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Is your driveway looking tired and old? Maybe you haven’t got a good driveway and need one for your car? If so, you are in the right place.
At here, we’re going to look through what affects concrete driveway cost, what are the benefits. If you already have one, lets have a quick look at should it be repaired or not.
Naturally, no one can tell how much does a concrete driveway cost without seeing or knowing the size and place of the project, but we can estimate some averages and what affects the price tag.
Concrete driveways are a good addition to any home. There are also a lot of properties that have a functional driveway created with concrete as you might have noticed already.
Not only are these needed for cars, but concrete driveways can add value to your property and can also be a trendy style feature. Curb appeal seems to be a thing these days, you can read about it here if it interests you.
Now first, lets have a look why we would want concrete driveway before we go to the cost.
Benefits of Concrete Driveways
Durability
Driveways are used very often so need to withstand heavy use. For your driveway to last it needs to be durable. Concrete driveways will stand the test of time and can last over 20-30 years depending on the place.
If you keep your driveway in the best condition and maintain it properly it could last for up to 50 years. This makes a concrete driveway a brilliant investment.
Concrete drives are especially beneficial to hot climates as the concrete remains quite cool in high temperatures.
Style
The traditional concrete driveway is smooth, grey and flat. This neutral design suits any home especially properties with a modern look.
However, if you wanted to give your home a stylish edge you could use decorative concrete. On this website, there is plenty of posts about design options and colors available to everyone interested.
You can bring your own unique style to your home. There are also options such as stamped concrete driveways where your driveway can look like stones and bricks. Concrete driveways also add value to your home if you sell it.
Easy Maintenance
Concrete driveways are easily maintained. Just by cleaning with a brush or washing with a hose, you can keep your driveway looking good for decades.
If you want to step up your maintenance game, you can apply a sealer for decorative surfaces to protect the color and decorative details.
Cost of concrete driveway
Installing a residential concrete driveway offers homeowners a chance to make a dramatic change to their house’s curb appeal through structural landscaping as well as permanently enhance the value of the property with the addition.
Concrete is an extremely durable material and a driveway constructed with it can last 20 to 30 years or more with little maintenance expense, making it a very cost-effective plan over the life of the property.
Concrete driveway cost is determined by multiple factors and even by the area in which the home is located. Read on to understand all the steps and charges involved.
Preparation
Building a concrete driveway requires site preparation work such as removal of the old driveway’s materials or other ground, then laying down a gravel base, and compacting it (or the subgrade) for uniformity of depth across its width and down its length.
Making the forms
Pouring forms constructed of lumber are built and measured for maintaining the correct elevation then matched to the levels of existing sidewalks or garage/carport slabs that will attach to the driveway.
Isolation joints are installed at these points and expansion joints are provided down the driveway’s length. All work must conform to the specifications of ASTM C94 for driveways.
Pouring and finishing
Pouring and finishing the concrete is labor-intensive and takes time to do properly. The quality of the materials used, especially the concrete mix, is important to the ultimate quality of the driveway, as is the workmanship of any contractors hired.
The prices of all these steps have to be included when figuring concrete driveway cost. The project costs more as it becomes more labor intensive.
Cost of concrete
In addition to the fees of the workmen and the cost of the building supplies used during the preparation stage, the cost of concrete must be figured and added.
Concrete is measured by the square foot and the overall project square footage is determined by multiplying the length by the width of the driveway. The project square footage may then be multiplied by the cost per square foot of the concrete.
This usually ranges from $3 to $10 averaging somewhere on $6 on concrete slabs. Concrete is less expensive than pavers, bricks, or cobblestones but more expensive than gravel, generic stone, and asphalt.
Considering the easy maintenance and longevity of concrete will clearly demonstrate how reasonable the concrete driveway cost is in return for the permanent enhancement of the property.
Driveways can be simple, with a very traditional surface that is broom-textured by hand. They can also be so elaborate and beautiful that they actually have the status of being a new design element in the overall architecture of the home.
Wide varieties of textures, colors, and patterns are now available for aesthetically enhancing a driveway’s appearance. Adding color and texture to the concrete poured may run as much as $5 to $25 per square foot.
Decorative stamping adds another $8-12 per square foot. It is important that the builder and homeowner research the costs of any particular design materials they plan to incorporate to figure the true concrete driveway cost.
Ask for quotes and compare results
Now we all know that prices can change a lot from place to place. To get the best, you need to contact contractors if you outsource the work or concrete deliverers if you’re doing the job yourself.
Obtain project cost quotes from several recommended contractors and ask that they break their costs down by those for materials and those for labor. Compare the estimates to make a final contractor selection.
There are many handy online driveway cost estimating tools that can be used to figure the cost of a residential driveway. You can also check some concrete math from here if you like counting yourself. Once you know how much you need, it’s easy to calculate the price.
Start with figuring the basic cost of just forming and installing a plain concrete drive then add special touches of color, texture, and other variables as the budget will allow. Develop the best budget the homeowner can reasonably afford and this investment will provide a wonderful return for many years.
Should I repair my concrete driveway?
Now you might be owner of a concrete driveway already and thinking between replacing or repairing.
Homeowners have differing levels of problems with their concrete driveways. Some concrete driveways have large cracks, while others are uneven. These homeowners have similar questions, such as “Do I need to replace my whole driveway?” and “Can my driveway be repaired?”
No matter what the question is, most people are looking for the same information. They want to know if their concrete driveway is beyond repair, or if there is a simpler solution than replacing the whole driveway.
I really can’t address your specific driveway here because every driveway requires a different repair for damage, settling, or wear and tear. What I can do is drop a few tutorials and let you see yourself can be done on your driveway or not.
Small cracks are usually easy take care of and other damage as well that doesn’t involve serious structural damage.
You can check the following list to see if you need to repair or replace your home’s concrete driveway.
How to know what repairs your driveway needs
If your driveway has minor crack and joint issues, you may need to seal the exposed cracks in your driveway.
Joint and crack sealing is crucial because these small issues can create larger problems over time, including weakness in your foundation, spalling of your joints, and overall damage.
If the concrete of your patio or steps needs to be salvaged because it has settled or shifted, you might need concrete lifting. Mudjacking and polyjacking are two options used to repair residential and commercial concrete.
Sometimes concrete driveways have rough and uneven patches that can trip people or lead to water drainage problems, in addition to being unattractive. To level out these uneven surfaces, we use concrete grinding.
Conclusion
Concrete driveways can be on the lower cost side of adding more curb appeal to your property. Like always, it depends on you and what you want for your property.
Basic concrete driveway is cheap to achieve. Having it decorated will naturally cost more.
If you can do some of these things yourself, it will naturally make for an even cheaper option. If you have worked with concrete before, concrete stencils and coloring the concrete might not be hard for you.
Same goes for polishing and staining naturally which both are stylish ways to decorate.
