Driveway Repair near you

The pattern of the damage matters more than its size. Look at the driveway after a rain, when low spots and water-filled cracks are easiest to see, and note where problems cluster: along the edges, at the garage, over a buried service line or where cars turn.

Each repair treats a different depth of problem. Crack filling seals the surface so water stays out. Patching removes a damaged area down to firm material and rebuilds it. Resurfacing adds a new wearing layer over a driveway that is still well supported, such as an asphalt overlay or a bonded overlay on concrete. Replacement rebuilds the base as well as the surface, and it is the only lasting answer when the base itself has failed.

Frost heave happens when fine, wet soil under a driveway freezes and swells, pushing the surface up unevenly. As it thaws, the soil is left loose and soft, and traffic presses the surface back down in a new shape. A driveway that humps every winter and settles every spring has water in its base or frost-susceptible soil too close to the surface. Sealing cracks helps, but the lasting fix is better drainage and, where needed, a deeper base of free-draining stone.

Settlement is slower and goes one way. Common causes are loose backfill where the driveway meets the garage or foundation, old trenches for water, sewer or gas lines, rotting roots and stumps, and a base that was never compacted properly. Settlement that keeps getting worse, or a hole that opens suddenly, can mean soil is washing into a broken drain or sewer pipe, so have the line checked by a drain professional before any paving work.

Most repairs fail for the same reason the original surface did: water. Before anything is patched, ask the contractor to trace where the water comes from and where it goes, and to include the fixes in the same quote. The Government of Canada's property grading guidance is a useful reference for keeping surfaces around the house sloped away from the foundation.

Once repairs are done, sealing protects them. Crack sealant is a flexible product that stays bonded as the pavement moves, and it is the most useful routine care for asphalt. A sealcoat over the whole surface slows wear and helps patches blend in, but it goes on only after new asphalt has cured. On concrete, a penetrating sealer limits how much water and salt soak into a patched or resurfaced area, and on pavers, well-filled joints do most of the work.

If an asphalt sealer is part of the job, make sure it isn't coal-tar-based. Under federal regulations, the manufacture and import of coal-tar-based pavement sealants have been prohibited since October 1, 2025 and their sale since December 31, 2025, so turn down leftover or unlabelled product offered at a discount, and have the product named in the written quote.

Repair crews knock on doors every spring, often claiming to have material left over from a nearby job. The federal Office of Consumer Affairs warns that door-to-door pavers asking for cash up front may be running a scam and may leave the work unfinished or use substandard materials. A legitimate repair comes with a written quote naming the company, the areas to be repaired, the method and materials, and how long the workmanship is guaranteed, for instance if a patch sinks or a sealed crack reopens.

If you do sign at home, provincial rules give you time to reconsider. Ontario allows a 10-day cooling-off period for contracts signed at your home, counted from the day you receive a written copy. In Quebec, a contractor who solicits you at home is an itinerant merchant: you can cancel within 10 days of receiving your copy of the contract, or within one year if the merchant didn't hold a valid permit from the Office de la protection du consommateur.

Inspect the driveway in spring once the frost is out of the ground, since heaved areas settle during the thaw and the lasting damage shows. Hot asphalt patching and concrete repairs are warm-weather work, done when the base is dry and the temperature suits the material. Crack filling is best done in late summer or early fall, before water can get in and freeze over the winter.

A pothole that opens in winter can be filled with cold patch, a ready-mixed asphalt that can be placed in cold weather. Treat it as a temporary fix that keeps the driveway safe until spring, when the area should be cut out and patched properly.