Sunken, cracked driveway fix?

JaBro
by JaBro
Our inclined driveway is sinking in places, is cracked, has pulled away from the garage foundation and sunk about 4”. We need a new driveway, but can’t afford one right now. Any ideas? We’d like to get our cars inside without scraping the bottoms.
  4 answers
  • Kim Kim on Oct 17, 2017

    😳 I don’t want to be an alarmist but there is a reason your driveway has sunk that far and it might be dangerous!

    I would park on the street for a time and get the driveway inspected to make sure you don’t have a sinkhole forming. You don’t have to live on limestone caves for sinkholes, an underground water leak can do significant damage as well.

    If it turns out that the contractor who laid the driveway didn’t properly compact your soil and it’s about done settling, you could get a load of gravel for now, realizing that keeping the gravel cleaned up will be an ongoing thing.

    : )

  • Ken Ken on Oct 17, 2017

    Bummer. I looked into one of those services that drills a hole then pumps foam in to jack up the wayward slab. Costs more than new concrete. I bit the bullet and in the long run am glad that I did. Unfortunately there is no reasonable solution to your dilemma without replacement.

  • Jewellmartin Jewellmartin on Oct 17, 2017

    Do you live in north Texas, as I do? Forget death and taxes. The only thing sure in life is that your foundation will crack someday. The earth constantly is lifting and falling, and houses, sidewalks, driveways and pastureland are all affected. So that's the why. How to fix your drive into the garage is the immediate question. Since you have plans to report your driveway at some point, you can consider a few options. The first is to go ahead and get estimates from three reputable companies to report the whole driveway, and then to only repair the drop by pouring a wedge of concrete to bridge the difference. Estimate a 10% increase in cost per year. Can you afford one of these professional repairs now better than in a few years? If not: 1. You could fill in the slope with 1" gravel and further fill in the spaces with pea gravel. You will have to shovel the gravel back into place when your car displaces it, but if you drive slowly, it will last longer. 2. Use the gravel, but also pour in sand to fill in lots more space. Then pour instant concrete over that to a little higher than the garage floor because this will certainly settle, too. 3. Build a wooden ramp by stacking 3-4" high bricks to build up the ramp area, then enough instant concrete to fill in the gaps and steps, and then lay thick plywood (MDF) on top of that foundation. You'll still have a little bump at each end of the plywood, but it will settle less. 4. Just build up shallow steps with full, half, quarter and broken bricks to fill in the space. The firmer the bricks are tamped, the longer they will last. I hope you find a solution you can handle soon. Best wishes 😇💞

    • See 1 previous
    • Jewellmartin Jewellmartin on Oct 18, 2017

      Thanks, JaBro. We have had to dig up quick and cheap solutions many times. We spent Jan-Feb near Harlingen this year. I like SE Texas almost as well as the Dallas area (Mesquite).

  • Jwien Jwien on Oct 17, 2017

    We've had sidewalks, dricreated, and even the garage floor "leveled" professionally- very reasonably priced in Cleve OH area and soooo worth it.

    Had a two piece patio leveled 10 years ago and still staying level