Asphalt driveway "birdbaths"?

Question

I am in a newly constructed home, and have a 1.5 year old driveway. Shortly after the driveway was completed, we started getting "birdbaths" (small depressions that collect water). Every time a car parked for a few hours, we'd have four new depressions. This slowed in the winter, but picked back up again this summer. The builder says this is normal, but after surveying other neighbors driveways from the same builder, I don't see anybody else with similar problems.

So my question is: Is this actually normal?

Answer 1

Often this is because of a non stable base, or the thickness was not enough. Anything less than 2.5 inches will do this in the summer. For heavy traffic it is best with a minimum of 4 inches.

Answer 2

No, not normal, the asphalt is settling under the weight of the tires, Heat makes it more malleable so you would get more movement during the summer.

Easy fix is to have the Builder re roll the drive way with a steam roller. This will hopefully compress the strata so it "locks" and resist movement better. the hotter the day the better, have them shoot for an afternoon to evening time frame to take advantage of the solar heat gain.

Luck