Driveway holes can be inconvenient, annoying and unsightly, but thankfully you can patch them up yourself. You simply need cold asphalt filler or a similar product to do the job. If you want to patch your driveway holes, here is a step-by-step guide to take you through the process.
Patching a hole in the driveway
The first thing you need to do is estimate how much filler you need so that you don’t buy too much or too little. As a rough guide, a small pothole - one that is less than two square feet - will need around 50lb of filler to adequately fill the hole.
It is also worth noting that if the hole is more than three or four inches deep, it will need to be filled with a substance that can be compacted well, such as crushed concrete or clay. If the hole is smaller than this and you want to use crushed concrete or clay, you will need to over-excavate the hole to make it deeper.
Once you know how much you need, you can choose an asphalt filler for the repair. One of the most popular options is cold asphalt filler, which is made from rocks and asphalt tar. You can buy this from most DIY shops in buckets ranging from one gallon to five gallons for bigger jobs.
The next thing you need to do is clean out the hole properly. You can use a garden shovel to remove any lose dirt and debris.
The next step depends on the type of filler you have bought, as some fillers stick well to dry dirt while others stick well to wet dirt - simply look at the instructions on your filler to find out what to do. If the dirt in the hole needs to be damp, you can moisten it with a hose; if it needs to be dry, you may want to leave the hole to dry in the sun before adding filler.
Now you can fill the hole using your asphalt filler. It is normally best to fill the hole around half an inch higher than the paving that surrounds it - when the filler dries and becomes packed, it will be level with the paving around it.
Pack the filler using a plate compactor, a hand tamper, or a hammer if the hole is very small. It is very important to make sure that the hole is properly filled at this point; otherwise, it will break quickly when it is put under the pressure of a car.
Now the job is done; however, if you want to make sure that the hole doesn’t crack, it can be useful to cover it with a board for a few days while it fully dries. This is an optional step but it is a great way to ensure that the filling hardens as much as possible before it is put under pressure.
Finally, put your tools away safely before making yourself a well-earned cup of tea!