Hello World! Welcome Friends! Cracks in the driveway can be a big eyesore that you’ll probably want to get rid of fast. Particularly if you invested a lot of money into yours or you’re trying to sell your property, it’s in your best interest to get your driveway looking neat and tidy again.
As long as your driveway is, for the most part, still in good condition, it shouldn’t be too difficult to fill the cracks yourself. However, you will need to have the right equipment in hand and take the right approach. Go about things in the wrong way and you could end up with a bigger mess than you started with.
Should You Fill Driveway Cracks?
There are so many different reasons why your driveway might crack, including:
- Frequent freezing and thawing.
- Heavy vehicles and loads causing buckling.
- Tree roots growing beneath the surface.
- Excessive expansion caused by heat.
It’s a normal thing to happen, and there really isn’t any way to prevent any of these causes from creating cracks in your driveway. Even the most expensive or expertly installed driveways will be liable to crack. So, when (not if) they occur, it’s a good idea to fill them.
As mentioned above, this will keep the driveway looking at its best for longer. Not only that, but it will also make your driveway much safer. Cracks tend to keep expanding once they’ve appeared. Let them get too big, and they could compromise the structural integrity of your driveway and damage the wheels of any vehicles you park on it.
If you have to start filling new cracks in your driveway not long after you’ve had it put in or you find yourself filling large driveway cracks regularly, that could be a sign of a bigger problem. If you’re concerned about the frequency with which your driveway cracks or the size of the cracks that are created, it is advised that you reach out to an installation contractor.
What to Use to Fill Cracks in Driveway?
Since driveway cracks are a common phenomenon, it’s a good idea to invest in the equipment and know-how you’ll need to fill them in yourself.
For starters, you’ll need to buy yourself some hot crack filler. While the average consumer can buy cold asphalt driveway repair products, they tend provide more of a cosmetic cover than a real solution to the problem. Hot driveway filler, on the other hand, expands to fill cracks and creates a seal as it cools.
You’ll also need a machine capable of melting down your hot, rubberized crack filler. Shop around for machines with fast heat-up times that are well-insulated and easy to handle. This will make it easier to accurately deposit your driveway filler into any cracks in your asphalt surfaces.
You could also reach out to a professional contractor to do the job for you. They will already have the equipment needed to do a good job with a quality finish. But, while this may be an easier option in the here and now, calling out the experts every time you get a crack could prove to be a longer, pricier process in the long run.
How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Cracked Driveway?
It depends entirely on the approach you take and either the equipment you use or the professional you call out to do the job for you. So, there’s no hard and fast answer to this one. However, if you’re looking to keep things cost-effective in the long term, consider investing in a machine designed to fix driveway cracks and last far into the future.
While buying a crack filling machine isn’t cheap, for many, it can turn out to be a better option than regularly doling out for a contractor, often when you least expect it. Particularly if you live in a climate that swings dramatically between temperatures and weather types or you keep heavy vehicles on your driveway a lot of the time, having a crack filling machine on hand could save you a lot of hassle.
Generally speaking, you can expect to spend around $1,000 on a crack filling machine, plus a few hundred dollars for hot crack filling material that can fill over 1,000 LFT of asphalt cracks. That might sound like a lot. But, if you have to fork over a couple of hundred bucks to a contractor for each crack you get, over the years you’ll likely end up spending more.
How to Repair Driveway Cracks: A Step-by-Step Guide
Once you have all the right equipment, learning how to fix driveway cracks is easy. Just follow these three simple steps.
1. Prepare Your Crack Fill Machine
Start by placing a block of rubberized driveway filler into the melting chamber of your crack filling machine. Then, light the torch and let the machine heat up. In more efficient crack filling machine models, this process can take 20 minutes or less.
Make sure you wear heavy-duty, fire-resistant or heatproof gloves when handling crack filler.
2. Fill the Cracks
Once the crack filler has melted (which you can see when it turns from a solid into liquid form) you can make a start on filling your cracks.
Begin by pushing your crack filling machine along a crack at a slow and steady speed. As you do, use the handles or buttons (depending on the make and model of the machine you use) to deposit the melted crack filler. This will be smoothed over the crack by your machine’s scraper to create a long-lasting seal and quality finish.
For more detailed information on how to repair driveway cracks, consult the instructions in the manual that comes with your machine.
3. Repeat
It takes just seconds to fill a single crack. So, once you’ve done your first, walk your crack filling machine over to the other cracks in your driveway and deposit crack filler into them, too. Then, check your results. Once you’re happy, you can power down the machine.
It’s as simple as that, particularly with the top models. You won’t even have to clean out the leftover driveway crack filler with some. Just look out for products that can reheat leftover filler with each use.
How Do I Repair Cracks in My Concrete Driveway?
Driveway crack repair doesn’t have to be a hassle. It can be as straightforward as using the right equipment and following three simple steps. And, now that you know how to repair driveway cracks, you won’t have to worry about it looking unsightly or being unsafe anymore.
As soon as the cracks appear, you can put your asphalt crack repair material to good use. Do that, and you can get your driveway looking as good as new in just 20 minutes.
Click the links below for any posts you have missed:
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