Here is the uncomfortable truth about driveways: the surface you can see is usually just reporting a problem from the layer you cannot.
1. Cracks that spread like a map
One crack is a repair. A web of cracks across the whole drive usually means the base underneath has moved or the surface has reached the end of its life.
2. Dips that turn into puddles
If water sits in the same hollows after every shower, the ground underneath has sunk. Water then gets in, freezes, expands and makes it worse every winter.
3. Potholes that keep coming back
A pothole repaired once is fine. The same pothole filled three times is the base telling you something.
If you are patching the same spot every spring, you are paying for a new driveway in instalments.
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4. Crumbling edges
Without firm edging, a surface spreads and breaks up from the sides. Loose, broken edges are a sign it was never held in properly.
5. Weeds right through the surface
Weeds in the joints of block paving can be cleaned out. Weeds growing up through cracks in tarmac or concrete mean water and soil are getting into the structure.
The good news
Plenty of drives just look tired. Block paving can often be deep cleaned and re-sanded to look close to new, and isolated tarmac damage can be repaired. We will tell you honestly which camp yours is in. See our driveway cleaning and tarmac pages, or look at a real before and after on our homepage.