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We've had these sagging spots for about 10 years now. They're not getting any worse. Sure, we might get a new driveway in 10 years, but other than this, our driveway is in beautiful condition! They appear to be divots from parking something too heavy at some point.

It's the winter now and it's impossible to shovel around these things. A few years ago, we tried compacting some asphalt fill into it. It's like 2 inches deep, maximum. Of course the edge isn't going to feather nicely, and during snow removal, shovels get hung up on it. If you're walking with some force.. ouch, that hurts.

What I'm thinking of doing is first using the grinding wheel to remove some concrete, eliminating the need for a feathered edge. I'd trust it being more of a quality repair if I took maybe a quarter inch out of the concrete, and I could fill right to the top with tar. Feathering it is just asking for it to peel off. I would use a wire wheel (and full a face mask) to remove some of the asphalt chips we put down, giving the entire thing a good puddle shape to fill out. Then I want to stack two steel five gallon buckets with a brick spacer, cut a few holes in one, and set them up as a melter with my propane weed eater torch. Once liquid enough, I'd pour it down and use a few pieces of wood to smooth it out.

Does this sound like a safe and quality repair for a few years? Are there other methods you guys would recommend?

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Proposed Fix:

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You have divots in a concrete driveway.

I'd saw around the divot area, break it all out, and pour concrete, rather than anything to do with asphalt. Drill some holes in the edges and insert steel to tie the patch to the slab.

If following the "quick fix" fill-on-top approach, possibly thinset (tile cement) but trying to do anything with concrete in the winter is fraught with difficulty - you have to heat it up and keep it warm - if it freezes before it cures, it's toast.

My gut says that your quick fix with hot tar is going to be good for 6 months, at most. Additionally, it will complicate doing a good concrete repair later.

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  • I've added an illustration to the best of my MSPaint ability! I'm not sure of the thickness of the driveway slab, though. I could easily saw through it and do that, though. Seeing the illustration, I'd probably just do an entire cross section at driveway. Is there a type of concrete you would recommend? Seeing as it's between 10 and 40 degrees in New England for the next month, would it cure right? How about sealing it?
    – kavisiegel
    Commented Dec 16, 2013 at 17:40
  • Also, what about the gap between the two slabs? Won't ice form and cause issues? Or should I go back and grind in a groove and fill that with hot tar? According to my math, that's 50 bags of concrete I'd have to mix, and if I was to get a concrete company, might as well have them do the whole driveway. Maybe I should have specified this is a 3-4 year fix
    – kavisiegel
    Commented Dec 16, 2013 at 17:46
  • @kavisiegel - I wouldn't worry about having separate sections. That's pretty standard for concrete.
    – aparente001
    Commented Mar 11, 2019 at 7:47

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