Potholes: what a fix costs

A pothole repair costs $100 to $400 each for a hot-mix patch. Cold patch costs a few dollars a bag and lasts a season. On a 600 square foot driveway, an overlay at $3 to $7 per square foot is $1,800 to $4,200, which becomes the cheaper option once holes are scattered or recurring.

Why the price per hole is what it is

A pothole is a bowl-shaped break where asphalt has come away, usually after water entered the surface and weakened the base.

Repairing it properly is a small construction job, not a pour. The perimeter is saw-cut square, the failed material and loose base are removed, aggregate is added and compacted, hot mix goes in lifts, and the joint is sealed.

That is why the price is $100 to $400 rather than the cost of the material, which is a small fraction of the total.

Cost by hole size and depth

Depth drives the price more than width. A deep hole needs excavation, aggregate, and compaction in lifts; a shallow one is a surface patch.

Worked totals

One hole at $250: $250 total. Plus sealcoat on 600 square feet at $0.20 per square foot, $120. Total $370.

Three holes at $250 each: $750, plus sealcoat $120, total $870.

Five holes scattered across a 600 square foot driveway: $1,250 in patching, which is approaching an overlay at $1,800 to $4,200. At that point the overlay starts to look reasonable, because it also resets the surface.

Ten years of patching two recurring holes at $250 each, every three years: about $1,650. An overlay at $3,000 in year one, plus sealing at $120 every three years, is about $3,360 over the same period. The overlay is more expensive, and it ends the cycle of repairs.

The overlay becomes the cheaper option when the holes stop being isolated. Four holes at $250 is $1,000, and if half of them return within three years the total passes $1,500 — most of the way to the low end of an overlay, with none of the surface reset that an overlay provides.

What adds to the bill

Access. A pothole at the back of a long driveway, or one blocked by parked cars, takes longer to reach and work around.

Base condition. Soft or hollow base means excavation and aggregate, which is the difference between a $150 patch and a $400 one.

Water. If the hole fills with water, it has to be pumped or dried before patching.

Size. Beyond about 6 square feet, the job starts to be priced as an area repair rather than a pothole.

Season. Emergency winter patching costs more per hole because conditions are worse and hot mix is unavailable.

Cold patch versus hot mix, on cost

Cold patch at a few dollars a bag looks dramatically cheaper. It is also temporary.

A cold patch replaced every year for five years costs five bags and five afternoons. A hot-mix patch at $250 lasts several years. By year three the hot-mix patch is ahead on cost and well ahead on time.

Cold patch is the right buy when the hole appears in winter and a permanent repair has to wait, or when the driveway is scheduled for replacement and only needs to be safe in the meantime.

When to stop patching

Three conditions mean the money should go to an overlay or replacement instead.

The holes recur in the same locations despite proper patching. That is base failure.

The surrounding pavement shows alligator cracking or widespread surface loss.

The number of holes makes patching more expensive per square foot than resurfacing.

An overlay at $3 to $7 per square foot on 600 square feet is $1,800 to $4,200. Replacement at $8 to $15 is $4,800 to $9,000. Patching at $250 a hole only competes while there are one or two holes in sound pavement.

Budgeting the maintenance that prevents holes

Potholes start with water entering the surface. The prevention budget is small compared with the repair budget.

Crack filling at $2 to $5 per linear foot, once a year or as needed. Sealcoat at $0.15 to $0.30 per square foot, every two to four years. Edge repair when the perimeter crumbles, before water gets under the pavement.

On 600 square feet, sealing every three years is $120 a cycle, or $40 a year. One pothole repair costs more than three years of sealing.

Getting a quote that matches the work

1. Measure the hole’s width and depth.
2. Note whether water stands in it or nearby.
3. Probe the base with a screwdriver and report what you find.
4. Ask whether the quote includes saw-cutting, base correction, and joint sealing.
5. Ask what happens if the base is worse than expected.

A quote that lists those items is comparable with another that lists them. A single lump sum for “pothole repair” is not, because one contractor may be patching the surface and another rebuilding the base.

Our potholes repair guide covers each option in detail, potholes prevention covers the conditions that create the holes, and cold patch cost covers the temporary option in winter.