How to lay cold asphalt
Updated: October 2026
You are standing over a hole in otherwise sound tarmac, a bag from amazon.co.uk beside you, and you want the fill to stay put. How to lay cold asphalt is the order of that work: clear loose stone, leave firm edges, place thin lifts, and compact each one until the patch sits slightly proud. If the base moves under your foot, stop before you open the bag. This follows the EZ Street sheet, Road Note 44, and cold-bag reviews, written on 20 October 2026. The bags in this set are on the [cold asphalt comparison](/hub/flooring/cold-asphalt).
You are standing over a hole in otherwise sound tarmac, a bag from amazon.co.uk beside you, and you want the fill to stay put.
You are standing over a hole in otherwise sound tarmac, a bag from amazon.co.uk beside you, and you want the fill to stay put. How to lay cold asphalt is the order of that work: clear loose stone, leave firm edges, place thin lifts, and compact each one until the patch sits slightly proud. If the base moves under your foot, stop before you open the bag. This follows the EZ Street sheet, Road Note 44, and cold-bag reviews, written on 20 October 2026. The bags in this set are on the cold asphalt comparison.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Tools | Traffic claim | Weather claim | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  EZ Street EZ Street kit, one bag and tamper | Tamper and gloves | Instant claim | All weather | 5.5 | about £54.99 | View offer |
| Best value |  EZ Street EZ Street asphalt, 20 kg bucket | None | After compaction | Wet or dry | 7.0 | about £27.99 | View offer |
 Laeto Laeto cold lay asphalt, 25 kg | None | Immediate | -10°C to 35°C | 8.1 | about £23.99 | View offer |
On this page
Prepare the hole
Sweep until the bottom stays still under a trowel. Dust left in the hole becomes a slip layer, and the new mix slides when a tyre turns on it. Road Note 44 treats ordinary cold mix as temporary and weaker when wet, and its regular method does not leave a puddle in the hole. Follow the bag you bought, because water-setting products are a different class from a standard tub.
Chip the rim back if it crumbles as you brush, until the asphalt stays in one piece. The Paving Experts use a picture-frame cut for Ultracrete. Those depths are for that system, not for Laeto or Greenpatch. A dinner-plate hole in firm tarmac is a short job, while a rim that keeps shedding stone will not take the same fill.
Place it in lifts
Do not tip the whole bag into a deep hole. Put a layer down, compact it, then add the next. The EZ Street sheet limits that brand to lifts of no more than 50 mm, after a cut of about 50 mm and a brush-out of loose material. That depth is not printed on a Laeto or Greenpatch listing.
One bag may not finish a deep hole, so compact the first lift before you open a second. Road Note 44 says premium systems may need a bond coat, while a basic bag often relies on clean edges and compaction. Paint the sides only if your pack says so. A hole about 100 mm deep needs more than one compacted lift, or the soft mix shoves out under a tyre.
Compact and leave a crown
A hand tamper suits a hole you can stand over, including the corners. If your kit includes a tamper, that tool is for one small hole, not a whole bay of drive. A plate compactor suits a wider patch. A car tyre can settle a shallow lift, though it will not match repeated blows.
Leave the patch slightly proud of the old tarmac. The EZ Street sheet asks for that crown and allows traffic after compaction for that product, while a low dish holds water on the joint. Overband only if your bag tells you to. Work in gloves. With no tamper and no plate, check the cold asphalt buying guide before you improvise. A purchase through our links can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
Wet weather, cold bags, and when to stop
Warm a stiff bag indoors before you open it. Do not heat the bag with a flame or on a stove.
The EZ Street guide says that brand can be laid in the rain. Road Note 44 still treats regular cold mix as weaker when wet, and the ordinary method is not a repair in standing water. Unless your bag is a water-setting product, sweep the puddle out.
Laeto's listing includes an immediate-traffic line. Compact first, and drive a car over the patch the same day only when it no longer moves under the tamper. Stop if the base is clay, rubble, or pumping water, or if the edges keep falling in. This method covers a contained hole in sound asphalt on your own property. The cold asphalt driveway page separates that drive from the public road.
Common questions
Do I cut the edges square?
Cut back until the rim stops crumbling, because the new mix needs a firm wall. A squared picture frame is the cut The Paving Experts describe for their Ultracrete system, not a rule for every bag. On sound asphalt, a small chip back to solid tarmac is enough. A neat outline that is still loose fails in the same way as a hole full of grit.
Do I need tack coat?
Use tack coat only if the bag you bought tells you to. Road Note 44 notes that premium systems may need a bond coat, while ordinary cold lay often relies on a clean hole and compaction. If your pack says to paint the sides, do it before the first lift.
How thick is one layer?
There is no single depth for every product here. The EZ Street sheet caps lifts at 50 mm for that brand, and The Paving Experts quote about 45 mm loose, compacted to about 30 mm, for Ultracrete. Neither figure is a Laeto or Greenpatch instruction. Place a lift you can compact, then another, because a deep hole often needs a second bag.
Can I lay cold asphalt in the rain?
Lay in the rain only when that brand's sheet allows it, as the EZ Street guide does for its own mix. Regular cold mix in Road Note 44 is weaker when wet, and the ordinary method does not leave standing water in the hole. Unless your bag is a water-setting product, sweep the puddle out first.
Why is the bag too hard?
Cold stiffens the binder, so a bag from a cold garage or the boot can feel like a solid block. Reviewers warm it indoors and wear gloves before they try to break it up. Give it time at room temperature, then crumble it into the hole. If it stays rigid once warm, do not bake it, because those lumps will not compact into one layer.
Can I drive on it the same day?
Drive on the patch after you have compacted it, not before. Laeto's listing says traffic can use it immediately, and the EZ Street sheet allows traffic once that product is compacted. Reviewers who tamped, or who waited, still want a surface that does not shove or stick to tyres and shoes.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources on highway maintenance, street-works reinstatement and cold-mix classes. Prices and star lines are amazon.co.uk listing figures from 19 October 2026, not a live-price promise.
- Highways Act 1980, section 41 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Highways Act 1980, section 163 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Report a pothole, GOV.UK (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Reinstatement after street works, GOV.UK (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Permanent cold-lay materials, HAUC (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Deferred set mixtures, HAUC (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- Road Note 44, Transport Scotland (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- EZ Street installation guide (retrieved 19 October 2026)
- amazon.co.uk listings, 19 October 2026 (retrieved 19 October 2026)