A driveway is the biggest slab on the property
Tear out the old one, fix the base, pour the new one at a thickness that holds a truck. Charlotte, Indian Trail, Waxhaw and Rock Hill.
What actually cracks a driveway
Almost every failed driveway in this part of the piedmont failed underneath, not on top. Charlotte sits on red clay, and clay moves. It swells when it takes water and it shrinks back when it dries out. A slab poured straight onto disturbed clay with no compaction is riding on something that changes shape twice a year.
The other half is thickness. Four inches is the residential standard and it is fine for cars. It is not fine for the delivery truck that turns around on it, the RV that parks on it every weekend, or the concrete truck that came to pour your addition. Where the load is heavier the slab goes to five or six inches and the base gets more attention, not less.
One of the reviews on our Google profile puts it plainly: we did not skimp on material thickness. That is the whole game. Everything you can see on a driveway is decided by what went in before the concrete arrived.
Taking the old one out
A replacement starts with demolition. The old slab gets broken up and hauled off, and that is the point where you find out what you are actually dealing with: how deep the failure went, whether the base was ever compacted, whether there is a drainage problem nobody addressed.
It is also the messiest part of the job, and it is worth asking any contractor what happens to the debris. A review on our profile mentions leaving no mess behind on a shop pad. Same standard on a driveway. The broken concrete goes on a truck, not into a pile beside your fence for two weeks.
Grade, base and forms
The subgrade gets cut to depth, compacted, and shaped so water runs off the slab and away from the house rather than pooling on it or against a foundation. On a sloped lot that shaping is most of the skill. A customer on our profile described exactly that on a two property job: grading done well on a sloped lot, wet areas identified, runoff planned so the work would last and the ground would not erode out from under it.
Then forms go up, the grade gets checked again, and reinforcement goes in. Wire mesh or rebar depending on the slab, held up off the ground so it sits in the concrete rather than lying on the dirt doing nothing.
The pour, the finish and the joints
Concrete for an exterior slab in North Carolina is normally a 3,000 to 4,000 PSI mix, air entrained so it survives freeze and thaw. On a job that needs more, it gets more. Another review describes us pouring to spec with a higher strength mix because that is what the walkways in question called for.
Driveways get a broom finish. It is not a style choice. A smooth trowelled exterior slab is a skating rink the first time it rains, and a broom finish gives you traction for the life of the slab.
Control joints get cut on a grid, roughly two and a half times the slab thickness in feet, so a four inch slab gets joints about ten feet apart. Concrete is going to crack as it cures and shrinks. Joints decide where. Cut them late or space them wrong and it cracks where it wants to instead.
How long before you can drive on it
Walk on it after 24 to 48 hours. Cars after seven days. Anything heavy, a loaded truck or an RV, after 28 days, because that is when the mix has reached its rated strength.
Those are not our rules and they are not padding. Concrete gains strength on a curve, and driving a heavy vehicle onto a slab in week one is how you put cracks into something that would otherwise have lasted thirty years.
Not sure this is the work you need?
What 21 homeowners said
Every quote below is a real review, word for word, from our Google profile.
At the recommendation of our neighbor we used Ivan and company @ I.V Concrete Services to have a much needed driveway installed. The guys were on time, maintained an open line of communication with us throughout the process and did an absolutely phenomenal job. This is by far the best looking concrete work I have ever had done.
I am very happy with the work that IV Concrete services provided. They were able to complete a massive driveway within only 2 days. Very good finish and didn't skimp out on material thickness. Ivan is great to work with. Very reasonable prices for the work provided.
They did a fantastic job to help decide on the right solution for two walkways that are at declines at different heights. They then poured the concrete the way it was specified with the higher strength concrete mix. Grading was done very well on a sloped lot and areas of water were identified for the right runoff to ensure longevity and mitigate any erosion. Price was very competitive over other bids.
They arrived on time, communicated clearly about the process, and took the time to understand exactly what I wanted. The quality of their work exceeded my expectations. The concrete was smooth, perfectly poured, and looks fantastic. Not only was the job completed quickly, but the attention to detail really stood out.
Hired IV Concrete to do a pad for a shop. Awesome work, great finish, great job overall. Left no mess behind, extremely clean job. Ivan is a pleasure to work with. Cant wait to work with him again in the future!
If you need concrete work done, this gentleman did what he said for the price we agreed and completed job on time. Owner is a perfectionist as well as honest and humble.
Think you have a problem up there? We will look at it, free.
Four inches covers normal car traffic. Five or six inches where trucks, RVs or trailers use it regularly. We will tell you which one your driveway needs when we look at it, and the thickness goes on the written estimate so you can hold us to it.
Often yes, and it is cheaper than a full replacement. The new section is tied to the old one and jointed where they meet. Whether it is worth doing depends on the condition of what you already have, which is what the free onsite estimate is for.
Demolition, grading and forming is normally a day or two, then the pour, then curing. One customer on our Google profile describes a large driveway finished in two days. Yours depends on its size and what is under it, and we will tell you before we start rather than after.
Concrete cracks. That is what it does as it cures and shrinks. The job of the contractor is to control where, with a compacted base, the right thickness, reinforcement, and control joints cut on the right spacing at the right time. A driveway with no visible cracking after ten years is a driveway where those four things were done properly.
We photograph the work and show you. If concrete driveways is not what you actually need, we say so and quote the work that is.
We cover concrete driveways, patios and stamped concrete, slabs and foundations, sidewalks and walkways, concrete repairs and leveling and concrete cutting and removal. Every one of them has its own page with what is included.
Get a free onsite estimate.
Tell us what you need poured. We come out, look at the ground, and give you a real number.