Asphalt 

Asphalt is a layer of crushed rock, which relies on the locking and friction of the aggregate to provide strength. The aggregate is composed of a mix of various particle sizes, coarse medium and fine, dependent on specification and a bitumen binder is used to make the layer stick together and prevent it from falling apart.

Whilst modern asphalt uses a bitumen binder, tar used to be the binder of choice. From the 1800’s, tar was produced as a by-product at gas works, and was used early-on as a binder in road construction, hence the word tarmac. The word “Tarmac” is still used to describe asphalt road surfaces, even though tar has not been used since the mid 1970s and has now been replaced with bitumen.