How to Fix the Muddy Spots on a Slag Driveway
Slag is a byproduct of smelting, the chemical process of oxidizing and removing impurities from metals. The compounds that remain after metal purification are known collectively as slag. Some rural residents prefer slag to gravel for a driveway or farm road surface, because once it’s packed down, the rough, sharper edges of slag interlock to create a flat and firm yet permeable surface. Even well-packed slag surfaces can be undermined by water flows, however, especially after heavy rains, which can leave muddy potholes. It’s fairly simple to repair potholes in a slag driveway – but take the time to do it right. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Pickaxe
- Shovel
- Work gloves
- Extra slag
- Gravel tamper
- Packing roller or heavy vehicle
Instructions
-
-
1
Choose a day when the weather is likely to remain settled for at least a few days and your underlying road base is not too soft.
-
2
Remove all loose slag from the pothole, using both the pickaxe and shovel. Expand the size of the pothole as much as necessary until the hole has absolutely firm, well-packed edges.
-
-
3
Replace the slag you removed, a few shovel loads at a time. Tamp down the slag as tightly as you can with the gravel tamper. Add and tamp down more slag, a little at a time, until the hole is filled to a level somewhat higher than the surrounding road surface.
-
4
Pack the slag down as much as possible, using the roller. Properly packing the fill for any pothole is the key to long-term repair success. In the absence of a roller – which you can rent – drive back and forth across filled potholes to pack them as tightly as possible.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Repair potholes in your slag as soon as they form, to prevent additional damage to your driveway surface.
Make sure your driveway’s shoulder is lower than the driveway, fast draining and weed-free.
Improve overall road drainage, when you can afford it, by buying an extra load of slag for your driveway. After all potholes are repaired, pour a generous ribbon down the center median of your driveway to establish a higher “crown.” This crown should be about 1 inch thick down the center and slope gradually toward both slides of the driveway, to quickly direct rain runoff down and away.
A driveway “quick fix” – just shoveling in more slag and tamping it down – will work for a while, but not long. Because the surface is not packed as solidly as the rest of the driveway, a puddle and then a pothole will soon form again.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Medioimages/Photodisc/Digital Vision/Getty Images
