How To Know When To Repair & When To Replace Your Driveway

Posted on: 11 October 2021

Your driveway allows you to enjoy a smooth entry to your home. Your driveway can last for years with the proper care. As a pavement driveway owner, it is essential to know when driveway issues call for repairs and when your driveway needs to be replaced.

When to Repair Your Driveway

There are lots of situations where you should repair your driveway. A driveway needs a lot of maintenance and care to allow you to get total usage from it. You can usually get a couple of decades of use from your driveway.

If you have a small crack in your really thin driveway, that is an easy repair. When the crack is small enough, you can even patch it yourself. If the gap is more significant than a hairline crack, you will want to call in a professional to come and repair the crack. They can easily repair the gap for you.

It is important to repair cracks as soon as you notice them. If you don't fill in the crack right away, it is going to keep getting bigger. This happens as moisture gets into the crack, leading to erosion on the surface of your driveway and even leading to the pavement collapsing inward.

If water is pooling on your driveway and not draining correctly, you can fix that issue. There are a variety of ways you can improve drainage issues, such as installing strip drains. Or you can add curb additions that will direct the water away from your home. Or you can add French drains or underground drainage pipes.

There are lots of ways that you can deal with water pooling on your driveway without replacing it.

If you have an asphalt driveway and you start to notice weathering of the surface, you can repair it with some seal coating.

When To Replace Your Driveway

There will come a time when you can no longer repair your driveway. Eventually, you are going to have to replace your driveway.

If your driveway is more than twenty years old, all of those years of wear can add up. It is common to replace driveways somewhere between two to three decades.

If your driveway doesn't just have cracks in it but has potholes and the edges are falling apart, you are going to want to replace your driveway. It can only last so long, and when it is falling apart everywhere, it may be time to replace the pavement.

If you have drainage issues that go beyond your driveway and impact nearby buildings and other aspects of your property, you may need to completely redo your home's drainage system, which may require completely digging up your driveway.

If your driveway has small cracks in it, you can repair it. If your driveway has big potholes and is falling apart at the edges, it may be time to bring in a paving contractor to replace your driveway completely.

Contact a company like Rocky Mountain Pavement for more information.   

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