Potholes are a pain to have and a pain to manually remove. But what’s the best way to get rid of them?
No matter the weather or time or year, it seems potholes always find a way to appear on a gravel driveway. For many property owners it can feel like having a pothole-free gravel driveway is an unattainable fantasy. And yet, there are countless blogs and tutorials on DIY pothole removal. But do they work? And if so, do the results last? Here are a few common ways gravel driveway owners try to remove their potholes and how effective the methods are.
It’s not uncommon for property owners to simply cover up their pothole by filling them in with loose gravel. Sometimes this looks like filling it in and calling it a day, others will go a step further and tamp down the loose gravel to try and compact the old with new. Unfortunately this route is neither effective nor is it lasting. As soon as the driveway gets rain, that fresh gravel will shift and be easily disrupted when cars drive over it. While this DIY trick may seem fast and easy, it will not actually get rid of the problem and very soon after, your potholes will be back.
After filling in a pothole with some gravel, sometimes people will hook up something like an old bedspring to their ATV, UTV, or lawn mower and run it over their driveway in an attempt to level out the gravel. Or for those who don’t have any new gravel to throw in, they might just take the bedspring out to try and make their existing gravel more even. The downside is, bedsprings don’t have the capability to break up potholes. This route might shift some of the gravel or pull up a bit of the vegetation, but it won’t get to the bottom of the potholes to really get rid of them. And as for leveling, a bedspring might be better than nothing, but it’s not going to create consistent, even ground.
We heard property owners describe hacking away at their nasty potholes with hammer claws or even a pickax. The goal of this is to loosen the gravel around the hole so it’s not so deep. After attempting to loosen the gravel, they might take a rake and try to level it out to some degree. This is a tedious, slow going way of trying to get rid of potholes. Not to mention you’re likely going to run into the same issues as with point number one: this isn’t a lasting solution. Rain is likely to wash away your work, and soon you’ll be back where you started.
If you’ve ever looked up DIY ways to get rid of a pothole, you’ve probably tried using a shovel to do the job. We talk a lot around here about getting to the bottom of potholes so you can actually eliminate them, rather than just temporarily covering up the issue. For many potholes, shovels are able to break up the entirety of the pothole. However, this route is time consuming and manual. It takes a while to decompact and dig out the pothole enough to keep it from coming back– but that’s only step one. Then you will likely have to fill in the pothole, compact it, and smoothen or level it out. And that’s just one pothole– how many more are left?
The problem with the pothole removal attempts listed so far is each one contributes a piece of what you need to get rid of your potholes. Each one is also time consuming, without promise that it will pay off in the end. That’s why if you really want your pothole gone without losing your whole weekend, your best bet is to get a tool that can break up the potholes, pull up existing gravel to fill them in, and level out the gravel. For pothole removal that sticks, as well as gravel maintenance care and upkeep, we recommend a gravel grader like the TR3. We want you to be able to get to the bottom of your potholes without having to hack away for hours, so you can get back to doing the things around your property that you love.
No matter your tow vehicle, we have a gravel grader for you. View our full line or call us at 888-930-7394.
