Tarmac laying method statement example
Finished method statements for common jobs: the steps in order, who does each, and the emergency arrangements. Read one, download it, or build your own.
Build your ownChoose a job
- Electrical second fix and testing in a house refurbishmentLived-in 1970s house, accessories and consumer unit fitted, one circuit dead at a time, tested dead then live before handover.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Hot works: cutting and welding in an occupied warehouseSteel brackets cut out and replaced on a live bay, with a permit for each shift and a separate fire watcher.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Erecting an independent tied scaffold on a two-storey houseIndependent tube and fitting scaffold to a TG20 compliance sheet, family at home, rescue kit on the wagon.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Stripping and re-tiling a pitched roof from a scaffoldLived-in house, tiles, battens and underlay off, one section made weathertight each day.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Digging a 1.2 m trench for strip footings and a drainBeside a lived-in house, services located first, excavator then hand tools, trench sheets and props before anyone goes in.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Repainting occupied officesWater-based paint from a podium, walls filled and sanded first, one bay screened off at a time while staff work on.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Bathroom first and second fix in a lived-in houseOnly bathroom replaced, press-fit pipework under the floor and in a duct, tested before anyone closes it up, suite fitted after tiling.5 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Tarmac resurfacing on a car park that stays partly openOld surface tested and planed off, private retail car park, laid bay block by bay block with shoppers around.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Unloading a builders’ merchant delivery with a lorry loaderPacks of blocks and plasterboard landed on a small building site, on a standing lift plan reviewed for this site.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Cleaning the outside of a two-storey office with a water-fed poleAll from the ground, in an open office set back behind its own car park, on cold November mornings.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- MIG welding a pump frame in a plant roomMIG welding bare mild steel at floor level in a closed plant room, with on-torch extraction, while the retail park keeps trading.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Stripping out a vacant single-storey workshopOffice ceiling, partitions, carpet and benches out by hand, building empty, every service including the fire alarm disconnected on a certificate, lit by roof lights and a 110 V string.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Skimming and patching walls in an occupied houseGround floor living room of a 2006 house, family at home, plaster mixed in the room with the door shut, from a hop-up.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Building a garden wall in blockwork and facing brickA 5 m long, 1 m high wall, one brick thick, on a foundation already in, laid from the ground.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Core drilling a flue hole through a cavity blockwork wallOne 125 mm wet core, rig fixed to the inner leaf, through an external wall of a single-storey extension, with the core caught outside.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Replacing damaged ceiling tiles and grid in an occupied office, out of hoursLike-for-like tiles and tees on the existing hangers, from a podium, with the offices empty and the fire alarm left live.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Clearing gutters on a bungalow from a ladderEight ladder positions of under 15 minutes each, one hand on the ladder, with a stand-off keeping it clear of the gutter.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Laying a block paved patio in a lived-in gardenDug out by hand to 250 mm, sub-base compacted, blocks laid on sand and cut wet, family at home.4 pages, checked 2 November 2026
- Hanging office doors in existing linings, out of hours in a working buildingSix heavy non-fire meeting room doors, trimmed and routed on trestles after the staff have gone.3 pages, checked 2 November 2026
Tarmac resurfacing on a car park that stays partly open
Old surface tested and planed off, private retail car park, laid bay block by bay block with shoppers around.
What to change
- Company, people, site and dates
- Age of the surface and the tar result
- Whether any of it is highway
- Open or closed car park
- Paver or hand lay
- Tipper access and overhead lines
- Emergency arrangements
Sources
- HSE HSG144: safe use of vehicles on construction sites
- HSE INDG199: workplace transport
- HSE HSG150: health and safety in construction
- HSE GS6: avoiding danger from overhead power lines
Checked
The same sheet as text
Worked example of a method statement. Change it to fit your job before you use it.
Tarmac resurfacing on a car park that stays partly open
Job details
- CompanyHollins & Reed Surfacing Ltd
- Site and work areaThornley Vale Retail Park car park, Stockport
- Planned dates12 to 16 October 2026
- CustomerThornley Vale Estates Ltd
- In charge on siteDan Hollins
- TeamFive people: Dan Hollins leads and runs the paver; Priya Shah rakes and checks levels; Tom Ellis drives the roller; a shovel driver and a signaller work with them.
- WorkTarmac resurfacing on a car park that stays partly open
- Risk assessmentTarmac resurfacing on a car park that stays partly open: worked example RAMS, a separate document
Work and boundaries
- Lay asphalt surfacing. Areas: Bay blocks A to D, one block at a time
Working arrangement
- Access: the floor or ground.
- Other people will be using the area.
- The old surface was tested for tar before planing: clear. The car park stays partly open; each bay block is closed with barriers while we work, to the phasing drawing, and shoppers are kept out. Hot mat is treated as a danger to people until it has cooled. Reversing areas are marked. Tippers tip on firm level ground with a signaller, never with the body raised near overhead wires.
Emergency arrangements
- Bitumen burn: cool with water for at least 20 minutes, from the water containers kept at the work. Do not try to take the bitumen off on site; the burns card goes with the patient. Fuel or plant fire: everyone clear, shut the plant down if it is safe. Tipper touching an overhead line: stay clear and ring the line owner on the number on the site board. Ambulance route: the east entrance, kept open through every phase, plant never parked across it. The signaller rings 999 and meets the crew there. Fire routes for the shops stay open. First aider: Priya Shah, kit in the cab. The address to give is Thornley Vale Retail Park, Stockport.
Planned method
- 1. Set up the work areaConfirm the work area and scope before starting. Keep other people outside the active work area. Keep entrances and escape routes clear.
- 2. Keep people clear of the workAgree how people get past or around the work while it is going on. Put barriers or signs where a route crosses the work. Do not leave open work unattended.
- 3. Test the old surface for coal tarTest before planing. Coal tar was used in all layers until the mid-1980s. A PAK marker is a screen, not a result. Where nothing is known, assume the arisings are hazardous.
- 4. Find and isolate hidden servicesFind cables and pipes before you disturb anything: drawings, then a detector. Mark what you find. Not sure what is there? Turn the supply off, or do not start. Have cables and gas isolated by the right person and prove them dead before you start.
- 5. Check the weather before you startStop handling signs, covers and loose materials when the wind is strong enough to catch them. Stop in heavy rain, ice or lightning.
- 6. Carry the cones, barriers and hand tools safelyPlan the route, clear it, and get help with anything long or heavy. Store materials close to the work so nobody carries further than they need to.
- 7. Keep the delivery route safeUse a firm, even route suitable for the delivery vehicle and the work area. Separate drivers, pedestrians and surfacing plant before hot material arrives. Tip on firm, level ground with a signaller, not in high winds. No raised body near overhead wires.
- 8. Plane or break out the old surfaceKeep the dust down. Cut-off saw work needs water and an APF 20 mask (FFP3 or P3), fit tested and clean-shaven. Sweep and clear it, and remove standing water before anything is laid.
- 9. Check and prepare the baseCheck the base, levels, drainage, cleanliness and moisture before asphalt is delivered. Do not lay on a wet, contaminated or damaged base; put it right or stop the job.
- 10. Reset covers and ironwork on a sound bedFind every cover, gully and fixed feature, and reset each on a sound bed before laying.
- 11. Apply the bond coatApply bituminous emulsion to the cleaned surface.
- 12. Control the paver and delivery gapKeep the paver, delivery vehicle and roller moving in the agreed sequence. Use clear signals and keep people out of the paver and reversing zones.
- 13. Assess vibration from the pedestrian roller or plateNote how long each person's hands are on each tool while it runs. Take the tool's vibration figure from the maker or HSE's table and check it fits how you use it. Points per hour times hours on the trigger, added up for the day, gives the exposure: 100 points is the action value, 400 is the limit. HSE's vibration calculator does the sum. Over 100, cut it with lower-vibration kit or less time, and never pass 400. Write the result down. Sharing the work does not replace this.
- 14. Spread the specified asphalt courseLay the specified mix to the agreed line, level, thickness and course sequence. Keep the mat free from contamination and keep people clear of the paver and hot material.
- 15. Compact the asphalt in sequenceCompact uniformly with the agreed roller type, load and sequence while the mat is at the specified temperature. Keep the roller route separate from people and other plant. Wear ear protection on or near the roller.
- 16. Cool, inspect and release the routeKeep vehicles and pedestrians off until the fresh surfacing has cooled and passed the project check. Remove barriers only after the customer or site contact accepts the route and defects are corrected.
- 17. Clear and hand back the areaRemove tools, waste and unused materials. Check the area is clean and ready to use. Tell the customer or whoever runs the site when the work is complete.
What a finished method statement says
- The job and its boundariesWhat is being done, where, and what is not your work.
- How the work area is set upAccess, shared spaces and who else is around.
- The steps, in the order they happenOne action to a step, from arrival to sign-off.
- Who does each stepThe people in charge and the skills each step needs.
- What happens if something goes wrongWho to call, where to go and how help gets in.
Method statement or risk assessment: which one is this?
This is the method statement: how the job is done, step by step. The risk assessment says what could go wrong and what controls it.
Method statement example questions
Are these real jobs?
No. Every job, company, person and address here is made up, and every page says so.
Can I send one as it is?
No. Your site, your people and your emergency arrangements will be different. Change it to fit your job first.
Where is the risk assessment that goes with it?
In the Tarmac laying RAMS example. The method statement names it on page one.
Word or PDF?
Both. Word if you will change the wording yourself, PDF to read or print. Or press Use this and edit it in the builder.
Does a method statement need a risk assessment?
A method statement names the risk assessment it rests on. CDM 2015 does not set a form for either document.
Where is the blank?
On the method statement template page. These examples are all filled in.