Gravel Driveway Repair and Regrading
Ruts, potholes, washboard and a gully down one wheel track. We regrade, crown, ditch and re-rock gravel drives so the water leaves and the rock stays.
Driveway Repair, Start to Finish
Every gravel drive that fails, fails the same way. Water got on it and had nowhere to go. It runs down the wheel tracks, carries the fines off and leaves washboard, potholes and a gully. So you buy a load of gravel and spread it, and by the next spring it is in the ditch or out in the yard. Adding more gravel to a drive with no crown just gives the water more to carry off.
We fix the shape first. The drive is cut and regraded so the ruts and potholes are worked out, not filled over. A crown goes back in the middle so water sheds to both sides. The ditches are reopened to carry it away, and a culvert goes in wherever water has to cross. Then the rock: base where the base is gone, and a fresh surface layer on top. It is the repair side of our driveway and access road work.
What you are left with is a drive that drains, and gravel that stays where it was put. Our guide on why a gravel driveway keeps washing out explains the causes, so you can tell what yours needs. Hills make it worse, and the hill country of Winston County is inside our service area. Call or text (205) 535-6376 with a few photos taken after a rain.
What driveway repair covers
- Ruts, potholes and washboard cut out
- Crown put back in the middle
- Side ditches reopened and shaped
- Culverts set where water crosses
- Soft spots dug out and rebuilt
- New rock placed and graded
Read the drive before you buy rock
The damage tells you the cause. A gully down a wheel track means water is running along the drive and not off it: no crown. Potholes in a flat stretch mean water is standing there. A soft, pumping spot that swallows rock means water is getting under the drive, or there was never a base. Gravel washed into the yard at the bottom of the hill means the ditches are gone and the drive has become the ditch. Each one has a different fix, and none of them is another load spread on top.
Crown, ditches and where the water crosses
A crown is a slight high line down the middle, so rain runs to the edges within a few feet and never builds speed. A ditch on the uphill side catches what comes off the hill before it reaches the drive. On a long grade the water has to be turned out at intervals, so it does not gather all the way to the bottom. And wherever water must cross, it goes under in a pipe. Our page on culvert installation covers that part. Get those right and the gravel lasts.
Rock, base and soft spots
Surface gravel is the wearing layer. Under it there should be a base course that carries the load, usually crusher run, which packs tight because it has fines in it. Where the base is gone or was never there, the soft material is dug out and the spot is rebuilt from firm ground up. Then the top layer goes on and is graded to the crown. We can bring the rock, or you can have it delivered ahead of us and we place and grade it, which is often less money for you. Estimates are free and priced off the drive itself.
Real Job Photos
Phone pictures from real jobs, captioned with what they show. See more recent work.
Can a rutted gravel driveway be repaired without starting over?
Most of the time, yes. If there is a sound base under it, the drive can be cut, reshaped with a crown, ditched and topped with fresh rock, and much of the old gravel is worked back in. Starting over is only needed where there was never a base, or where the drive was laid out straight down a slope with no place for water to go.
How often does a gravel driveway need regrading?
It depends on the slope, the traffic and above all the drainage. A drive with a good crown, open ditches and culverts where they belong can go a long time between touch-ups. A flat-topped drive on a hill needs work after nearly every wet season. If yours needs regrading every year, the shape is the problem, and fixing the shape once costs less than regrading for ever.
What kind of gravel should go on top of a driveway?
A gravel drive is two layers. The base is usually crusher run, a mix of crushed stone and fines that packs down hard. The surface layer over it takes the wear. Clean, rounded or washed stone on its own rolls under tires and does not lock together. What your local quarry stocks and what the drive already has under it both matter, so we look before we order.
How much does it cost to regrade and re-rock a gravel driveway?
It is priced off the drive. Length and width are the start. After that it comes down to how much reshaping the drive needs, whether ditches have to be cut, how many culverts go in, how many soft spots need digging out, and how much new rock it takes. Having the gravel delivered ahead of us is often less money. Estimates are free.
Why do potholes keep coming back in the same spot on my gravel road?
Because the cause is still there. A pothole forms where water stands, and filling it with loose gravel leaves a bowl that holds water again. The lasting fix is to cut the surface down below the bottom of the hole, reshape that stretch so water runs off it, and pack new material back in. If the spot is soft underneath, the base has to be rebuilt first.
How a Job Runs
Tell Us What You Have
Call, text or send the form. County, rough acreage, what is growing on it and how a truck and trailer gets in.
We Look at the Ground
Close by, we come and look. Farther off, we can go over it with you on satellite first, then see it on the ground before the work starts.
A Number to Plan Around
Estimates are free and priced off the property. Small jobs carry a minimum, and you hear the figure before you commit.
The Machines Go to Work
We settle what comes out and what stays. Mark the trees you want kept, or walk it with us and point them out.
Finished, Not Just Knocked Down
Holes filled, ground pulled back to grade, and the fall set so water leaves the site instead of standing on it.
Driveway Repair Near You
Based in Berry, in Fayette County. Eight west Alabama counties. Pick your county or town, or call or text and ask.
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Need Driveway Repair?
Call or text, or send a few details. Estimates are free and priced off the property.