# Puddles forming in new driveway



## kamaljeet_singh (Jun 20, 2009)

Hi, I recently had my driveway removed and repaved with a new asphalt one, but I get temporary puddles that form when it rains. These puddles (somewhat significant in size, I think) do not last very long -- they typically go away after a couple of hours once the rain stops, but I am concerned that there should not be standing water on a new driveway at all. The contractor is telling me this is not a problem as long as there isn't standing water after 24 hours of a rainfall. Is what he says true? Keep in mind that this is a flat driveway and not the typical upward sloping one, so it was difficult to get a good slope, according to the contractor. Thank you in advance for your help.


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## Bondo (Dec 8, 2007)

Ayuh,... On a somewhat Flat driveway, that's perfectly Normal....
It sounds like it's draining, but very slowly...


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## clasact (Oct 21, 2006)

as long as it drains away from your home its not a problem


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## stadry (Jun 20, 2009)

they're call'd ' birdbaths ' & a result of unsatisfactory base compaction OR parts of the base were wet when pav'd,,, not a big deal if they don't hold wtr for long/are too deep,,, probably don't ' drain ' but the wtr evaporates instead !


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## Aggie67 (Dec 20, 2008)

I had a neighbor who hired an outfit to repave his driveway. He specifically told them where he wanted the driveway pitched to, and that he didn't want any standing water. He made sure the quote said "pitched so no water pools or collects." 

Driveway was repaved, and sure enough one spot pooled. He got on their case, and they came back out and pulled up that section and repaved it, no charge.

My advice is to always have some sort of written scope of work, so you don't end up with a product you're unhappy with.

But with that all said, I myself have two spots on my driveway that pool, and I don't worry about them. However, when I do get it repaved, I'll make sure they are corrected.


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## stadry (Jun 20, 2009)

:laughing: ag, would you believe i've got a crk in MY conc d/w ? ? ? the lateral contr jnts're a bit too long & were saw'd the next day,,, measures .001 right now & isn't acting as a jnt 'cause i saw'd the contr jnts full-depth,,, just a personal insult its MY driveway, tho 

in theory, there's no difference 'tween theory & practice,,, in practice, there is


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## kamaljeet_singh (Jun 20, 2009)

Thank you all for your responses. It sounds like I need to measure just how deep these puddles are and make a determination whether they are evaporating or possibly going into the asphalt as a result of unsatisfactory base compaction. How would I know if the base has not compacted properly, or perhaps does it need more time to compact as I drive my cars in and out of the garages? But also wouldn't that just compact the area where the tires make contact with the driveway and not the rest of it? 

We had rain this past weekend, and I watched the puddles. They were fairly large during the rainfall but completely dried up within two hours of the rain's stopping. It doesn't look nice as it rains, but I guess I'm okay with it as long as it doesn't create any weak spots in the driveway or as long as there aren't any problems later when I try to sell the house. I will try to measure the depth of the puddles next time it rains.


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## Aggie67 (Dec 20, 2008)

How new is the repaving job, and how much has it settled so far? If I was getting ruts and pooling just from my car driving across it, I'd be ticked off. 

Now if I had a tandem load of mulch backed down the driveway because I wanted 15 yards of mulch dumped in a certain spot, and the driver said "hey, I might leave ruts, still want it there" and I say "sure", then it's my own fault. (Been there.)

The sub base has to be compacted and then allowed to dry off and settle if it's wet, then checked again for compaction. But going further up stream, the soil itself has to be assessed and prepared properly. And if you're not telling your paver to keep it within 1/4 inch of where you want the elevation to be, and to maintain a minimum 1% pitch, then you're leaving yourself exposed.

For anyone reading this, there are asphalt driveway design guides out on the internet available for free. They can be wordy and technical, but they tell you basically what you need for a residential driveway. The copy I have is good for the northeast, and it hasn't steered me wrong yet.


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