Concrete Driveway & Patio Installation FAQ

In Metro Detroit a new broom-finished driveway typically runs $12–$15 per square foot installed, so a two-car driveway of about 600 square feet lands around $7,200–$9,000, or $7,800–$10,800 when an old one has to come out first. Stamped finishes, extra thickness for trucks and base work for wet clay add to it. That’s why every estimate is free and on site: we measure, look at the ground and drainage, and give you a clear, no-pressure quote before any work begins.

No. Every estimate is free, on site and no-pressure: we visit, measure and listen, then give you a clear price in writing before any work begins. Book a time online or call (734) 720-9815.

Removal and haul-away of the old slab, how much soft soil comes out and how much compacted base goes back, the slab thickness, the reinforcement, the finish, where the control joints go, sealing, cleanup and who pulls the permits. A total with no detail behind it is hard to compare, and the missing line is usually the base.

Mostly because of what goes under the slab. A low bid often pours a thin slab straight onto wet clay with little or no compacted base, and on Wayne County’s lake-plain clay that slab heaves, settles and cracks within a few winters. Put quotes side by side on base depth, thickness, reinforcement and tear-out before you compare the totals.

Yes. You can prequalify for flexible financing in minutes, and checking your options won’t affect your credit score.

Stamped concrete gives you the look of stone or brick in one solid slab, with no pavers to heave in winter and no weeds between them. It needs resealing every few years to keep the color rich. For most Metro Detroit yards it’s the lower-maintenance choice.

Four inches is standard for patios, walks and a driveway that sees cars; five or six where trucks, trailers or an RV park. The approach at the street is often set by the road authority: Livonia’s standard detail and the Road Commission for Oakland County both call for six inches of concrete there. Thickness only pays off on a compacted base, so ask about both.

Rebar set on chairs at mid-depth holds cracks tight and keeps neighboring panels level, which matters most where cars and trucks drive. Wire mesh tends to get stepped down to the bottom of the slab during the pour, where it does little. Fiber in the mix cuts surface shrinkage cracking, but it isn’t a substitute for steel under a driveway.

Only over a slab that is sound, level and well drained, and only where the extra height still works at the garage, the doors and the street. If sections have sunk, heaved or broken up, the base under them has failed, and a new layer on top cracks along the same lines within a winter or two. Then replacing it is the better use of the money.

Michigan’s licensing department, LARA, licenses residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors, and concrete is one of the M&A trades; the trades a contractor is qualified for are listed on the license. You can look up any license on LARA’s online search. Many cities also make contractors register their license before a permit is issued; Canton Township does for flatwork.

Late spring through early fall gives the most reliable results, and those months book up first. We can pour into late fall with cold-weather precautions, but never on frozen ground. If the weather makes a pour risky, we’d rather move the date than compromise your slab.

All concrete shrinks as it cures, so some hairline cracking is normal. What we control is where it happens and how much: control joints placed where the slab should crack, reinforcement to keep cracks tight, and a compacted base so the slab doesn’t move.

Freeze-thaw and road salt. Water soaks into the top of the slab, freezes and expands over and over each winter, and the salt brine dripping off cars speeds it up, so the surface scales off in flakes and pits. Air-entrained concrete, proper curing, a sealer before the first winter and no salt that first season are the defense.

When water trapped in the ground under a slab freezes, it expands and lifts the concrete; when it thaws, the softened soil lets the slab settle back unevenly. Slow-draining clay, like the lake-plain clay under most of Wayne County, holds the most water, which is why so many driveways here tip, crack and hold puddles. The fix is underneath: soft clay out, compacted aggregate in, and the grade set so water runs away.

21AA is a Michigan Department of Transportation grade of dense-graded aggregate: crushed aggregate in an even mix of sizes, coarse to fine, that compacts into a tight, stable layer. MDOT puts aggregate base under roads to spread the load and help the ground resist settling, moisture damage and frost heave, and it does the same job under a driveway once the soft clay comes out.

Usually, in some form. Michigan’s residential code doesn’t require a building permit for a driveway or sidewalk on grade, but the approach, curb cut and public sidewalk in the right-of-way need a permit from the city, or from the county road agency on a county road, and many cities also issue a zoning or flatwork permit for driveways and patios, with an inspection before the pour. We’ll tell you which applies before we start. If you have an HOA, its approval is a separate step.

Whoever does the digging. Michigan’s MISS DIG law (Public Act 174 of 2013) requires the excavator to notify MISS DIG 811 at least 72 hours before digging, counting only 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on business days, so about three business days, and no more than 14 calendar days ahead. When you hire a contractor, the contractor files the ticket. Utilities mark their lines with paint or flags, anyone digging within 4 feet of a mark must expose the line by hand, and private lines such as sprinkler pipes or power to a garage aren’t marked, so tell us where they run.

Yes. Many subdivisions, especially in Canton, Novi and Farmington Hills, have rules on driveway width and finish, and some communities want the HOA’s approval before they issue a permit; Canton Township requires it. We prepare the dimensions and finish details the review asks for and build to its rules.

Most residential driveways and patios take a couple of days on site: tear-out and prep, then the pour and finishing. Curing continues after we leave. We’ll give you the schedule up front.

Not for the whole job, but it helps to be reachable. The crew needs clear access for the concrete truck, cars moved out of the work area and the garage, and a plan for pets and sprinkler lines. We go over it before the start date, and we walk the finished job with you at the end.

A pour doesn’t go ahead into heavy rain: if the forecast makes it risky, we’d rather move the date than compromise your slab. Light rain after the surface is finished does little harm, and a fresh slab can be covered with plastic if a storm passes through while it sets.

A loaded ready-mix truck is heavy enough to crack an old driveway or rut a wet lawn, so its route is part of planning the job. Where it can’t reach the forms safely, the concrete is pumped or wheeled in instead.

Yes. SC Concrete Services is a family-owned, licensed and fully insured concrete contractor serving Wayne, Oakland and Washtenaw County.

Yes. We pour parking areas, approaches, pads and walks for businesses, landlords and property managers across Wayne, Oakland and Washtenaw County.

You can usually walk on it after a day or two and drive a car on it after about a week. Keep heavy trucks off until it has fully cured. We’ll go over the timing for your project at the final walkthrough.

Not during its first winter. Rock salt and other de-icers attack young concrete and cause flaking. Use sand for traction that first season, keep it sealed, and reseal every few years. Salt dripping off your car is the biggest threat to a Michigan driveway.

Yes, in Michigan. A penetrating sealer keeps water and salt brine out of the surface, and those are what flake and pit it over the winter. Seal before the first winter and again every two to three years; professional sealing typically runs $1.35–$2.50 per square foot.

Blot fresh oil right away, cover it with an absorbent like cat litter, then scrub with a concrete degreaser; old stains can take a poultice and more than one round. Rust marks from fertilizer or furniture need a rust remover made for concrete, not bleach. Sealed concrete holds stains at the surface, where they come off far more easily.

Thirty years or more when it’s built on a compacted base, with joints in the right places, water running away from it and a sealer every few years. Driveways that fail early here were usually poured thin onto wet clay or salted in their first winter.

Use a plastic shovel or a blade with a rubber or poly edge, and keep a plow blade just off the surface so it doesn’t gouge the slab or chip the joints. Clear snow before it packs down, use sand for traction the first winter, and keep snow piles off the edges, where meltwater soaks in and refreezes.

Hairline cracks and light surface wear can often be sealed and left for years. If sections have sunk, lifted, tipped toward the garage or broken into pieces, the base underneath has failed, and a patch on top only lasts a winter or two. We build new and replacement driveways, and the 30-second check on our home page shows which signs point to replacement.

Sometimes. Slab lifting, by mudjacking or foam, can raise a section that sank in one piece and is otherwise sound. It won’t fix concrete that is broken up, heaved by frost or tipping because water runs under it; those need the base rebuilt, which means taking the slab out.

Sections that rock or sound hollow when you step on them, have sunk below their neighbors or tip toward the garage are the signs, and so is water standing in the same spots after every storm. Cracks that open wider each spring point the same way.