Pothole theory

[Snobdds]

I'd go 15 feet up, just to be safe. Should only take about a couple hundred dozer hours and 50-60 tri-axle dump loads of fill. Easy weekend job. I mean, you don't want any pot holes, right?

Right.

 

[dmccarty]

I don't know if you need ditches, but the water has to get off the road and stay off the road.

Our shared road has been graded, and even had ABC gravel added, but the road bed is not high enough to drain properly. We get pot holes in the same place, time and time again. Until we pay to do it right, we will always have these pot holes. Really funny how they appear in the exact same spots.

Later,
Dan

 

[jmc]

OP here- Thanks all, for your perspectives.

Yep, lack of drainage is a vicious spiral. I neglected it too long and early rains before the ground thawed finished it off.

 

[SouthernSky]

I have a 1500’ blacktop driveway. After years of hurricanes and now every rain, the ground has settled and created potholes. In fact, I now have a pool in front of my door my dogs love to play in after every rain and the mosquitos are horrible when this happens.

The local blacktop guys want a king’s ransom to patch it, much less, overlay it. So I bought a truck load of limestone and keep it about mid-point down the road. I’ve been loading my FEL a few times per year and just filling the holes as they develop. Until the next heavy rain when I do it all over again. And of course the rocks work their way over to the grass which does nothing for my finishing mower.

So if I have a bunch of limestone in a bunch of potholes, is there anything I can pour over them that will help keep water out and the rock in the holes?

 

[deezler]

I have a 1500’ blacktop driveway.
So if I have a bunch of limestone in a bunch of potholes, is there anything I can pour over them that will help keep water out and the rock in the holes?

You're putting gravel into sunken parts of the asphalt driveway? I don't see how those stones are ever gonna stay put like that. Try switching to recycled asphalt millings and tamp them into the holes on a hot day, maybe?

 

[RSR]

Couldn't you just fill the potholes in your asphalt, with asphalt?

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Of course, if you have a bunch to do, it could get expensive quick, which may be why your local guys wants to charge so much.

 

[SouthernSky]

Asphalt would have been the preference, of course, but availability is another story. Just one vendor around me.

I thought of cold patch from Lowe’s but too many holes make it cost prohibitive. The rock is a workaround for now, but thought there may be something I could pour on it to reduce water filling it and make it last longer.

 

[old and tired]

...something I could pour on it to reduce water filling it and make it last longer.

Quikrete...

 

[ponytug]

I have a 1500’ blacktop driveway. After years of hurricanes and now every rain, the ground has settled and created potholes. In fact, I now have a pool in front of my door my dogs love to play in after every rain and the mosquitos are horrible when this happens.

The local blacktop guys want a king’s ransom to patch it, much less, overlay it. So I bought a truck load of limestone and keep it about mid-point down the road. I’ve been loading my FEL a few times per year and just filling the holes as they develop. Until the next heavy rain when I do it all over again. And of course the rocks work their way over to the grass which does nothing for my finishing mower.

So if I have a bunch of limestone in a bunch of potholes, is there anything I can pour over them that will help keep water out and the rock in the holes?

Sorry to hear about the issues.

You might try packing the holes with something that has fines in it that can be compacted and will bond with itself, and the asphalt instead of just limestone. If so, I would be patching it with hot tar underneath and asphalt grindings on top, as a year to year fix. If you stick with the limestone, I would put sealant under the limestone, compact it, and then seal it with tar and 3/8" gravel.

However, it is possible that your driveway is like mine and it never had a decent base under it, so the roadbed will continue to flex and move. If that is the case, this is all band aid work until you start over with a new foundation for the road.

If you want a more permanent fix, I think you are looking at 12-18" of crusher run (1"-) laid down in 4-6" lifts and compacted between each layer. I would start with geotextile to help keep the movement on the existing road and subsoil from transmitting to the new road bed. However, that assumes that you aren't going over some really expansive soils like peat or clay, which would require more invasive remediation, like lime addition, and larger rock in the base.

I have put off ripping my driveway out until after I find a great price on a sheep's foot compactor to rip up the existing road and pack it into a useable base. Then I get to pay the fortune to the asphalt contractor to do it right.

YMMV... FWIW: locally, I did find a small crew of three guys that were willing to do patching work for a small fraction of what the big asphalt contractors charge.

All the best,

Peter

 

[ovrszd]

Solutions vary by location. Even your neighbor's driveway may have different soil under it and overlay than yours.

Maintenance prevents potholes. Repetitive maintenance. Your fill materials will vary with location mentioned above.