Crack filling
The cheapest maintenance in this trade.
A crack is an open door to your base. Filling it costs a few hundred dollars and stops the chain that turns a hairline into a pothole and a pothole into a rebuild. There is no better return on money in driveway maintenance.
Why cracks matter more than they look
A 2 mm crack does not look like a problem. What it is, functionally, is a channel delivering rainwater and snowmelt directly into the granular base you paid to have compacted.
That base is designed to be damp, not saturated. Once water is sitting in it through a Toronto winter, freeze-thaw starts lifting and dropping the asphalt above. The crack widens, more water enters, and the cycle accelerates. Most driveways that need replacing at year twelve could have lasted to year twenty-two on a few hundred dollars of crack filling.
How it is done properly
Routing. Wider cracks get cut into a clean reservoir with a router so the filler has a defined shape to bond to. Pouring into a ragged crack leaves the filler sitting on debris.
Cleaning. Compressed air and a wire wheel to remove dirt, vegetation and loose material. Filler will not bond to dust.
Hot-pour rubberised filler. It stays flexible through freeze-thaw and moves with the asphalt. Cold caulk from a tube goes rigid and splits at the first hard frost.
Squeegee flush. Overfilled cracks leave ridges that catch plough blades.
What we will not fill
Alligator cracking. When the pattern is interconnected, the base has failed and the surface is flexing over a void. Filling every line in it is hours of work that changes nothing — that area needs to come out.
We will point at it, explain why, and quote the section rebuild instead.
Pricing
Ranges we quote across the GTA in 2026. Your number depends on area, access, disposal and what has to come out first — confirmed on site.
| Work | Price | Typical project |
|---|---|---|
| Crack filling | $1.50 – $3 / sq ft | $450 – $1,400 typically, often combined with sealing |
| Routing (wide cracks) | Included | Cracks over about 6 mm cut to a clean reservoir |
| Section rebuild | $4 – $7 / sq ft | Where cracking is alligatored and filling will not help |
Ranges are for planning, not a quote. Get your exact number →
Questions
When should I fill cracks?
As soon as they are wide enough to see clearly — roughly 2 mm. Late spring and early fall are ideal because the crack is at an average width; filling in high summer when cracks are closed leaves the filler under compression.
How long does crack filling last?
Three to five years on a sound driveway, then it is redone. It is maintenance rather than a permanent repair.
Should I fill cracks before sealing?
Yes, always. Sealer is a few millimetres thick and cannot bridge a crack — it will split over it within a season. Filling first and sealing after is the correct sequence and we do both in one visit.
Are hairline cracks worth filling?
Anything you can fit a business card into is worth filling. Below that, sealing alone handles it.
What about cracks in an interlock driveway?
Different problem entirely. Pavers do not crack as a surface — gaps between them mean lost joint sand or a shifting base, and the fix is re-jointing or lifting and re-basing.
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