I've seen many people's driveways that's been repaired and cracked again after a year or two, and I don't want to make that same mistakes.

I have a driveway that has several long cracks, from hairline width to an inch wide with 16 inch deep in some areas.

After googling for about a week on the subject, too many products and too many methods and claims of "lasting repair". I need some guidance from your experience, how you did it, which products you used, and how long has the repair held up.

I'm planning to stain the driveway at the end to hide the repair.

Thanks.

 

Repairing a crack doesn't necessarily stop the slab from moving or settling in the future.... there are reasons why it cracked in the first place. Since the slabs are not stable, that is why repairs will often crack again and again. A repair has a better chance of lasting when the cement is stable. Some types of soil are worse than others and are constantly moving... there are expansive soils that swell when they get wet. Or poor compaction beneath the slab could have led to settling. Erosion is another problem where water actually undermines the concrete causing it to collapse under a load... or under its own weight. A lack of expansion joists can also cause cracks... if there are too few, or the slabs were cut the wrong size or shape, the concrete will tend to crack wherever it pleases. So, having said all that, you will find that all concrete will crack, it's just a matter of when and where. Control joints get their name because you usually want to be able to predict and "control" where those cracks happen. With no pictures we can't really get an idea of what you are seeing.

Needless to say, a 1" wide crack that is 16" deep has more problems than meet the eye... can't even begin to know where to start there.

 

That rarely happens. Stain will make it all the same color but any texture differences will still be there and sometimes the stain will actually highlight the repair. IMO it isn't a great idea to stain driveways because it then becomes a maintenance item.

 

Cement? Don't you mean concrete?

I always enlarge the cracks.