It’s no surprise that potholes appear in asphalt blacktop and concrete. These year-round holes not only blemish driveways, sidewalks and roads but also create unsafe driving conditions for motorists. However, repairing a pothole doesn’t have to be impossible. Pothole patching is an easy repair that nearly anyone with the right tools can accomplish.
Watch the video to learn how we set the worldwide standard for cold mix asphalt, then follow the cold patch asphalt instructions to begin your pothole repair.
4 Steps to Repair an Asphalt Pothole
Road crews and homeowners use UPM® Cold Mix to fill more than 18 million potholes each year. In fact, our chemical engineers specially formulate this cold patch asphalt solution to outlast the surrounding pavement—even in the toughest potholes.
To start your pothole repair, follow these steps:
Step 1: Remove Loose Debris
Sweep out the pothole to remove dirt, ice, loose asphalt, and debris with the STIFFWITCH® broom. There’s no need to remove water from the pothole—our cold mix asphalt adheres to wet or dry potholes.
Step 2: Fill the Pothole
Next, fill the hole with UPM® Cold Mix. Pour the material into the hole or use a flat-edge shovel to scoop the material into the hole. Overfill the pothole by 25 percent.
Step 3: Compact the Mixture
Tamp the mixture with a hand tamper or gas-powered tamper. If the pothole is deeper than two inches, add UPM® Cold Mix in two-inch increments. Compact the mix before adding more mix. Repeat this step until the pothole is full.
Step 4: Open to the Road to Traffic
Finally, open the road to immediate vehicle traffic. Heavy wheels work the mixture into every crevice of the pothole, ensuring it never comes out.
Ready to begin your pothole repair? Find UPM® Cold Mix for spring, fall, summer or winter in our online shop—plus, browse the tools you’ll need to get the job done.