Potholes appearing in your driveway are cause for concern. So, while they are pretty much unavoidable, you still have to do something about it. You don’t want to risk a flat tire every time you drive away from your home. You certainly don’t want that hole getting any bigger and compromising the structure of your whole driveway. The good news is that patching concrete driveway is fairly straightforward, as long as you’ve got the right equipment and the correct step-by-step approach. With this guide, you’ll learn how to patch concrete driveway in no time.
Can You Patch Concrete Driveway Without Professional Help?
If you’re worried about a pothole in your driveway and you want to deal with the problem yourself, you’ve come to the right place. While it can be tempting to call out the experts each time you spot a new hole, you’re about to see that you could save an awful lot of time and money.
It’s a fairly quick and easy process, and it shouldn’t be too difficult to achieve the sort of quality finish that you could reasonably expect from a contractor. And, it’s important that you do, because potholes cause problems.
Potholes come about when water gets under the surface of the concrete and expands and contracts as the climate changes. This weakens the surface of your concrete driveway and causes gaping holes of various sizes. One pothole can lead to another, too, and smaller potholes are liable to grow the longer they are left.
By learning to spot new potholes and patching concrete driveway yourself as soon as they arise, you could prevent the accumulation of serious damage over time. In doing so, you’ll avoid having to fork out for more heavy-duty repairs or even a new driveway installation further down the line, which you would need professional help for.
How Do I Repair My Concrete Driveway?
So, now that you know you can repair concrete driveway yourself, it’s time to find out exactly how to go about it. The process itself is, as mentioned above, fairly straightforward. However, you have to follow each step carefully and accurately if you want to attain a long-lasting finish.
Not only will this make for a much more resilient driveway, in the long run, it will also look an awful lot better. Driveways are expensive things, so it’s important to preserve the look of them as much as you can.
Patching Concrete Driveway: The Materials
When it comes to learning how to patch concrete driveway yourself, there are a few key things you’ll need. The first is the actual bonding agent, also known as pothole patch. Because you don’t need to heat a pothole patch, this will often also be referred to as a “cold patch,” so look out for either of those names when shopping for your materials.
The best pothole patch products on the market will permanently repair potholes in concrete driveways and many will be suitable for fixing asphalt driveway, too. Just be careful, though, because many cold patch products only provide quick, cosmetic fixes.
You can buy professional quality, pre-mixed pothole patch for around a hundred dollars or less. But, to make sure you don’t fall for products that aren’t up to scratch, check that the one you want to purchase is effective in all climates, easy to apply, and fast-drying.
You will also need the appropriate safety and handling equipment, including:
- Safety gloves.
- Safety glasses.
- Dust mask.
- Shovel.
- Tamper.
If your driveway is prone to potholes, then it’s recommended that you keep all of these products stored in your shed, whether you have holes at the moment or not. That way, you won’t have to waste time shopping for new materials each time they appear.
How to Patch Driveway: The Step-by-Step Guide
With your materials to hand and your safety equipment on, all you need now is a handy guide that will teach you how to repair a concrete driveway. These three simple steps should do the trick.
1. Clean the Holes
To start with, you need to clean the potholes you’re planning to fill. This will encourage successful bonding and ensure your repair lasts a long time. Remove excess concrete, too, as well as any loose debris, ice, or water. You can do this using a broom and, if necessary, a commercial concrete cleaner and a hose.
2. Apply Your Materials
If you’re using high quality, pre-mixed product for patching concrete driveway, your next step will simply be to shovel the cold patch into the holes in your driveway. If any of the potholes you’re filling are particularly deep, you may need to apply the product a layer at a time. This is also the best way to repair the asphalt driveway.
With some cold patch products, you will have to mix the materials before application. Read the instructions that come with your cold patch product for the correct ratio of product to water.
3. Compress the Patch
Once the pothole has been filled, get your tamper. You now need to compress the driveway patch and seal the hole, to encourage strong adhesion and make for a smooth, quality finish.
That’s It!
That’s all there is to it. Now, as long as you’ve opted for a fast-drying cold patch product, your driveway should be ready for normal use again straight away.
Know the How Much Does It Cost to Patch a Concrete Driveway?
Depending on the product you purchase and the equipment you have already, it might only cost you around $100 to fill one large hole or several smaller holes. However, if you don’t already own the appropriate safety and handling equipment, it will cost you more to purchase them the first time you complete a pothole repair.
The other option available to you is to call in a professional to do the job for you. But, while the cost to repair one pothole can be relatively low at around $50, the fees to call the crew out to your home could bring that up to a couple of hundred dollars. And, don’t forget that doing so could delay repairs that are best being carried out as soon as possible.
Patching Holes in Your Concrete Driveway
Now that you know how to patch concrete driveway, you can help to ensure that potholes never become an overpriced problem at home. By keeping a concrete pothole patch to hand alongside your handling equipment, you give yourself the best possible chance of maintaining the look and structure of your driveway far into the future.
Final Words
However, if you find yourself having to fill potholes regularly, there may be a bigger underlying problem at play. In that case, it may be necessary to reach out to a professional for help and advice.
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