what's the best way to fix and fill pot-holes on a road made of gravel?

Answer 1

Ask a Civil Engineer( P.E.)

Answer 2

The *best* way requires more patience than you probably have. But here goes:

1. Scrape off the gravel from the pothole and about 6" around it.
2. Dig out the soil to a depth of 6-12". If the digging is easy, go to 18". (You're trying to get rid of weak supporting soil here).
3. If you have a bunch of extra gravel, then use it to refill the hole. BUT, do it in 6" increments and after each 6" get a vibrating plate compactor (rent it from a tool rental shop) and thoroughly vibrate the gravel in place. (Thoroughly means at least 10 minutes.). Do this for each 6" layer of gravel, until you get to the level you want.
4. If you don't have enough gravel, you can refill the hole with soil. You will still need to do it in 6" layers (they're called "lifts"), but this time you will need a soil compactor (often called a "Wacker", which is a brand of compactor). Unlike the vibrating plate compactor this thing bounces up and down, like a giant motorized pogo stick. Make sure the soil is a little moist (but not wet) and give each lift 10 minutes of compaction.

Do this for each pothole. It's labor intensive, but if done properly will give you a solid spot where a weak one existed. You can try various shortcuts (like adding soil or gravel without digging out) and they *might* work, but more likely you'll end up out there fixing the same problems again.

Good luck with it!

Answer 3

The first thing you want to do is wet the hole, add sand to provide a base, then add a 3/8 aggregate (rock), then more sand to fill in the gaps between the rock, then more sand.

If it is a small pot hole (say a 1/2 inch deep), water and sand.

You can then take a board (2"x6") and a hammer and tamp the new material to pack it down.

Answer 4

The very best way is to grade it with a blade. You can also use a drag. I made one out of some chain link fence and wired a couple of heavy board to the top to keep it flat. Keep going over it and the high spots will level out and fill the low spots.

Answer 5

You could hire someone to bring a road grader down your road, add new gravel and level everything out. Normally cities provide this service along with oiling the road to compact it and keep the dust down :)

Answer 6

Simple. Just fill in the hole with dirt and put gravel over it. Then pack it down so it it be firm. You can even drive over the spot so it will be tight.

Answer 7

fill the hole with progressively larger aggrigate. Small pea-gravel first followed by larger stone and pack. Then throw on some sand to fill the spaces.

Answer 8

confused over this question...isnt it obvious?