LESLIE: Mitch in New Jersey’s dealing with a driveway that’s cracking up. Tell us about the problem.
MITCH: It’s actually one crack that is running across the driveway. It seems like there’s a fault underneath the driveway and it’s always appearing in the same spot and I’ve filled it pretty much every year. So my question to you is, is there anything that you could think of that I can fill that crack with; even cement?
TOM: No, that’s not going to do because cement is not very elastic. The best product for this is an acrylic patching compound for – that’s specifically made for driveways; however, I will say that if the original driveway was put on fairly thin – in other words it’s not thick enough and the base was not built up enough; if it didn’t have enough of a gravel base under it – that could be why it’s cracking repeatedly and all the patching you do is not going to stop it because it’s basically expansion and contraction and shifting of that soil that’s causing it to move.
The other thing to take a look at is the water flow. Typically, if you get a lot of water in that area or under that area, that will accentuate the movement, but I suspect that the original driveway was a fairly thin application and that’s why this crack has been so difficult to control.
MITCH: OK.
TOM: Mitch, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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