Fill cracks before they become sinkholes, seal asphalt before it crumbles, and keep your driveway looking clean with a yearly pressure wash.
Your repair approach depends on your driveway type. The materials and processes are completely different.
Small cracks become big cracks when water gets in and freezes. Fill in spring before summer heat and in fall before freeze-thaw cycles.
Use a wire brush or angle grinder with wire wheel to remove loose material. Blow out debris with compressed air or vacuum. For deep cracks (>½"), fill with sand or foam backer rod first — you don't want to fill a 2" void with $15 of crack filler.
Asphalt: Use rubberized asphalt crack filler in a bottle or tube. Pour in, squeegee level. Concrete: Use polyurethane concrete caulk (not silicone, not latex — it'll fail). Tool it flush with a putty knife.
Most crack fillers need 24–48 hours at room temperature. In cold weather, add 24 hours. Apply sealant (on asphalt) only after crack filler is fully cured.
Sealing protects from UV rays, oil, water infiltration, and freeze-thaw damage. Done every 2–3 years, it can double or triple driveway lifespan.
Don't seal more than once every 2–3 years. Over-sealing builds up a soft layer that gets tracked into your house and cracks faster. Wait until the driveway looks dry and gray, not right after last seal.
Use a commercial driveway degreaser or dish soap + stiff brush on any oil spots. Rinse thoroughly. Sealer will NOT bond over grease — those spots will peel up within a year.
See crack filling guide above. All cracks must be filled and fully cured before sealing. Edge cracks along the perimeter too.
Shake/stir the sealer bucket well (pigment settles). Work 4-ft-wide sections from the far end toward the street. Pour a bead, push with squeegee side-to-side for even coverage. Keep a wet edge.
Let first coat dry 4–6 hours (may appear lighter when dry). Apply second coat perpendicular to first (this helps with coverage). Keep cars, bikes and foot traffic off for 24–48 hours minimum.
Spring cleanup: pressure wash your driveway to remove winter sand, oil drips, and organic stains before you seal or fill cracks. This is always the first step in any driveway project.
For concrete driveways, 2,500–3,000 PSI with a surface cleaner attachment (rotating head) gives even results without etching. For older concrete, start at 2,000 PSI and test in an inconspicuous spot first. Asphalt: stay at 1,200–1,500 PSI — higher pressure damages the aggregate surface.
Apply driveway degreaser (or dish soap) to any oil stains; scrub with a stiff brush and let sit 5 minutes. Pressure washing over untreated oil just spreads it. Pre-treating gets the oil up; the pressure washer rinses it away.
Use a fan or surface cleaner nozzle. Work consistently from one side to the other in 2-foot-wide strips, overlapping slightly. Don't linger in one spot — keep moving. Work down any slope toward the street so dirty water flows away.
Concrete needs 24 hours minimum to fully dry before crack filling or sealing. Asphalt needs 48 hours. Sealing over a damp surface causes the sealer to bubble and peel within one season.
When concrete has widespread surface scaling, spalling, or pitting but is structurally sound, resurfacing applies a fresh 1/4" layer over the existing concrete — extending its life 10–15 years for a fraction of replacement cost.
If your concrete has deep cracks that move when walked on, sections that are heaving (due to tree roots or frost), or crumbles when you chip it — resurfacing is a cosmetic band-aid that will fail within a year. Those issues need removal and replacement.
Pressure wash at maximum PSI to remove all loose material, dirt, and oil. Fill all cracks (even small ones) with concrete crack filler and let cure. Any crack you don't fill will telegraph through the new surface. Scarify pitted areas with a wire wheel to give the resurfacer something to bond to.
Spray the entire area with water until it's damp but not standing. A dry concrete slab will pull moisture from the resurfacer too fast, preventing proper bonding and curing. Work in the shade or on a cooler day — direct sun also accelerates drying.
Mix concrete resurfacer per directions (typically floor drill + mixing paddle, not by hand). Pour onto wet slab in 10 × 10 foot sections. Spread to uniform 1/4" depth with a concrete squeegee. Keep a wet edge and work quickly — resurfacer sets in 20–30 minutes in warm weather.
Drag a broom across the surface before it sets for a non-slip broomed finish (standard for driveways and walkways). Keep foot traffic off for 6 hours, car traffic off for 24 hours. Cure for 7 days before applying any concrete sealer.
The wrong ice melt product destroys concrete driveways — pitting, spalling, and accelerated deterioration. The right product and technique keeps your driveway intact for decades.
Sodium chloride (rock salt) accelerates the freeze-thaw damage cycle in concrete, causing surface spalling fast — especially on newer or unsealed concrete. It also kills lawn grass and plants along the edges. You'll see the damage appear as surface pitting within 2–3 seasons.
Calcium chloride is the concrete-safe ice melt — it works down to -25°F and doesn't attack concrete chemistry. It costs more than rock salt but doesn't destroy your $8,000 driveway. Sand provides traction without melting — useful in very cold weather when melters are less effective. Use asphalt-only products on asphalt driveways.
The best time to shovel is within 1–2 hours of snowfall before the bottom layer bonds to the concrete. Once snow sits and begins to melt and refreeze, it adheres and requires ice melt. Pre-apply ice melt to prevent bonding during active storms rather than scraping after.
Metal shovels scrape and chip at concrete surfaces. Plastic or polyurethane-blade shovels are kinder to both concrete and asphalt. Never chip ice with a metal tool or axe — you're chipping the surface more than the ice. Snowblowers are fine with the auger set to not touch the surface.
Apply a penetrating concrete sealer in fall (after summer heat). Sealed concrete is much more resistant to freeze-thaw and ice melt damage. The sealer fills the pores that water infiltrates, expands, and cracks. Re-apply every 2–3 years to maintain protection. This single step extends concrete life dramatically in cold climates.