How do you fill cracks in an asphalt driveway?
Updated August 2026
1–2 hours · Easy DIY
Cracks get filled the season they show up, and a driveway's worth takes 1–2 hours and a $10–20 gallon of cold-pour filler. Rake the crack open with a screwdriver, wire-brush and blow it clean, push backer rod into anything deeper than half an inch, then pour the filler slightly proud of the surface so it can settle. Cold-pour handles gaps up to roughly half an inch wide; anything wider is a patch, not a fill. Do this before sealcoating, never after, because sealer is a thin film and it bridges an open crack for about one freeze cycle.
What you need
- Cold-pour asphalt crack filler in squeeze bottles or caulk tubes
- A long screwdriver or crack-cleaning tool
- A stiff wire brush
- A leaf blower or shop vacuum
- Foam backer rod in 3/8 and 1/2 inch
- A bag of dry sand
Before you start: Crack filler is an asphalt or coal-tar emulsion that stains everything and does not come off skin easily, so wear nitrile gloves and shoes you can throw away, and keep it clear of the storm drain at the bottom of the drive. Skip the propane-torch melt-in rope products unless you have used one before: an open flame on hot pavement next to a garage is how a small repair becomes a fire call. If any of the work is within 10 feet of the street, set a cone out before you kneel down.
Steps
- Work on a dry day above 50 degrees with 24 hours of clear weather behind it. Cold-pour filler skins over below that but never fully sets.
- Rake each crack out with the screwdriver until the loose crumbs, old filler, and roots are gone. Filler cannot grip a crack packed with debris.
- Deal with vegetation a few days ahead by killing the roots. Grass and weeds push straight back up through fresh filler within a month.
- Wire-brush the walls of the crack, then blow or vacuum it out. Give damp cracks 15 minutes in the sun, because the filler will not bond to wet asphalt.
- Push backer rod into anything deeper than half an inch, or fill up to within half an inch of the surface with dry sand. Filler shrinks as it cures and it is expensive, so give it a bottom to sit on.
- Pour or gun the filler in slowly, slightly above grade, then strike it flush with the bottle tip or a putty knife.
- Come back the next day and top off whatever sank. Deep cracks almost always need a second pass.
- Keep traffic off 24 to 48 hours per the label. If you have to drive on it sooner, dust the repairs with sand so the tires do not lift the filler.
- Let the fills cure the full time on the label, typically 24 to 72 hours and up to 30 days for some products, before any sealer goes over the top.
Or hire it out
A paving contractor charges $1–3 per linear foot to fill cracks with hot-pour rubberized material, with a $150–300 minimum for the trip. Hot-pour outlasts anything sold in a bottle, so it is worth pricing if the driveway has 200 feet of cracking. Left open, the same cracks widen into alligatored patches and potholes, and a repave is $3,000–7,000.
Done. Now the part everyone skips: doing it again on schedule. Log it in OnOtto and the next reminder for crack filling sets itself.
Log this task, get the next reminderFrequently asked questions
How wide is too wide for cold-pour filler?
About half an inch. Past that, filler slumps, shrinks, and leaves a dished channel that collects water. Cracks from a half inch to about 2 inches take cold-patch asphalt tamped in layers, roughly $20–30 per 50-pound bag. A web of interconnected cracks in one area is different again: that is base failure, and it needs a saw-cut patch rather than any surface repair. Driveway lifespan covers where each option runs out.
Cold-pour or hot-pour rubberized: is the upgrade worth it?
Hot-pour stays flexible through freeze-thaw cycles and typically holds 5 to 8 years, against 2 to 4 for a bottled cold-pour product. The catch is the equipment: a melter kettle is a rental, and torch-applied rope is easy to scorch the pavement with. For a handful of cracks, cold-pour and an annual touch-up is the sane choice. For a long, badly cracked drive in a cold climate, get a price on hot-pour.
Do cracks get filled before or after sealcoating?
Before, always, with the filler fully cured first. Sealer is roughly the thickness of a coat of paint, so it spans an open crack for a few weeks and then splits along the same line the first time the ground moves. Fill, cure, then seal, and the coating has a continuous surface to bond to. The scheduling logic sits in how often to sealcoat an asphalt driveway.
Why do the same cracks keep reopening every spring?
Because the crack is a symptom of something underneath. Water reaching the gravel base, a soft spot, or tree roots will keep flexing the asphalt no matter how well you fill the surface. Check where the water goes first: downspouts discharging onto the drive, a lawn that drains toward it, or an edge with no shoulder support all show up as repeat cracking. The driveway maintenance checklist lists what to correct.