Potholes in the road are bad enough. Potholes in your driveway are worse. This is because potholes in your driveway can cause you to become stuck in winter. Tires can freeze in the potholes, or the ice filing the potholes gives poor traction, keeping your vehicle from leaving the driveway. When you are ready to call an asphalt repair contractor, here is what the contractor will do, step-by-step.
The Driveway Pothole Repair Estimate
Before you hire just anyone to fill potholes, be sure to get an estimate. That may sound weird, since they are just potholes, right? Well, yes and no; asphalt repair contractors have so many jobs to do that small odd jobs like yours are not usually high priority. At least getting an estimate for the work and finding out how much sooner one contractor can complete the work over another contractor is valuable information.
Remove Any Loose Chunks
The first step in this process is to remove any loose chunks from the pothole. All loose gravel has to be removed, too. This prepares each pothole to receive its new filler material.
New Layer of Gravel and Maybe a Little Fresh Concrete
The contractor will use the current gravel in the hole, if there is any left. A little more gravel is added and evened out to make the bottom layer of the hole. Really deep holes will need more concrete to fill to a certain level.
Concrete Filler
The concrete is poured over the top of the gravel to hold the gravel in place. Then the concrete layer is smoothed by hand using a trowel. The concrete is allowed to set and dry before the bitumen layer is finally added.
Bitumen (Asphalt) Filler
Finally, the hot, tarry bitumen (i.e., asphalt) fills the pothole the rest of the way. It is tamped down to make a nice, airtight filled space. After it cools for a bit, a paver truck rolls its two big heavy rollers over the top to completely flatten the bitumen into place. Extra or loose bits of bitumen are scraped away from the pothole to give the job a clean, finished look.
Process Repeated for the Other Potholes
After one pothole is filled in, the contractor will move on to other potholes and repeat this process. If you have no other potholes to fill, you pay the contractor. Then he/she will be on his/her way.
Contact a service, like Premier Paving & Sealcoat LLC, for more help.
Share9 September 2018
When I first moved into our house, I realized that the place needed a little bit of work. In addition to missing part of the back lawn, there was also an empty RV pad and a missing patio. I thought about what to do, and I realized that the best thing might be to hire a concrete contractor to make things right. After we got settled, we started pricing services. We were able to find an incredible contractor that we knew would do a good job. After he poured the pads, it was amazing to see how much better things looked. Read my blog for ideas on how to finish your property, so that you aren't left looking at an eyesore.