Concrete Driveways in Flint, MI

Concrete driveways in Flint take more abuse than any other slab on the lot. Snow gets packed down by tires, shovels and plow blades scrape the surface, salty slush drips off every car, and meltwater runs down the drive and refreezes overnight. On older Flint lots the driveway is often a single lane running back to a detached garage, poured decades ago on packed soil with no stone underneath, and by now it has usually cracked into uneven pieces.

Signs it is time to replace

• Flaking and pitting over large parts of the surface
• Cracks wide enough to fit a coin, or cracks where one side has lifted
• Sections broken up by tree roots along the side of the drive
• A low spot near the garage that holds water and turns to ice
• Runoff that heads toward the house instead of the street
• A drive too narrow for the cars you own now

A single sunken section on an otherwise sound driveway can often be lifted, and light surface wear can be resurfaced. When settling, wide cracks and scaling all show up together, replacement usually costs less than years of patching.

What goes under the concrete

Most driveway problems start below the surface. We break out the old concrete or asphalt, dig out soft or organic soil, and replace it with crushed stone compacted in layers so the slab has firm, even support and water can drain away. Forms are set so the finished surface sheds water toward the street or yard instead of the garage or foundation.

Thickness depends on what parks there. HomeGuide's driveway guide calls for at least 4 inches for ordinary cars, 5 to 6 inches for RVs or heavy vehicles, and edges of 6 to 8 inches. If a work truck, trailer or camper sits on the drive, we thicken that area.

The mix is air-entrained for freeze-thaw resistance, reinforcement keeps cracked sections from separating, and control joints on a planned layout give shrinkage cracks a straight path.

Approaches and the public walk

Many Flint driveways cross the public sidewalk before they meet the street. Work in that stretch is in the city right-of-way and goes through a permit from the Street Maintenance Division of the Department of Transportation, (810) 766-7343. The city's permit form lists separate lines for sidewalk work, a sidewalk approach and pavement breaks in concrete driveways and curb, and it makes the contractor responsible for calling in the final inspection. Our quote shows where your private driveway ends and the right-of-way begins, and we handle the permit and inspection for that part.

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Finish options

• Broom finish: the standard for driveways. The light texture gives grip in rain and slush.
• Exposed aggregate: the surface paste is washed away to show the stone. It hides tire marks and has good traction.
• Decorative borders: a stamped or colored band along the edges, with plain concrete in the wheel lanes where you shovel.
• Smooth trowel: clean looking but slick when wet or icy, so we avoid it on sloped drives.

Taking care of a new driveway

Keep cars off for at least seven days and heavy vehicles off for about 30, per HomeGuide. Use sand instead of rock salt the first winter. After that, avoid de-icers made with ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulfate, which attack the cement paste. HomeGuide recommends the first sealer coat after the 28 to 30 day cure and resealing every 2 to 3 years. Keep downspouts pointed away from the slab, and ask your plow service to use a rubber-edged blade or keep the blade slightly raised.