How I finally solved driveway runoff — steps that actually worked

I went thru this exact process last fall when the heavy rains started washing out my mulch beds. I initially skipped the binder becasue I thougt the weight of the 80lb Quikrete bags woud keep them pinned down. Big mistake. After three big storms, the whole structure shifted about four inches to the left. I had to pry the blocks up, scrape the asphalt with a wire brush, and restart with a heavy coat of Henry 201 sealer to get that suction. When I did the second attempt, I used a scrap piece of 2x4 to screed the wet concrete into a more tapered shape before it hardened. If you leave it as a round lump, the transition for the tires is brutal on the suspension. I also found that the Aquaphalt 6.0 works better if you keep the patch about an inch thick over the concrete core. I used my F-150 to roll over it back and forth about twenty times instead of just using a hand tamper. That mechanical pressure relly locked the stones in place. It's been six months and I haven't seen a single crack or any water getting underneath.

Spot on with using the truck for compaction; that's the only way to get it tight enugh. One thing I'd add is to hit the area with a leaf blower or shop vac after you're done with the wire brush. If there's even a little bit of fine grey dust left in those asphalt pores, the binder won't actually penetrate and you'll eventually get a delamination. I also found it helps to let the binder sit in the sun for twenty minutes before dropping the bags. Getting that surface nice and tacky ensures the concrete core won't budge when you're hitting it at an angle with your tires.

Man, I am so glad I found this thread! My driveway gets a literal river running across it during summer storms and I was about to just throw some bricks down. Using the truck to pack down the Aquaphalt is such a pro tip! Since I’m new to all this DIY stuff, does anyone know if these homemade bumps are okay to paint? I’m worried about a guest bottoming out at night if they can't see the new height. Do you guys use that reflective yellow traffic paint or just leave it natural so it blends in?

You'll definately wanna paint it if you don't want your buddies' cars bottoming out. I grabbed a can of that yellow 'caution' traffic paint from the big box store. Pro tip: while the paint's still wet, shake some reflective glass beads over it. Makes 'em pop like crazy when headlights hit 'em at night. Just make sure the concrete's totally cured first. If there's any moisture left in there, the paint's gonna bubble and peel off way faster than you'd think.