Patching a driveway is cheap and fast, and sometimes it is exactly the right answer. But when the problem is underneath the slab rather than on it, a patch buys you a season and you pay again. These five signs separate the two situations.
1. Cracks wider than a quarter inch, or with a height difference
Hairline surface cracks are normal and cosmetic. A crack you can fit a coin into, or where one side sits higher than the other, means the slab has moved — and slabs move because the base underneath has failed or washed out.
Filling that crack does not put the base back. The slab will keep moving and the crack will reopen.
2. Spalling and flaking across the surface
Spalling is when the top layer flakes away, exposing the aggregate underneath. It is caused by water getting into the surface and freezing, and it is progressive — once the surface is compromised, more water gets in each winter.
Isolated spalling can be resurfaced. Spalling across most of the driveway means the surface has lost its integrity and an overlay will fail with it.
3. Sections that have settled or tilted
If part of the driveway has dropped relative to the rest, soil beneath it has compacted or eroded. Mudjacking can lift a settled section, and that works well when the rest of the slab is sound.
But if multiple sections have settled, the base was inadequate across the whole driveway and lifting individual panels is a temporary fix.
4. Water pooling on the surface
A driveway should shed water. Standing puddles mean the slope is wrong — either it was poured that way or it has settled into a low spot.
Pooled water accelerates every other failure mode. It seeps into cracks, freezes, and widens them. It saturates the base, which causes more settlement. Fixing the surface without fixing the slope just restarts the cycle.
5. It is more than 25 to 30 years old
A well-built concrete driveway lasts twenty-five to thirty years in our climate. Past that, even one without dramatic visible failure is at the end of its service life, and repairs stop being economical.
If you are already spending money on it every few years, that money is better applied to a proper replacement with a compacted base and correct reinforcement.
- Cracks wider than a quarter inch or with vertical displacement
- Widespread surface spalling and flaking
- Multiple settled or tilted sections
- Standing water after rain
- Age beyond 25–30 years with recurring repairs