Independent homeowner platform
Helping homeowners decide: concrete leveling, repair, resurfacing or replacement.
Understand whether your concrete needs leveling, repair, resurfacing or replacement — and know what to ask before choosing a contractor.
Both tools are free and need no contact details. ConcreteOwner is not a concrete contractor — we publish guidance and, in 18 metro areas, pass homeowner requests to independent local contractors. Find local concrete help →
Repair, level, resurface or replace?
This is the question underneath almost every concrete problem, and it has a real answer. The trap is that each option assumes something different about what is wrong — so the contractor who specialises in one will often, in complete good faith, recommend that one. If a slab has dropped but is otherwise sound, concrete leveling is usually the first option worth pricing.
Level it
The slab is sound but sits too low. Lifting fills the space underneath and raises it, without demolishing concrete that still works.
When it has moved, not failed.Repair it
The damage is contained and the rest is holding up. A targeted repair can be reasonable — provided whatever caused it has stopped.
When the problem is local and stable.Resurface it
The structure is fine and the top has worn out. A new wearing surface can transform an area — but it cannot correct movement.
When only the surface has failed.Replace it
The concrete itself is finished. Replacement is the only option that resets the base and lets you change thickness, slope or layout.
When repair is money spent twice.Start from what you can see
Almost every residential concrete problem is one of three things: it has moved, the surface has deteriorated, or it has cracked. Find what you are looking at.
- Sunken concrete
- Cracked concrete
- Uneven concrete
- Spalling concrete
- Concrete settlement
- Voids under concrete
- Poor drainage around concrete
- Flaking and scaling
- Trip hazards
See all common concrete problems →
Not sure which of those you are looking at? The Concrete Decision Center starts from what you can actually observe and works outward to what a professional would check.
Or start from what you own
Driveways
The heaviest-loaded flatwork most homes have, and the most expensive to get wrong.
Patios
Lightly loaded, highly visible — where appearance often drives the decision.
Walkways
Narrow, frequently walked, and the place trip hazards actually cause falls.
Steps
Where movement stops being cosmetic — uneven risers are a fall risk first.
Garage floors
Interior slab, exterior abuse — coatings, cracks and the threshold step.
Pool decks
Constant water, bare feet, and settlement that matters more than it looks.
Sidewalks
The public-facing strip — where responsibility for repairs is not always yours.
Residential slabs
Shed bases, porches, AC pads and other flatwork that does not fit a category.
Two tools that do real work
Repair or replace?
Ten questions about what you can actually see. You get a reasoned result, the reasoning behind it, what would change the answer, and the questions to put to a contractor. It also tells you which options your answers rule out, and why.
Start the assessment →2Crack severity assessment
Reading what a crack is doing matters far more than how wide it is. Seven questions, calm and non-alarmist guidance, and a monitoring method that costs nothing and answers the question that actually decides things.
Assess a crack →3Project cost planner
Where your project sits relative to other residential concrete work, and which factors will actually move the quotes you collect. No dollar figures — because we have no verified cost source, and an invented range is worse than none.
Plan a project →Already holding a proposal? Three more tools work on the estimate itself rather than the concrete: decode one estimate, compare two or three by scope , or keep a project record you can print for a site visit. Everything you type stays in your own browser.
What these tools are not. They are educational decision support. Neither is an engineering determination, a structural inspection or a safety assessment, and neither can tell you whether anything is safe to walk or drive on. Both work only from what you can see from above — and the base, the drainage and the reinforcement usually decide the answer.
Or understand why it failed
Almost every residential concrete failure comes back to water — in the concrete, in the ground, or moving the ground. Knowing which one you are looking at is what stops you buying the wrong fix.
Freeze–thaw and soil risk
What freezing does to saturated concrete, how expansive soil differs from poorly compacted fill, settlement versus heave, and why two identical cracks can have different causes.
Read the guide →All guides
Background reading in a sensible order — whether you know nothing yet, know what you are looking at, or already have quotes in front of you.
Browse guides →Know what to ask before you hire
Most disputes over residential concrete trace back to something being left vague in the quote — base preparation, thickness, drainage, warranty scope. All of it is easier to raise before a contract than after.
The Contractor Vetting Standard
Fourteen things to establish about a contractor and their proposal before you sign anything — with what a strong answer sounds like and what a weak one does.
Read the standard →The Estimate Comparison Checklist
A worksheet for making two or three different-looking quotes genuinely comparable, so the totals mean something when you finally compare them.
Open the checklist →To be clear about what this is. The vetting standard is a checklist for you to use. It is not a certification programme. ConcreteOwner does not inspect, approve, certify or vet contractors, and no contractor can hold anything from it.
How contractor matching works
You tell us about the project
Three short steps: what the concrete is, where the property is, and how to reach you. No account, no obligation.
A person reads it
Every request is classified and read. If your area is outside our launch markets, or nobody is assigned to that type of work there yet, we say so rather than passing your details on regardless.
You hear something true
Either an independent local contractor has your request, or we tell you plainly that we cannot match you yet. We do not sell homeowner details to a call list.
Where we cover
The guidance and both tools work anywhere. Contractor matching is currently limited to 18 metro areas, and we would rather say that plainly than imply national coverage we do not have.
Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis and the surrounding communities in Marion, Hamilton and Johnson counties.
7 cities covered →Columbus, OH
Columbus and the surrounding communities in Franklin, Delaware and Licking counties.
8 cities covered →Nashville, TN
Nashville and the surrounding communities in Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Sumner and Wilson counties.
7 cities covered →Kansas City, MO/KS
Kansas City proper on both sides of the state line, the Johnson County suburbs, and the eastern Jackson County communities
7 cities covered →St. Louis, MO
the city of St. Louis, the St. Louis County suburbs along the western corridors, and St. Charles County across the Missouri River
6 cities covered →Cincinnati, OH/KY
Cincinnati and its hillside neighbourhoods, the Warren and Butler County suburbs to the north, and the northern Kentucky communities across the Ohio River
6 cities covered →Louisville, KY/IN
Louisville and the separately incorporated cities within Jefferson County, the eastern suburbs, and the southern Indiana communities across the Ohio River
6 cities covered →Charlotte, NC/SC
Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, the Cabarrus and northern Lake Norman communities, the south-eastern towns, and the South Carolina communities immediately across the state line
6 cities covered →Raleigh–Durham, NC
Raleigh and Wake County, Durham and its surrounding communities, the western Wake towns, and Chapel Hill in Orange County
6 cities covered →Birmingham, AL
Birmingham and its valley neighbourhoods, the communities south across the ridge, and Trussville to the north-east
6 cities covered →Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN
Minneapolis and Hennepin County, St. Paul and Ramsey County, the southern Dakota County suburbs, and the eastern communities in Washington County
7 cities covered →Detroit, MI
Detroit and the surrounding Wayne County communities, the southern Oakland County suburbs, and the Macomb County communities north-east of the city
7 cities covered →Cleveland–Akron, OH
Cleveland and the surrounding Cuyahoga County communities, Akron and the Summit County communities to its south, and the Lake County communities along the shore to the east
7 cities covered →Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh and the surrounding Allegheny County communities, the South Hills municipalities, the eastern suburbs along the Parkway, and the Butler County growth area to the north
6 cities covered →Atlanta, GA
Atlanta and the surrounding Fulton and DeKalb County communities, the Cobb County communities to the north-west, and the northern Fulton corridor
7 cities covered →Denver, CO
Denver and the surrounding communities, the Jefferson County suburbs along the western edge, the Arapahoe County communities to the south, and the Douglas County growth area
7 cities covered →Oklahoma City, OK
Oklahoma City and the surrounding Oklahoma County communities, the Cleveland County cities to the south, and the Canadian County communities to the west
6 cities covered →Virginia Beach–Norfolk, VA
Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Hampton — the independent cities of the Hampton Roads area
6 cities covered →Not sure which way to go?
Both decision tools are free, need no contact details, and take a couple of minutes. If you would rather talk to somebody local, you can ask us to look at matching you.