ROAD REPAIR With NYLON-CEMENT

Nylon-cement is the combination of nylon fishnet and cement. Nylon is resistant to ground chemicals and water. About the only thing that hurts it is sunlight. In combination with cement, the cement protects it from the sunlight. If the cement cracks, the fishnet holds the pieces in place.

I have used the material successfully on floors and walkways, with only a 1/4" thick layer of nylon-cement. This driveway was thicker, about 1/2" thick, but after many years of service vehicle traffic beat it up pretty badly. I am in the process of patching it now with the little fishnet I have left.

I got several tons of discarded netting free from a local tuna factory over the years, I built my whole house with it. Unfortunately, it is no longer available here.

New fishnet is expensive. Ideally, we should somehow process our discarded plastic to make mesh material for plastering.

Fishnet comes in different size meshes. The green fishnet in the center is what I am using for this project.

This is the condition of the driveway after many years of use. The rate of deterioration was slow at first, but accelerated. I imagine that the more cement that was missing, the more the remaining cement was unsupported sideways, allowing the fishnet to stretch and more cement to fragment and fall out.

Considering the thickness, about 1/2", I guess I shouldn't complain about the service it has given me; probably at least ten years.

This is the surface of the fresh layer on top of the old. Given that the old layer is a firmer base than the bare dirt underneath it, I would expect the new layer to last at least as long as the first, and probably longer.

A regular plastering mix of three parts sand to one part cement is used. To get the fishnet located in the middle of the cement, a layer of cement is first laid down. The netting is then laid down and patted into the first layer of cement. If penetration is not easily achieved with the top coat, some water is used while rubbing it on with rubber gloves. Sufficient thickness is laid down.

To create the rough texture, while still wet a stiff broom is used to leave a ripple pattern. On top of that, droplets of cement are "rained" down by a flicking motion with the gloved hand. That superimposes a crater effect on the ripple pattern.

The first layer of nylon-cement lasted many years. I hope this second layer, given the base layer underneath it, will last even longer.

Unfortunately, I'm running out of fishnet, so I had to do two tracks where the wheels go, instead of the whole width of the road. I will rub some cement on the center area to fill in the cracks and retard weed growth.

Using a minimum amount of material, nylon-cement is a great solution for problems like this.