Gravel Driveway Repair & Restoration
Potholes, Ruts, Puddles, Washboard
THE WATER FIRST. THEN THE SURFACE. PRICED IN WRITING.
GravelBoss fixes gravel driveways across Northeast Ohio, and the reason they keep breaking. Potholes and ruts come back where the water sits, so we find where the water goes and fix that first, then rework the stone that is already there and compact it. Drive Rake starts at $1,050 and Drive Restore, our most popular tier, at $1,500, both including the $300 equipment setup fee; longer driveways cost more. You get the price in writing before any work starts.
Why Gravel Driveway Repairs Fail
(Hint: It's a Drainage Problem)
A load of stone fills the hole. It does not change where the water goes, so the hole comes back in the same place. We fix where the water goes before we fix the surface.
We Fix the Reason
It Keeps Breaking.
A load of stone fills the hole. It doesn’t change where the water goes. We fix where the water goes before we fix the surface.
The Water First
- Potholes and ruts come back where the water sits. We find where your water runs and where it pools before we touch the surface.
- We reshape the drive with a crown so rain runs off both edges, and on Drive Rebuild we cut drainage along the edges so it has somewhere to go.
- Fix the water and the surface has a chance to hold. Skip it and the holes come back in the same places.
The Stone You Already Have
- Most driveways don’t need more stone. They need the stone that’s there brought back up and put in the right place.
- The Ruckus Rake breaks up the packed crust, mixes the fines back in and spreads it level. Then we compact it as its own step.
- Fresh stone goes on only where the old stone is gone, and your proposal says how much.
Measured, Not Eyeballed
- The Grade Scan is a measured survey of your drive’s grade and drainage, done before we quote.
- On Drive Restore and Drive Rebuild we measure again when we’re done, and you get the before and after.
- We tell you in writing what we fixed and what it takes to keep it that way.
What the 90-Day Warranty Covers
Every GravelBoss job, on every tier, carries the same 90-day workmanship warranty. What it covers and what it excludes is written in our proposal terms.
From our proposal terms:
“90-day workmanship warranty from date of completion. Covers defects in grading, compaction, and material placement. Does not cover: normal wear and settling, snow plow damage, heavy vehicle damage (>10 tons), acts of nature, customer modifications, or failure to maintain drainage channels.”
The full terms are on every proposal and on our proposal terms page.
Gravel Driveway Grading & Restoration Services
Good, better, best. Every tier is priced by the job, not by the hour, quoted in writing, and carries the same 90-day workmanship warranty, with the exclusions in our proposal terms. Not sure which you need? Identify your driveway problem or view our pricing guide.
Drive Rake™
For loose stone, small potholes, grass and weeds in the drive. The Ruckus Rake brings the old stone back up, mixes it back together and spreads it level, then we compact it. A surface tier: it does not change where the water goes.
- ✓Rake the existing stone back up and level it
- ✓Grass and weeds worked out of the surface
- ✓Compaction pass
- ✓90-day workmanship warranty
Drive Restore™
For puddles, ruts and potholes that keep coming back. Everything in Drive Rake, then we regrade the drive and reshape the crown so water runs off instead of sitting in the tire tracks. Usually no new stone.
- ✓Existing stone reworked
- ✓Crown reshaped so water runs off
- ✓Compacted in two passes (base, then finish)
- ✓Measured survey before and after
- ✓90-day workmanship warranty
Drive Rebuild™
For a drive that has worn through or washes out. Everything in Drive Restore, plus drainage cut along the edges so the water has somewhere to go, and fresh limestone where the old stone is gone.
- ✓Existing stone reworked
- ✓Regraded with a crown that sheds water
- ✓Edge drainage cut along the drive
- ✓Fresh #411 surface stone, and #304 base where the base has failed
- ✓Compacted in two passes
- ✓Measured survey before and after
- ✓90-day workmanship warranty
After We Fix It,
We Maintain It.
Gravel is maintained, not finished. DriveGuard™ is our annual maintenance plan: one visit a year to put back the crown the plow and the weather took, before small problems turn into a restoration.
- ✓Visual inspection + before photos
- ✓Crown measurement verification
- ✓Pothole & rut fill (existing material)
- ✓Full profile rake
- ✓Compaction pass
- ✓Drainage check (ditches, culverts, edges)
- ✓Written condition report card
Five Steps.
Each One Fixes Something.
We bring five implements to a driveway, because a drive fails in more than one way: loose stone, a lost crown, water with nowhere to go, and a surface nobody compacted.
Ruckus Rake
Brings the old stone back up, mixes the fines back in with it and spreads it level, filling potholes from the high spots next to them.
Why it matters: A box blade drags across the top and bridges over the holes. The rake breaks up the packed crust and pulls out grass and weeds, so the stone you already paid for goes back to work.
Grader Blade
Reshapes the drive with a crown, higher in the middle and lower at the edges, so rain runs off both sides instead of sitting in the tire tracks.
Why it matters: The holes come back where the water sits. Federal gravel-roads guidance recommends about half an inch of crown per foot of width, roughly 4%, and Penn State’s Center for Dirt and Gravel Road Studies recommends 4–6%.
Tilt Mount
Lets the blade and rake work at an angle, so a drive that climbs a hill or sits on a side slope gets the same shape as a flat one.
Why it matters: Hillside drives are where water runs fastest and washes the most stone into the lawn.
Tilt Bucket
Cuts drainage along the edges of the drive so the water shed by the crown has somewhere to go.
Why it matters: A crowned drive with nowhere for the water to go still fails at the edges. This is the step that fixes where the water goes.
Roller
Compacts the finished drive as a separate step, in two passes: the base, then the finish.
Why it matters: Loose stone shifts under tires and ruts again. Compaction is the step most jobs skip because it does not change how the drive looks on day one.
How Our Gravel Driveway
Restoration Works
We measure before we quote, fix the reason the drive keeps breaking, and measure again when we are done.
A measured survey of your grade and drainage. $149.
Grade Scan™ — We Measure First
A measured survey of your driveway’s grade and drainage: where the crown has gone flat, where the water runs and where it sits. You see it before you decide anything.
Diagnose — We Show You Why
You get a written report of what is wrong and why it keeps coming back, with a written price for the tier that fixes it. The pothole is usually where the water sits, not where the problem starts.
Fix — The Water First, Then the Surface
We fix where the water goes before we fix the surface: a crown so rain runs off both edges, drainage along the edges where the job needs it, then the existing stone reworked and compacted. Fresh stone only where the old stone is gone.
Measure Again — In Writing
We measure the finished drive and hand you the before and after, with the 90-day workmanship warranty and what it takes to keep the drive that way.
Gravel Driveway Repair
Across Northeast Ohio
GravelBoss serves homeowners and landowners across Northeast Ohio. We specialize in rural and semi-rural properties where gravel driveways are a way of life — not a temporary fix.
Not sure if you're in our service area? Book a Grade Scan and we'll confirm your driveway is in range.
Properties We Serve
- ✓Rural homes and country properties with long gravel driveways
- ✓Private lanes and shared access roads serving multiple homes
- ✓Small farms, hobby farms, and homesteads that need reliable all-weather access
- ✓Drives that see delivery trucks, trailers and tractors every week
- ✓Estate and vacation properties with seasonal maintenance needs
See the Difference
What a GravelBoss job includes, next to what a quick fix usually does.
| Feature | GravelBoss | Local Contractor | DIY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finds where the water goes first | Yes | Rarely | No |
| Reworks the stone already there | Yes | Sometimes | Sometimes |
| Crowned so water runs off both edges | Yes | Sometimes | Rarely |
| Edge drainage where the job needs it | Drive Rebuild | Rarely | No |
| Compaction as its own step | 2 passes | Sometimes | Rarely |
| Measured before and after | Restore & Rebuild | No | No |
| Written price before work | Yes | Sometimes | n/a |
| Written workmanship warranty | 90 days | Rarely | No |
See the Difference
One driveway, photographed by the crew from the same spot before and after the work.
A GravelBoss job, July 2026. Late morning, the centre of the drive was worn down, with bare patches showing through thin, mixed stone and leaves across the surface. By mid-afternoon the same day it was covered edge to edge in fresh, even stone. Both photos were taken from the same spot. See more real jobs →
Gravel Driveway FAQs
You can, but the holes come back where the water sits, because new stone follows the old shape. Most driveways don't need more stone. They need the stone that is already there brought back up, put in the right place with a crown that sheds water, and compacted. That is Drive Restore, our most popular tier, and it usually adds no new stone.
Drive Rake starts at $1,050 (including the $300 equipment setup fee). Drive Restore starts at $1,500 (including the $300 equipment setup fee), and Drive Rebuild at $2,800 (including the $300 equipment setup fee). Longer driveways cost more: length, width, condition and slope set the price, and you get it in writing before any work starts.
GravelBoss is insured; a certificate of insurance is available on request.
A box blade can smooth the top, and for a while it looks fine. What it can't easily do is fix where the water goes: rebuild the crown, cut drainage along the edges, and compact the stone as its own step. If the water still sits in the same places, the potholes come back in the same places.
A $149 measured survey of your driveway's grade and drainage: where the crown has gone flat, where water runs and where it sits. It tells you why the drive keeps breaking before you pay for a fix.
Ready to Fix It Right?
Book a Grade Scan so GravelBoss can diagnose the grade, drainage, and right repair tier. Or call us and we'll walk you through it.
Get Your Grade Scan
Tell us where your driveway is. We measure the grade, find where the water goes, and show you the fix and the price before any stone moves.
- ✓ A measured survey of your grade and drainage
- ✓ Crown and drainage issues mapped first
- ✓ Written price before work begins
- ✓ Priced by the job, not by the hour
- ✓ 90-day workmanship warranty on every tier
Where's Your Driveway?
We'll look up your property to see if we already have info on file.