Pothole repair

I Have Potholes... Now What?

A pothole is most commonly caused by water getting trapped on or under the surface of the driveway because of poor drainage. The water will then displace the gravel leaving a void in your driveway or road. 

The best way to solve this problem is to have your road or driveway graded. Grading will use different methods to restore the driving surface and drainage attributes.

If you are not prepared for grading or just have a few pesky spots then you can try repairing the hole yourself. The pothole should be filled with something that matches your current rock and has a "minus" in it. "Minus" means it has fines that will fill the gaps between the bigger rock and help it to pack down tightly. You should then compact the rock and fill it again. Continue packing and refilling the hole until it is slightly above grade.

For a longer lasting repair, it takes a bit of sweat and hard work. By taking a shovel and squaring off the 'walls' of the pothole this creates a wall that holds the new gravel in, rather than a ramp for it to roll up and out. You can also take a pick-axe to the bottom of the pothole to 'soften' it up. This will allow the new rock to pack down into the sub-grade.