Concrete Driveway Replacement in Westland, MI
Driveway Replacement
Tear out the old one. Pour one that lasts.
When a driveway has sunk, tipped toward the garage or broken into pieces, the problem is underneath it, and patching on top won’t hold. We remove the old concrete, fix the base that failed, and pour a new driveway built to outlast the first one.
Typical price$13–$18 / sq ft with tear-outinstalled in Metro Detroit · cost guide →
What we build
Driveway Replacement, start to finish
- Full tear-out and haul-away
- Base rebuilt with compacted 21AA aggregate
- New driveway, same footprint or wider
- Garage aprons and approaches
- Asphalt-to-concrete conversions
Key considerations
What goes into it
- 01Why the old driveway failed
- 02Soft soil removed, not covered
- 03Slope corrected away from the garage
- 04Clean tie-in at the garage and street
- 05Permit for the approach where required
Because Michigan weather is hard on concrete, we put the most care into the parts you can’t see: proper sub-base, reinforcement, and curing that make your concrete last.
What’s under the surface
A Michigan driveway, in cross-section
Not to scale · slope exaggerated
1Wet clay freezes and heaves in winter, then softens and settles in spring, moving whatever sits on top of it.
2Soft clay comes out and compacted 21AA aggregate goes in, so the slab sits on something that stays put.
3Rebar on chairs at mid-depth keeps any cracks that do form tight and level.
4An air-entrained mix survives freeze-thaw, and control joints decide where the slab cracks.
5The slab slopes away from the house, with an isolation joint where it meets the foundation.
How it runs
Estimate to final walkthrough
- 1Free estimate and a look at why it failed
- 2Clear quote with honest pricing
- 3Tear-out, base rebuild, forms and pour
- 4Cure, clean up and final walkthrough
Finish options
Straightforward or decorative
Broom finish
Fine ridges for traction on snow and ice. The standard for driveways.
Stamped
Patterned and colored to look like stone, slate or brick.
Exposed aggregate
The surface washed back to show the stone. Grippy and hides wear well.
Integral color
Color mixed through the whole slab, so chips don’t show grey.
Decorative borders
A contrasting band that frames a driveway or patio.
Sealed
Sealer before the first winter to resist water and road salt.
Where you live changes the job
A driveway on lake-plain clay is a different job than one on sandy outwash
Metro Detroit sits on three kinds of ground, and each one changes how we prepare the base, reinforce the slab and handle water. Your community page has the specifics.
Lake-plain clay
Dig out the soft clay, replace it with compacted 21AA aggregate base, and set the slope so water runs off the slab and away from the house.
Rolling glacial till
Proof-roll the subgrade to find soft spots, replace them, build a thicker compacted base, and plan the grade so runoff is carried around the slab.
Sandy outwash
Compaction done in lifts, a full-depth aggregate base, and a thicker section anywhere a truck, trailer or RV will park.
Questions and answers
Driveway Replacement: what people ask us
Replacing a driveway typically runs $13–$18 per square foot, including breaking out and hauling away the old slab, which on its own accounts for about $1–$3 of that. A two-car driveway of about 600 square feet is usually $7,800–$10,800. Rebuilding a failed base, a thicker approach at the street and the permit for it move the number.
Two things work together. The soil beside the foundation was dug out and backfilled when the house was built, and it keeps settling; and on flat, slow-draining clay, roof and driveway water soaks in right there, so frost heave and settling are worst at the garage. Replacing those sections on a compacted base, sloped away from the garage, fixes the cause.
Yes, asphalt-to-concrete conversions are part of our replacement work. The asphalt and its old base come out, soft spots in the subgrade are dug out and rebuilt with compacted 21AA, and the new slab is set to drain away from the house. The approach at the street usually gets replaced too, under the city’s or the county’s permit.
Yes, and it’s the cheapest time to do it, since the crew, the forms and the truck are already there. Widening at the street usually means a wider curb cut and approach, which the road authority has to approve, and city zoning and HOA rules can cap the width, so we check those first.
Often, yes. The approach at the street and the apron at the garage usually fail first, and they can be cut out at the joints and repoured on a rebuilt base; replacing an approach typically runs $1,500–$3,500, plus the permit. New concrete won’t match the old color at first, so if more of the driveway is close to failing, doing it all at once saves a second visit.
Yes. After we break out the old slab, we look at what's underneath and remove anything soft or muddy. Then we build back up with compacted 21AA in lifts before the new pour.
We load it up and haul it away, usually to a recycler that crushes it for reuse. You won't be left with a pile in the yard. Removal is part of the written quote.
We set the new grade to meet the garage, the walk and the street, and that can change the height at the edges. Once the forms come off, we backfill along the sides with topsoil. You can seed it or lay sod from there.
It does. The crew is already set up, the trucks are coming anyway and the two pieces can be graded together. Doing both in one visit often costs less than splitting them across two seasons.
We saw-cut the old slab where it meets the garage and the walk, so the break stays on our side of the line. Careful breaking keeps the vibration local. We'll point out anything already damaged before we start.
Typical prices for every kind of project are in the Metro Detroit concrete cost guide, and general questions are on the FAQ page.
More ways to improve your property
Explore our concrete services
Concrete DrivewaysDurable, great-looking driveways built to handle Michigan freeze-thaw.Driveway ExtensionsRoom for one more car, without the patchwork look.Concrete PatiosCustom patios that extend your living space and lift your curb appeal.Stamped ConcreteDecorative patterns and textures that mimic stone, brick and slate.Exposed Aggregate & DecorativeA finish with texture, grip and character.Commercial ConcreteReliable flat work for businesses and property managers.
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