Call us : 0161 706 0479  sales@streetsolutionsuk.com

  • Bulk pricing

    on every line

  • Next-day delivery

    from UK stock

  • Trusted by 50,000+

    customers

  • No minimum order

Tarmac Tools


Street Solutions UK supplies a full range of tarmac tools to highways contractors, utilities companies, and local authority highways teams across the UK. Our products are used for reinstating road surfaces after utility works, repairing potholes and cracks, and sealing reinstatement joints, and all meet HAPAS, the Specification for the Reinstatement of Openings in Highways (SROH), and relevant BS standards.
View as

Street Solutions UK is a trusted UK supplier of tarmac tools and related reinstatement and road repair materials. We pride ourselves on competitive pricing, fast UK delivery, and expert product support. Whether you're a sole trader or a national contractor, our team is ready to help you find the right solution. All products comply with HAPAS, the Specification for the Reinstatement of Openings in Highways (SROH), and relevant BS standards. Browse the full range online or contact us for a trade quote.

The trade names, translated

Tarmac hand tools carry names that mean nothing until somebody shows you one.

  • A spazzle is a wide-bladed leveller on a handle, used to spread and strike off hot material to an even depth before it is compacted. Aluminium blades are lighter and slide more freely; a hardwood blade on a steel frame holds heat less and suits working close to kerbs and ironwork.
  • A punner is a cast iron block on a handle for hand compaction. The 10lb square head gets into the places a plate compactor cannot reach: against a kerb face, around a manhole frame, into a corner.
  • An asphalt rake has tines one side and a flat blade the other, so you can pull material into place and then strike it level without changing tools.

Where hand tools beat plant

A plate compactor cannot get within a few inches of a vertical face, and it cannot follow the line of a frame. Those edges are exactly where reinstatements fail, because uncompacted material at the boundary settles first and lets water in.

The punner exists for that strip. Work it around every edge before the plate goes over the middle, and expect the edge work to take longer than the main area on a small reinstatement.

Working while it is hot

Hot material has a working window measured in minutes, and everything gets harder as it cools. Lay tools out before the load arrives rather than fetching them.

A gas burner keeps a joint or a tool warm and brings overbanding up to bonding temperature. Tar brushes apply primers and sealers into edges where a spray cannot reach, and come in flat widths from one inch to four so you can match the brush to the joint rather than flooding the area.

Keep a release agent handy. Bitumen sticks to a cold blade instantly and a fouled spazzle drags rather than strikes.

Setting out before you start

A chalk line marks the cut before the saw comes out, which is what keeps a reinstatement square. A square edge compacts properly and seals properly; a ragged one does neither.

Chalk reels and refills are stocked here for that reason. Mark it, cut it, then break out.

For the sealers and jointing materials these tools apply, see reinstatement and road repair.


Frequently Asked Questions

What is the SROH specification? +

The Specification for the Reinstatement of Openings in Highways (SROH) sets out the standards that utilities and other organisations must follow when excavating and reinstating public highway surfaces in the UK.

What is overbanding used for in road repair? +

Overbanding tape is used to seal the joint between a reinstatement and the existing road surface. Applied with heat, it creates a flexible, waterproof seal that prevents water ingress and reflective cracking.

Is cold lay tarmac a permanent repair? +

High-quality cold lay tarmac such as HAPAS-approved products can provide a permanent repair for potholes and utility reinstatements. Less advanced cold lay products are typically used as a temporary solution pending a permanent repair.

Back to top