Driveway repair cost
Repairing a driveway costs $300 to $3,000, typically $900. What decides which repair you are doing is not the surface. It is whether the base underneath is still there.
National average
$900
per project
Repairing a driveway costs $300 to $3,000, typically around $900. Filling cracks is $2 to $6 a linear foot. Patching a pothole is $100 to $400. Replacing a failed section is $8 to $20 a square foot, and replacing the whole thing is $4,000 to $10,000.
What decides which of those you are doing is not the surface. It is whether the base underneath is still there.
What it costs
| Job | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Crack filling, asphalt | $2 to $6 per linear foot |
| Crack repair, concrete | $4 to $12 per linear foot |
| Pothole patch | $100 to $400 each |
| Sealcoating asphalt | $0.15 to $0.35 per sq ft |
| Resurfacing asphalt, 1.5 to 2 in overlay | $3 to $7 per sq ft |
| Concrete resurfacing overlay | $3 to $10 per sq ft |
| Replacing a failed section | $8 to $20 per sq ft |
| Mudjacking a settled concrete slab | $500 to $1,800 |
| Polyurethane foam lifting | $800 to $2,500 |
| Grinding a trip hazard | $100 to $400 |
| Full asphalt replacement, 600 sq ft | $4,200 to $7,800 |
| Full concrete replacement, 600 sq ft | $4,800 to $9,000 |
| Adding a drain to fix the cause | $500 to $2,500 |
Reading the damage
Hairline cracks in concrete. Normal. Concrete cracks; that is why control joints exist. Seal them to keep water out and move on.
Cracks wider than a quarter inch, or with one side higher than the other. The slab has moved, which means the base has. Filling it treats the symptom.
Alligator cracking in asphalt, an interconnected pattern like crocodile skin. The base has failed and the surface is flexing over nothing. This area cannot be sealed or patched; it needs removing and rebuilding.
Potholes. Water got in, froze, and took material with it. A patch is legitimate and it will need doing again if the water still gets in.
A settled slab or a low area holding water. Concrete can be lifted back into place by mudjacking or foam injection for a fraction of replacement, and it is a genuinely good repair when the void beneath is the whole problem.
Spalling, where the concrete surface flakes off. Usually de-icing salt on concrete that was not air-entrained or was finished badly. Resurfacing is the answer; sealing prevents it recurring.
Edges crumbling. Asphalt has no support at the edge. Adding gravel shoulders or an edge restraint stops it.
Fix the water first
Almost every driveway failure is water. Water in the base, freezing, or washing the base out from underneath.
Before spending anything on the surface, look at where the water goes:
- Does the driveway drain, or does it hold puddles?
- Does a downspout discharge onto it?
- Does the ground alongside slope toward it?
- At the garage, does water run in or away?
A $500 channel drain or a regraded shoulder frequently does more for a driveway than $2,000 of patching, and without it the patching is on a schedule.
Repair or replace
Repair when the damage is localised, the base is sound, and the surface is under about two-thirds of its life.
Resurface when the surface is worn or widely cracked but the base is intact and the levels are right. An asphalt overlay is $3 to $7 a square foot against $7 to $13 for new, and it buys ten to fifteen years.
Replace when:
- The base has failed over a large area, shown by alligator cracking or widespread settlement
- The drive has already been overlaid once and is failing again
- Levels are wrong and water runs toward the house or the garage
- More than about a third of the area needs work
- The drive is 25 years old in asphalt or 40 in concrete and repairs are annual
Frequently asked questions
Can I fill cracks myself?
Yes, and it is worth doing. Asphalt crack filler in a bottle or a hot-pour rope, and concrete crack sealant, both cost $15 to $40 and both work if the crack is cleaned out first. Do it in spring or autumn, not in high summer when the crack is at its narrowest.
Is sealcoating a repair?
No. It is a surface treatment that slows oxidation on asphalt. It does not fix cracks, it does not restore a failed base, and applied over an unfilled crack it achieves nothing.
What is mudjacking?
Drilling small holes in a settled concrete slab and pumping a slurry or expanding foam underneath to lift it back to level. $500 to $2,500 against several thousand to replace, and it works well where the slab is intact and the ground beneath has washed out.
Why does the same pothole keep coming back?
Because the water that made it is still getting in. Patching without fixing drainage or the base is a recurring cost rather than a repair.
How long should a repair last?
A crack fill, two to five years. A pothole patch, three to eight. An overlay, ten to fifteen. If a repair fails in one season, the diagnosis was wrong rather than the material.
Read next
Concrete driveway cost$8 to $15per sq ftA concrete driveway costs $8 to $15 per square foot, so a two-car driveway is $4,000 to $9,000. Concrete cracks by nature; control joints decide where.
Asphalt driveway cost$7 to $13per sq ftAn asphalt driveway costs $7 to $13 a square foot installed. Concrete costs a little more and lasts longer; asphalt is cheaper up front and needs sealing. The choice depends more on climate than preference.
Gravel driveway cost$2 to $6per sq ftA gravel driveway costs $2 to $6 a square foot installed. It is a third the price of asphalt and it is not maintenance free: regrading every year or two and topping up every three to five.
Retaining wall cost$20 to $55per sq ftA retaining wall costs $20 to $55 per square foot of exposed face, typically $35. It is priced by length times height, not length, which is the measurement most people get wrong.
Landscaping cost$3,000 to $25,000per projectLandscaping costs $3,000 to $25,000 for a typical suburban garden, typically $8,000. Hardscaping is 60 to 80% of a full budget; plants are cheap by comparison and get all the attention.