Project types
Concrete driveways
The driveway has cracked, settled or deteriorated and it is the largest slab you own.
A driveway is the most demanding piece of flatwork on a typical residential property. It carries vehicle loads, takes the most weather, usually receives the most de-icing chemical, and is large enough that decisions about it involve real money.
It is also the slab where the difference between the visible surface and the invisible base shows up most clearly. Driveways fail from underneath far more often than they fail from above.
What typically goes wrong
Settlement at the apron, where the drive meets the street or the garage, is extremely common — that area often sits over disturbed ground from utility work or construction access. Panels near downspouts settle where water has been running underneath. Cracking follows loading and inadequate jointing. Surface scaling and spalling follow freeze–thaw cycling and salt.
A step at the garage threshold is one of the most frequent single complaints, and one of the most frequent lifting jobs.
Why vehicle loading changes the answer
Concrete under a car is being asked to do something a patio never is. A void under a patio is a curiosity; a void under a driveway is unsupported concrete with a vehicle on it, and it is the situation most likely to turn a hairline crack into a broken panel.
This is why voids and hollow-sounding areas under driveways are worth acting on earlier than they would be elsewhere, and why thickness and reinforcement specifications matter more here than anywhere else on a residential property.
Panel-by-panel thinking
Driveways are usually poured in panels separated by joints, which means they can often be addressed in parts. One settled panel does not necessarily mean a new driveway.
The question is whether the panels failed for a local reason or a general one. Two panels down by the same downspout is a local story. Eight panels cracking across the whole drive in the same pattern usually is not.
What moves the price
We do not publish national dollar figures. A single average applied across every site, method and market gives you a confident-looking benchmark that is wrong for your job in an unknown direction. What does transfer between jobs is the structure of the price:
- Square footage — driveways are simply large.
- Thickness and reinforcement specified for vehicle loading.
- Demolition and disposal of the existing slab.
- Base preparation, which varies enormously by what is found underneath.
- Access for trucks and equipment.
- Whether the apron and approach are included.
Local quotes decide actual pricing. If you want to compare two of them properly, the quote comparison guide covers how.
What to ask a contractor
- Is this a whole-driveway problem or a panel problem, and what makes you say so?
- For replacement: what thickness, what reinforcement, and what base preparation for vehicle loading?
- Where do the control joints go and how deep?
- Which way will water run when you are finished?
- How long before I can park on it?
Common questions
Can I replace just the bad panels of my driveway?
Often, yes, particularly where the failure has a local cause. New panels will not colour-match the old ones, which bothers some homeowners more than others. Where the whole base is inadequate, panel replacement buys time rather than fixing the problem, and a contractor should tell you which situation you are in.
Is a concrete driveway better than asphalt?
They are different trade-offs — installation cost, maintenance cycle, service life, appearance and how each behaves in your climate. This platform covers concrete, so treat that as a disclosure rather than a recommendation, and get a straight comparison from someone who does both if you are genuinely undecided.
The panel by my garage has dropped and now there is a step. What is that?
That is one of the most common lifting jobs there is. It usually means the ground under that panel has lost volume — very often because water from the roof or the drive itself has been finding its way under it. Worth having someone look at where the water goes as well as at the concrete.
Work it out, or judge the quote
Related guides
Driveway cost factors
Why driveways price differently from other flatwork, and what to check in a driveway quote.
Read more →Sunken concrete
A slab that now sits lower than it should — almost always a ground problem, not a concrete problem.
Read more →Concrete leveling
Raising settled slabs back toward their original height instead of tearing them out.
Read more →Replacement and new flatwork
Removing failed concrete and pouring new — plus what separates a good pour from one that fails early.
Read more →Poor drainage around concrete
Where water goes decides how long concrete lasts — and it is the most commonly skipped part of a quote.
Read more →