Asphalt Repair in Kettering, OH

Asphalt repair covers the problems that show up in a driveway or lot while most of it is still sound: potholes, broken patches of alligator cracking, open cracks, crumbling edges and low spots. In the Dayton area, freeze-thaw is the usual culprit. Water gets into a crack, freezes and expands, and leaves a void when it thaws. Traffic breaks the asphalt over the void. A repair that goes down to the base and seals out water stops the cycle.

Crack sealing

HomeGuide notes that basic crack filling lasts about 1 to 2 years, while flexible crack sealing lasts about 3 to 8. For cracks that open and close with the seasons, we clean them out and use a flexible hot-pour sealant. Fall is the best time, right before freeze-thaw season.

Pothole and patch repair

For potholes and failed areas, we saw-cut around the damage, remove the broken asphalt, repair and compact the base, and fill with hot mix rolled flush. That is more work than a shovel of cold patch, and it is why it lasts. Cold patch is a winter stopgap until a hot repair can be made.

Edges and low spots

Edges crumble where they have no support and where plows and tires hit them. We cut them back to solid asphalt, extend the base and pave a new edge backed with soil. Low spots, often near a downspout or the garage, are cut out, the base is rebuilt to grade, and the area is repaved.

When repair is not enough

HomeGuide advises against surface patches when alligator cracking surrounds the hole, damage reaches the base over a wide area, or drainage is a problem, and points to replacement when cracking covers 60 to 70 percent or more of the surface. If your driveway is there, we tell you.

After repairs

New patches are darker than old asphalt. A sealcoat over the whole drive evens the look and protects the patch edges.

The repair season

Hot-mix plants run from spring into late fall, so permanent patches happen in that window. In winter, cold patch keeps a pothole from getting worse until spring. Fall is the best time for crack sealing, since cracks are wider in cool weather and sealing them right before freeze-thaw season keeps water out when it does the most damage.

Trench and downspout problems

A sunken strip across a driveway is often an old sewer or water line trench that settled. A soft area beside the garage is often a downspout emptying onto the pavement. Fixing the cause, not just the asphalt, is what keeps a repair from failing again.

Repairs on lots

On commercial lots, failures cluster at entrances, dumpster pads and drive lanes where trucks turn. Cutting those out and patching to the base before winter keeps them from spreading through the lot. We schedule lot repairs in sections so the business stays open.