[Nebraska]

My personal driveway...only 6 years old needs to be replaced.

I know very little about concrete...other than it cracks. And mine has "canyons" 2" wide and 2" deep. If I remember I'll get a picture...

First concrete company has told me that I have a patio mix - 6 bag mix

We have 713 SF that needs to torn out.

Recycled concrete put in as a base. Compacted.

193 SF new area excavated.

Recycled concrete put in as a base. Compacted.

4" of 6 1/2 bag concrete mix poured, finished, troweled.

3 expansion joints: 1 at street, 1 8 feet from street, 1 at garage / driveway.

First estimate $4650. We're in the Great Plains.

[Nebraska]

Here are the pics:

[landguy]

I don't know about nebraska, but in michigan concrete goes for roughly 3 dollars a sq.ft. Excavation is extra. We only put expansion joints where the driveway meets the garage. The rest is saw cut 1 1/2 inches deep. All concrete will crack The secret is to allow it to crack in a controlled area. You actually want it to crack in the saw cut so it doesn't crack on the surface.

I wouldn't guess excavation to be more than 1500 including preping the new area.
and concrete finished for 2750. For a total of 4250 so the guy is in the ballpark. get so more quotes and let us know.

[landguy]

The top came of of that. Sometimes you can actually over work concrete. once it's poured keep it well watered for 1 week to allow it to dry slowly and evenly. Good Luck.

[Barry]

I have a little bit of that happening (nowhere NEAR as bad as you have) where the tire of my truck rests in my driveway. I am also in Nebraska. I have been told ( by concrete contractor friends) that there are numerous reasons for this happening and they are on a case by case basis. Mine was because of lack of compaction over buried utilities under my drive. Most concrete contractors I have seen here don't even bother with compaction, they form and pour.

[Nebraska]

I'm a good read of folks and this guy knows concrete.... he's been doing it for 23 years. This contractor knows concrete like I know turf....it was fun to watch him look and think.

I have one more coming out Friday.....and I know he's not as experienced.

I guess this is what you get from new construction even when family does it for you!

His cash price is 15% less.! I only give 5%

In a way it was fun to be on the other side where someone is giving me the estimate. I'm too often giving the estimate and watching the reaction. Talk about stone cold! That was me. But is was really fun and gives a different perspective.

The expansion joints...he pointed it out. My drive is the only one in view that does not have three.....someone must know something.

He also verified my suspicion in that he does not believe it's even 4" thick (although not certain, he suspects). In addition he verified what my brother, owner of a mudjacking company, said in that it's a weak mix. Without even saying anything he picked up a piece of the spalling concrete and said that it's a "patio mix" or "6 bag". His estimate includes fiber in the 6.5 bag mix.

Same here with new construction concrete...they pour in any weather, on top of anything, including mud and snow. The irony is that the builder, my father in law, had his most recent driveway laid over 4" of compacted 3/4 minus crushed limestone....after 3 months....re-bar and mesh included. Makes you wonder

I have considered paving it....yet the plan is to move in 2-3 years and I'd be the only one in the neighborhood with pavers.

[Barry]

I hear you on "the only one in the neighborhood". I want to do mine just because it would be just that.

[GLAN]

Originally posted by landguy
I don't know about nebraska, but in michigan concrete goes for roughly 3 dollars a sq.ft. Excavation is extra. We only put expansion joints where the driveway meets the garage. The rest is saw cut 1 1/2 inches deep. All concrete will crack The secret is to allow it to crack in a controlled area. You actually want it to crack in the saw cut so it doesn't crack on the surface.

I wouldn't guess excavation to be more than 1500 including preping the new area.
and concrete finished for 2750. For a total of 4250 so the guy is in the ballpark. get so more quotes and let us know.

I'm not to sure about saw cutting being the only solution. My concrete driveway that I had put in......I dunno 8 years ago or so......Does not have any cracks at all........It's a 4 car driveway that is divided into 8 squares from the garage to the sidewalk and each square has expansion joints and wire.

[Stonehenge]

Around here both concrete and asphalt are going way up in price - talking to a large local asphalt company, their materials price has or will go up 2.5 X what it was last fall. Pretty soon, pavers may start looking like a viable option compared to concrete or asphalt.

(Re: $3/sqft for concrete - you can't find that price around here anywhere anymore.)

[Dragonfly]

I was getting $3 a sq 6years ago. I now get a MINIMUM oof $8 a sq and that is for 1,000 sq ft. Rebar,form, finish. No demo. Demo at $2 sq no rebar. And it keeps going up !!!!!

[Barry]

Is there anything in Southern California that isn't going up? Most of the contractors in this area are in the $4 range without tear out.