Introduction
Learn how to fix driveway cracks and pits the right way. They're more than just an eyesore; they actually speed up the demise of your driveway if you ignore them.DIY Driveway Repair: Fix Driveway Cracks
In cold climates, water seeps in and destroys the asphalt when it expands during freezing. If you plan to topcoat your driveway, you’ll need to fix the cracked driveway first and do asphalt repair later.
You can buy squeeze bottle and caulk tube–style crack filler products from any home center. They’re quick and easy to apply, but they shrink and crack and don’t last very long. However, there’s another way to fill asphalt cracks: with melt-in filler that doesn’t shrink—the same type used by highway crews. The melt-in material and trowelable cover mix cost about $100 for a typical driveway.
It’ll take almost a full day to repair several cracks if they’re 20 ft. long or so, but the asphalt repair work will last much longer than other quick fixes. In addition to the melt-in and trowel mix products, you’ll need a propane torch with an extension hose, and a leaf blower or compressed air gun. Use an angle grinder fitted with a diamond wheel to widen hairline cracks and to quickly remove previously applied cracked driveway fillers.
Buy the supplies and tools
We used melt-in 1/2-in.-diameter Latex-ite Pli-Stix Crack and Joint Filler and the best asphalt patch, Latex-ite Trowel Patch, for this project. Our driveway had several 25-ft.- long cracks. So we bought four 30-ft. packages of the crack filler and four 2-gallon pails of the trowel patch. We already had a propane torch. But we bought a 5-foot extension hose to eliminate the flame-outs that occur when you tip a propane cylinder upside down (WH0159 Bernzomatic Universal Torch Extension Hose).
Check the weather and prep the cracks
Choose a sunny day with no rain in the forecast for at least 24 hours. Start by rolling the driveway crack filler rope onto a sunny section of the driveway so it warms and softens. While it’s warming, remove all the dirt, weeds and old driveway crack filler from the cracks. Scrape out the old material with a flat-blade screwdriver or 5-in-1 paint tool. It’s a painstaking process, but it’s critical to getting a successful repair. So don’t skip it or take shortcuts. Cleaning and filling hairline cracks are more time consuming for asphalt repair, and the fix won’t last unless you widen them with an angle grinder and diamond wheel (Photo 1).
Once you finish digging out all the cracks, blow the dust and debris out of the cracks and off the driveway using a leaf blower or compressed air gun.
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