Frequently Asked Questions

Hourly billing is rare for residential flatwork. Jobs are usually quoted as a lump sum built up from square footage. For reference, HomeGuide's concrete driveway cost guide splits an installed price of $6 to $15 per square foot into roughly $3 to $7 of labor and $3 to $8 of materials. Your estimate from us shows one total for the whole job.

People use the phrase for a cheap stand-in for a slab, usually packed gravel or crushed stone, sometimes with dry cement or a binder worked into the top. It can serve as a path or a parking spot, but it is softer, rougher and shorter-lived than real poured concrete, and it ruts and washes out in heavy rain.

Collect two or three written bids and line them up item by item: thickness, depth of stone base, steel, finish, joint layout, sealer and haul-away. Then ask each contractor where the rainwater will go, how the slab will be cured and whether a permit applies. A one-line price with none of that gives you nothing to compare.

For an entrance onto a city street, yes: the City of Suffolk's Department of Public Works uses a Driveway Application. The form carries a $125 non-refundable fee, calls for reinforced concrete pipe at least 15 inches in diameter where a culvert is needed, and requires a call to the Construction Manager 24 hours before work begins. We review your lot against those rules before scheduling.

Winters here are mild, but the average January low is about 31 degrees, so slabs freeze and thaw over and over. Air-entrained concrete, joints spaced to the slab size, a full cure and a sealer on decorative work keep cracking and scaling down. A few hairline cracks are normal; the joints are there so they run where we planned.

Sound concrete with small cracks or a settled panel can often be filled, leveled or resurfaced. HomeGuide's resurfacing and leveling guides suggest replacement when cracks are wider than about a quarter inch, the surface is crumbling or spalling, or the base has failed. We look at the cause and price both options when it is close.

By HomeGuide's driveway guide, walking on it is fine after 24 to 48 hours and a car can go on after 7 days or more. The slab reaches full strength at about 28 to 30 days, so loaded trucks, trailers and campers should wait that long. We write the dates down for your pour.

Four inches over a compacted base is standard for cars and SUVs. For RVs, boats, trailers or work trucks, we recommend 6 inches with steel reinforcement.

If it enters a city street, the City of Suffolk's Department of Public Works takes a Driveway Application with a $125 fee, and a culvert of at least 15-inch reinforced concrete pipe where one is needed. We check what applies to your lot.

HomeGuide's guide says wait at least 7 days for cars and about 28 to 30 days for heavy vehicles. We give you the dates for your pour.

Pouring new concrete over failing concrete usually copies the old cracks into the new surface. If the base is sound and the damage is on the surface, resurfacing can work; otherwise we tear out and start fresh.

Sealing slows down water and salt getting into the surface, which helps with winter freeze-thaw. We wait until the slab has cured, then seal, and suggest resealing every few years.

A table for four with chairs pulled out needs roughly 12 by 12 feet. Add room for a grill, walkways around the furniture and any seating area. We help you mark it out on the ground before you decide.

Four inches over a compacted base is standard. Where a hot tub or heavy outdoor kitchen will sit, we thicken and reinforce that section.

Yes, if the existing slab is sound and level. We dowel the new section to the old one and leave a joint at the seam. The colors will not match exactly.

HomeGuide's stamped concrete patio guide lists paver patios at $10 to $17 per square foot installed and a plain concrete slab at $5 to $10. Concrete costs less and has no gaps for weeds; pavers can be lifted and reset one piece at a time.

The slab itself can last decades like any well-built concrete. The color and sealer need upkeep: HomeGuide recommends resealing every 2 to 3 years to keep the color from fading.

It can be when wet, especially with a high-gloss sealer. We add a slip-resistant grit to the sealer on walkways, steps and pool surrounds.

All concrete can crack. We cut control joints into the pattern, often along grout lines, so cracking stays in planned places, and a good base and cure keep it to a minimum.

HomeGuide's guide puts stamped concrete cure time at 7 to 10 days. Light foot traffic is usually fine after a day or two; we give you the dates.

Not by stamping the old slab directly. A stamped overlay can go over sound concrete; HomeGuide's concrete resurfacing cost guide lists stamped overlays at $7 to $20 per square foot.

Public sidewalks usually sit in the city right-of-way. Responsibility can vary, so we check with the City of Suffolk before we quote work on a public sidewalk, and any work there needs a city permit.

Four feet is comfortable for most homes. Three feet works for a side path; a main entry walk can be wider if the space allows.

Often, yes. A single heaved or sunken panel can be cut out and replaced, or a sound sunken panel can be lifted. HomeGuide lists sidewalk repair at $3 to $8 per square foot.

We remove the damaged panel and look at the root. Cutting large roots can harm a tree, so sometimes rerouting the walk or bridging the root area is the better choice; we talk it through with you.

HomeGuide's slab guide puts a 20 by 20 foot slab at about $2,400 to $4,800 installed, before site work. Thickness, base and access change that number.

Four inches over a compacted gravel base is standard for most sheds. Heavier sheds or workshops with equipment may need thicker edges or reinforcement.

It depends on what goes on it. The City of Suffolk's Community Development Division handles building permits and inspections, and we check with the division for your project before we pour.

At 4 inches thick, one cubic yard covers about 81 square feet. We calculate the order from the slab size and thickness and add a small margin.

Usually, if the cracks are narrow and the slab is still level. Wide cracks, panels at different heights or a crumbling surface usually call for replacing those sections.

That is scaling, and it usually comes from water freezing in the surface, especially on concrete that was not air-entrained, was overworked when finished, or got salt in its first winter. A resurfacing overlay can fix it if the slab underneath is sound.

Both lift sunken slabs. HomeGuide lists mudjacking at $4 to $9 per square foot and polyjacking at $8 to $25. Foam uses smaller holes and weighs less; slurry costs less. We suggest the one that fits the slab.

HomeGuide says resurfacing lasts 8 to 15 years and leveling 5 to 10 years or more. Fixing the drainage that caused the damage makes the biggest difference.