Asphalt tells you when something is wrong. The trouble is that the early signals are easy to ignore, especially on a driveway you walk across every day without really looking at it. A quick inspection a couple of times a year, ideally in early spring and again in the fall, can help you catch problems while they are still small.
These are the three problems we would put at the top of any homeowner’s or property manager’s checklist.
Problem 1: Alligator cracking
Most asphalt eventually shows a few hairline cracks. A single crack running along the edge or across the driveway is not necessarily cause for alarm. Alligator cracking is different. It looks like a web of interconnected cracks forming small, many-sided pieces, a lot like the pattern on a reptile’s back.
What it usually means
Alligator cracking is almost always a sign that the support under the asphalt has weakened. Common causes include:
- Water getting into the base and softening it.
- A base that was too thin or poorly compacted to begin with.
- Repeated loads heavier than the pavement was designed for, such as delivery trucks, moving vans or dumpsters.
What to do
Because the problem is below the surface, covering it with a thin layer of new asphalt rarely holds. The damaged area usually needs a full-depth repair as part of repaving: the failed material removed, the base corrected and compacted, and new asphalt installed full depth. If alligator cracking covers a large share of the driveway or lot, it is often a sign that full replacement is the better value. Our guide to types of asphalt paving cracks and how to fix them goes into more detail on what each pattern means.
Problem 2: Holes and raveling
A hole forms where pieces of the surface have broken loose and been carried away, leaving a pocket that keeps growing as tires hit its edges. Holes often start as alligator cracking that finally breaks apart. In New Jersey they tend to show up in late winter and early spring, after water has worked into cracks, frozen, expanded and loosened the asphalt around it.
Raveling is a related issue. The surface starts to lose its fine material and then larger aggregate, leaving a rough, pitted texture with loose bits scattered across the top. It is common on older, dried-out asphalt and in spots where fuel or oil has softened the binder.
What to do
Do not count on a bag of fill thrown into a hole. A lasting fix means finding why water got in, then removing the failed material, correcting any soft base and compacting new hot asphalt as part of milling and repaving the surface. Raveling that has spread across much of the surface is usually a candidate for milling and repaving or full replacement.
Problem 3: Standing water and low spots
After a rain, walk your driveway or lot. Water should be running off, not sitting in puddles. Birdbaths, as some contractors call them, are low spots where water collects and lingers. Over time that water seeps through the surface into the base, and every freeze-thaw cycle makes things worse.
What it usually means
Ponding points to a grading issue, a settled area or a sunken spot where the base has given way. It can also be caused by something outside the pavement, such as a clogged drain, a downspout dumping onto the driveway or a neighbor’s runoff.
What to do
Start with the easy fixes: redirect downspouts and clear drains. If the low spot itself is the issue, it can be corrected by milling and repaving with the proper pitch, or by a larger regrading during a replacement.
When it is time to call
One small crack is not an emergency. A combination of these problems, or one that keeps getting worse, deserves a professional look. Our checklist of signs your driveway needs repaving can help you decide whether repair or replacement makes more sense.
If your driveway is showing these warning signs, see our asphalt driveway paving and replacement service. We will come out for a free estimate and tell you honestly whether repaving will do the job or the driveway needs a new base.
Need this done right?
Dan The Paver handles asphalt driveway paving across Monmouth, Ocean (Toms River and north) and southern Middlesex counties. Free on-site estimates.