Replace concrete when its base has failed or it is broken into loose pieces. Repair it when the slab is sound and the fault is local. The situations below are ones homeowners bring to us often. Dollar amounts in the questions are the customers' own examples, not our prices.
My driveway is 20 years old and one section has sunk by the garage. I was quoted $9,000 to replace all of it. Is that necessary?
Usually not. Twenty years is middle age for a driveway. If the remaining sections are level and uncracked, you are comparing $9,000 with the cost of lifting or replacing a single section. Ask for that second price in writing. Then ask why it sank at the garage. That spot is often backfill placed against the foundation when the house was built, or a place where roof water lands. Fix the water whichever way you go. Expect a new section to look lighter than the old ones for years.
I can repair for $7,000 or replace for $14,000, and I plan to sell in two or three years. Which makes sense?
Compare what each buys over the time you will own the house. If the $7,000 repair will plainly hold for three years and look tidy, it saves you $7,000 now. If it is likely to fail before the sale, you pay $7,000 and then face the $14,000 anyway, or a buyer's inspector flags it. Ask the contractor how long the repair should last and what the warranty says. In Oakland, also remember the Sidewalk Compliance Certificate needed at transfer, and deal with the public sidewalk in the same visit.
I have a few long cracks and I am selling the house. Repair, replace or leave it?
If the cracks are thin and level, clean and seal them and leave the slab. Buyers and inspectors expect some cracking in older Bay Area concrete. Replace only panels that are raised, sunk or broken, since those read as trip points and drainage faults in an inspection report. When selling the house, money usually goes further on the entry walk and steps than on a whole driveway.
One contractor says remove it. Another says pour a new layer over it. Who is right?
Ask each to explain what happens at the edges and to the old cracks. A new layer on top raises the surface, so check the garage door, the steps, gates and where water will then run. Cracks below come up through an overlay. Removal costs more but lets the base be rebuilt, which matters on Oakland clay. A new layer is defensible only on a solid, stable slab with room for the added height.
My 30-year-old driveway has root cracks and I am on a tight budget. Can I just grind and patch?
Yes, as a holding measure. Grinding the raised edges removes the trip points, and sealing the cracks keeps water out of the soil. On a tight budget that is a sensible way to get a few more years. The roots will keep growing, so the lifting will return. When you do replace it, the route, the thickness over the roots and possibly a root barrier should be planned with an arborist's advice.
I have many small cracks and no sinking. Is sealing or resurfacing enough?
Often, yes. Sealing or resurfacing is enough when the cracks are fine, the pieces are level and nothing moves underfoot. Seal the cracks first. Resurfacing then gives an even look, though cracks that open and close with the seasons can reappear as fine lines. If the cracks form a tight map pattern across the surface, that is usually shallow crazing and is cosmetic.
The only real price for your job comes from a free visit, a tape measure and a written quote. Call (510) 694-1913 or text us a photo of the area.