# repairing asphalt driveway



## slownsteady (Jul 7, 2015)

I just cut a trench across my driveway to lay a drain pipe from a down spout. No problem cutting it in and laying the pipe, but I'm wondering what's the best way to repair the surface. Will cold patch work for a permanent repair of this size? (1ft wide by 25 ft long, approx 2 in thick). Should I be considering something else?
The last few feet went through a patch of really tenacious weeds which had already found some seams in the old asphalt. Is there something I can throw in the soil under the asphalt that will kill the many small root fibers that are mixed in the soil?


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## nealtw (Jul 7, 2015)

Get a real pipe for under the driveway.


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## oldognewtrick (Jul 7, 2015)

I agree with Neal, smooth wall pipe will collect less debris that eventually finds its way through. Only thing you can do for weed control is a RoundUp type weed control. Roots from nearby will find there way there.


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## slownsteady (Jul 7, 2015)

Thanks. What about the cold patch?


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## Speedbump (Jul 7, 2015)

I agree with both guys on the smooth pipe.

I just hired a couple guys to cut out some bad spots and repair them with asphalt then seal the driveway.  I tried using cold patch once.  It doesn't last very long.  Asphalt needs to go on hot then be vibrated down before it cools off.


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## bud16415 (Jul 7, 2015)

You have a nice straight cut to the left in your photos. I think I would remove the foot or so to the right and fill the whole thing with concrete after backfilling around the pipe. It wouldn&#8217;t look like a patch at all that way. With a concrete cap I don&#8217;t think I would worry about the pipe being corrugated and collapsing. Fill in along the pipe with the chunks you cut out to get rid of them.


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## slownsteady (Jul 7, 2015)

Yeah, that is part of the larger project i have around the front of the house. That small apron in front of the garage is at least 16 inches deep - I haven't found the bottom yet. One guy I talked to referred to it as a frost wall. My neighbor and i were trying to figure out the best way to clean the top up. I don't have much faith in a skim coat here, so I may be taking off the top 2-4 inches (somehow).
Not a bad thought to extend the concrete out & over the pipe.


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## bud16415 (Jul 7, 2015)

Smooth pipe is great but I have that same 4&#8221; running all over the place draining stuff and it works. Farmers put miles of it in and the groves on the bottom fill up and then it flows like it was smooth. Getting it deep enough or capped well enough that it won&#8217;t crush is the thing IMO. 

Only way I would see in taking it down 4 inches would be to make a series of cuts and then break out the blocks. I would ether leave it or take it down like you said and then cap it all. If I left it I still think I would cap the slot with concrete.


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## Chris (Jul 7, 2015)

The proper way to patch it would be cut the existing asphalt back at least 6" on each side then tack the edges and put in new hot asphalt and vibe plate it down. For most that is not cost effective as they don't have the equipment. Asphalt is cheap.

When I do water line repairs and the customer doesn't want to pay for the asphalt work I will pour concrete where the asphalt was then come back and use driveway blacktop coating on it and it will look just like asphalt.

Cold patch will not last in the long run.


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## stadry (Jul 7, 2015)

for my $.03, corrugated works just as well as smooth figuring its used for road crossings  :beer:  no h/o's going to buy sched 80 pvc either,,, guessing cold patch didn't work because you got it @ apron/vest or similar store,,, sealmaster sells good stuff ( more $$$ ) HOWEVER you'll need a plate compactor to get it done right.

often utility svce companies use lcf ( lean cement fill ) as it'll support traffic loads yet is easy enough to dig back up w/anyone's backhoe


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## Chris (Jul 7, 2015)

I buy cold patch from my asphalt supplier by the ton and it still doesn't hold up over the years. Maybe in the driveway trench it might last longer but still won't last as long as a permanent fix.


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## buffalo (Jul 7, 2015)

I have kinda the same thing going on , water was coming in the garage on heavy rains. My idea was filling with #2 stone , and concreteing a grating flush with the driveway. That way any water will go right down there.make the grating a few inches wider than the trench on both sides and recess.


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## nealtw (Jul 7, 2015)

I have seen that wall infront of the garage once, It was to solve a problem caused by a flash flood That washed the sand out from under the garage floor and the floor was just sagging. They formed it up like that so when they mud jacked the floor, the wall held the pressure. They filled the wall with the same mix they were using for jacking and that may be why it is ugly.


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## slownsteady (Jul 7, 2015)

That's interesting because my garage foundation has never looked healthy. I'm on a slope and I have a walkout basement in the back even tho I'm street level in front. But that is for another thread, I think.
if I go over the pipe with concrete, I suspect I'll need about 4" of concrete over compacted fill. I threw the same stuff back in that I took out, so right now it's a mix of dirt, stone, and some fine base material (best name I have for it is patio base or concrete dust). There wasn't much of a base in there to begin with...mostly just asphalt over dirt.


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## nealtw (Jul 7, 2015)

One trick to protect a pipe from callapsing is to incase it in concrete just where the tires of the car will go over it.


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## Chris (Jul 8, 2015)

We are required to backfill our sewer trenches in the highways with 3/4"-rock/gravel. It locks in and keeps the pipe round. We go 6" above the pipe than native.

Either that or take about a yards worth of your native and add a bag of cement and mix it up dry. Then it will lock in like a slurry mix.


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## slownsteady (Jul 8, 2015)

New thought for the day: the wife & I were looking at the area today. Since we are putting in a new front step/landing at our door, and are pretty sure we're going to lay pavers over the concrete, why not use matching pavers to be the apron in front of the garage? I have to chip off the top of that slab anyway, and i could take the pavers out to the new cut line in the asphalt. The garage is to the left of the entrance in these pics


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## bud16415 (Jul 8, 2015)

I think it would look nice and kill two birds with one stone.


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## nealtw (Jul 8, 2015)

If you are leaving part of the slab you will want to compact the fill in the ditch.


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## slownsteady (Jul 8, 2015)

Absolutely. I will probably bury the pipe a little deeper too. And get some rock for a sub-base. I know I can re-level the blocks if I have to, but I'd rather set them right the first time.


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## bud16415 (Jul 9, 2015)

Nice part is if you ever have to get at the pipe again you can just lift the pavers and dig it up.


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