Cobblestone Repair and Crack Filling

Over fourth dimension, every asphalt driveway develops cracks and pits. Here's how to fight dorsum.

Introduction

Learn how to prepare driveway cracks and pits the right way. They're more than but an eyesore; they really speed up the demise of your driveway if you ignore them.

DIY Driveway Repair: Set up Driveway Cracks

In common cold climates, h2o seeps in and destroys the asphalt when it expands during freezing. If you lot plan to topcoat your driveway, you'll demand to set up the cracked driveway first and do asphalt repair after.

Yous can purchase clasp canteen and caulk tube–style crack filler products from any abode center. They're quick and like shooting fish in a barrel to employ, but they shrink and fissure and don't last very long. However, there's some other way to fill asphalt cracks: with cook-in filler that doesn't shrink—the same blazon used past highway crews. The melt-in cloth and trowelable comprehend mix cost well-nigh $100 for a typical driveway.

It'll take most a full day to repair several cracks if they're xx ft. long or so, but the cobblestone repair work will concluding 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 foliage blower or compressed air gun. Use an angle grinder fitted with a diamond wheel to widen hairline cracks and to chop-chop remove previously applied cracked driveway fillers.

Purchase the supplies and tools

We used melt-in i/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. And then we bought four xxx-ft. packages of the crack filler and 4 ii-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 downward (WH0159 Bernzomatic Universal Torch Extension Hose).

Check the weather and prep the cracks

Cull a sunny day with no rain in the forecast for at to the lowest degree 24 hours. Start by rolling the driveway cleft filler rope onto a sunny section of the driveway so it warms and softens. While it's warming, remove all the dirt, weeds and former driveway crack filler from the cracks. Scrape out the old material with a flat-blade screwdriver or 5-in-one paint tool. It'south a painstaking process, but it's disquisitional to getting a successful repair. And so don't skip it or have shortcuts. Cleaning and filling hairline cracks are more time consuming for asphalt repair, and the fix won't concluding unless you widen them with an bending grinder and diamond bicycle (Photograph ane).

One time you stop digging out all the cracks, blow the dust and droppings out of the cracks and off the driveway using a leafage blower or compressed air gun.

Project step-past-stride (7)

Step 1

Add the driveway fissure filler and melt it

Widen hairline cracks

crack

Plunge the diamond wheel into one end of the fissure and drag astern to dig out any old filler and widen the crack.

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Pace 2

Stuff the crack with driveway scissure filler

filler

Jam the driveway cleft filler deep into the crevice using a flat-bract screwdriver. Add a second layer to fill up deeper or wider cracks.

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Step three

Compress the filler

compress

Hammer the filler then it sits at least 1/16 in. below the surface of the driveway. Don't overfill.

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Footstep 4

Cook the filler

melt

Sweep the torch flame side to side slowly over a 12-in. department until the filler begins to cook. Then motility on to the next section. Render to the previous section and heat again until the filler levels out and seeps into the crack.

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Step 5

Add trowel mix and then polish it

trowel

After the filler has cooled, scoop up the trowel cobblestone driveway patch and tap it onto the crack filler to create a pocket-size mound. Smooth it with a trowel and let dry overnight. If a low remains the next twenty-four hours, apply a second coat.

Push the melt-in filler deep into the cracks (Photo ii). If any filler bulges above the surface of the driveway, cut off the excess with a knife or compress information technology so it sits below the surface (Photo 3). Then screw the extension hose onto your propane tank and mount the torch to the other end and burn it up. The melt-in filler burns easily, then don't endeavor to cook it in one fell swoop. Using merely the tip of the flame, slowly cook the filler (Photo iv). If the filler starts to burn, blow out the flames and employ a faster sweeping motion or move the flame further from the crack.

Allow the filler to absurd to the impact (at least 20 minutes) before covering it with the trowel patch cloth. Then lay downward a bead of trowel patch and smoothen it (Photo v). Let the trowel patch dry overnight. Apply a second glaze if you lot see a depression where the crack was filled.

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Step half dozen

Asphalt driveway patch for pitted asphalt

Fill the pits

smooth

Forcefulness the asphalt driveway patch filler textile into the cracks and pits with a trowel. And so shine the streaks with an former broom.

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Footstep 7

Enlarge the surface area and smoothen

spread

Pour more than filler fabric onto the pitted area and spread information technology with a floor squeegee to polish the surface.

Asphalt driveways can develop pitted areas from motor oil and coolant contamination and repeated freeze/thaw cycles. If the pits are 1/2 in. or less, yous can fill them with a spreadable filler product for asphalt repair. (We used Latex-ite Trowel Patch again.)

Clean oil stains and prime with oil stain primer. Then coat the entire pitted area with cobblestone driveway patch material and permit dry out overnight (Photo 1). Apply a second coat to pinnacle off any partially filled pits (Photo 2) and smooth the surface. Let dry to complete your asphalt repair.

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Originally Published: July 05, 2019