Asphalt & paving · Guide
Repair, resurface or replace: reading a failing driveway
The crack pattern tells you whether the surface is tired or the base is gone. Those two problems have very different price tags.
6 min read · Updated August 2026
Read the failure pattern
Single straight or hairline cracks are surface fatigue and thermal movement. They are a maintenance item: clean them out and fill with rubberised crack filler.
Interconnected cracking that looks like alligator hide means the base has lost support and the mat is flexing under load. No surface treatment fixes it — an overlay laid over alligatoring reflects the same pattern through within two years.
Potholes are alligatoring that has already lost material. Depressions that hold water after rain indicate base settlement or a drainage fault upstream.
The 25% rule
The industry shorthand: if less than 25% of the surface shows structural failure and the base is sound, resurface. Above that, replace. Between the two, patch the failed areas back to a firm base first, then overlay.
Age is a supporting signal, not the deciding one. A 12-year-old driveway with hairline cracking and no depressions has a decade left with maintenance; an 8-year-old drive with alligatoring across a third of its area was built on an inadequate base and will keep failing until it is rebuilt.
What each option costs and buys
Crack filling is $0.50-$1.50 per linear foot DIY, and buys years by keeping water out of the base. Resurfacing — a 1.5-2 inch overlay bonded to the existing mat — runs $3-$6 per square foot and adds 8-15 years when the base is genuinely sound.
Full replacement is $8-$15 per square foot and resets the clock to 15-25 years, because it is the only option that lets the contractor fix the layers underneath.
- Hairline cracks, no depressions → crack fill and seal
- Widespread surface wear, sound base, correct drainage → overlay
- Alligatoring over 25%, potholes, standing water, sunken edges → replace
Before you overlay, check the height
An overlay adds 1.5-2 inches. That has to go somewhere: check garage door thresholds, sidewalk transitions, drainage falls and any existing kerb. A driveway that already sits close to a threshold needs a mill-and-fill instead, where the top layer is ground off before the new one is laid.
Milled asphalt from that grinding is worth reusing — compacted millings make a serviceable base or a low-cost rural surface.
Frequently asked questions
+Can you resurface a cracked asphalt driveway?
Only if the cracking is surface-level and the base is stable. Structural cracking reflects through a new overlay within a year or two, so those areas must be cut out and rebuilt first.
+How long does an asphalt overlay last?
8-15 years over a sound base, against 15-25 for a full replacement. The base condition, not the overlay thickness, sets the number.
Part of a series
The complete asphalt driveway guide
Everything that decides what an asphalt driveway costs and how long it lasts — written from the numbers a paving crew works to, not from a brochure.