Should you repair your driveway or replace it?
It comes down to one question, and it is not about the cracks you can see. It is whether the base underneath the asphalt is still solid. If it is, patching or resurfacing will hold for years and cost a fraction of replacement. If it is not, new surface laid over a failed base will fail too, usually within a couple of seasons. You can get a good read on this yourself before anyone gives you a number.
What a healthy driveway with a bad surface looks like
Fading, a few separate cracks running in one direction, and a rough or pitted texture are surface problems. The asphalt has lost its binder to sunlight and weather, but the ground under it has not moved. This is the cheap category. Crack filling and sealcoating handle it, and if the surface is far enough gone, a resurfacing layer goes right over the top.
The tell is that the cracks are separate from each other. One here, one over there, each running more or less straight. Water has not yet gotten underneath and started working on the base.
What base failure looks like
Three signs, any one of which means the problem is underneath:
Cracks that web together into small plates, sometimes called alligator cracking. That pattern means the surface is flexing under load because there is nothing solid holding it up. Sealing it does nothing at all.
Sunken or dished areas, especially where vehicles park or turn. If water pools there after rain, the base has compressed or washed out.
A pothole that comes back in the same spot every year no matter how many times it gets patched. The patch is not the problem. What is under the patch is.
Why this matters more at our elevation
Up here the freeze and thaw cycle runs all winter and into spring, not just a few times a year. Water gets into a crack, freezes overnight, expands, and levers the crack wider. Then it thaws, seeps deeper, and does it again the next night. A crack that would take five years to become a base problem at sea level can do it in two winters in the Eagle River Valley.
That is why the timing advice you read on national home improvement sites runs late for us. Sealing a crack in its first season is genuinely the cheapest work you will ever have done on a driveway. Waiting until it looks bad usually means waiting past the point where sealing still solves it.
The honest version of the answer
A contractor who tells you to replace a driveway that only needs patching is either not looking closely or is hoping you will not ask. The reverse also happens: patching a driveway whose base has failed is a way to take your money twice, once now and again in two years.
Send a photo of the worst section and we will tell you which category you are in, including when the answer is the cheap fix. That costs you nothing and it takes about a minute.
Quick answers
How do I know if my driveway base has failed?
Look for three things: cracks that web together into small plates like alligator skin, areas that have sunk or hold water after rain, and potholes that return in the same spot every year. Any one of those means the problem is underneath the surface and new asphalt laid on top will fail too.
Can you resurface a driveway instead of replacing it?
Yes, when the base is still sound. Resurfacing lays a new layer of asphalt over the existing surface and costs a fraction of a full tear out. It is the right answer for a driveway that looks worn but has not sunk or started webbing. If the base has failed, resurfacing buys you a season or two at most.
How long should an asphalt driveway last in Colorado?
Fifteen to twenty years is typical at this elevation if it gets sealcoated on schedule and cracks are filled as they appear. Neglected, the same driveway can be finished in eight to ten. The difference is almost entirely about keeping water out of the cracks before winter.
Is it cheaper to patch a driveway every year than to replace it?
Only if the base is sound. Repeated patching over a failed base is money spent on a problem it cannot fix, and the patches themselves keep failing. If the same spot needs work every spring, you are paying for replacement in installments without getting one.
Do you charge for an estimate?
No. We look at the driveway, tell you which category it is in, and give you a number. If the answer is the cheaper job, that is what we will tell you.