Concrete driveway building in Lafayette LA - a slab that drains away from your house
If your driveway is cracked, sinking or holding water by the garage, we build a new one on packed ground, graded so water runs off.
What goes into building a concrete driveway in Lafayette?
Concrete driveway building in Lafayette starts below the surface. We dig out the soft soil, pack the ground and set a steady grade, so the new slab carries your car and sends rain away from the garage instead of letting it pool.
Most calls we get start with an old drive that has cracked through, sunk at one end or started holding water by the garage, though some homeowners need a driveway where there's only dirt or gravel now. The price turns mostly on four things: the size, whether an old slab has to be broken out and hauled off first, how much groundwork the spot needs, and what reinforcement your vehicles call for. The schedule turns on the permit, the weather on pour day and the wait before the slab can take traffic. Your written estimate puts all of that in writing for your driveway, so you can see what each choice means before you decide.
What happens after you call about a new driveway?
Call or send the form
When you call (337) 216-1997 or send the form, we set a time for me to come out to your property. We answer the phone Monday through Friday from 6 AM to 11 PM and on weekends from 8 AM to 9 PM.
I look over the spot
I see where the driveway will go, ask how you'll use it and look at where the water runs, then write you an estimate that lists what's included and what isn't. That way you know exactly what you'd be paying for before you commit to anything.
We check on the permit
Before anything is scheduled, we check with the permit office for your address. That way the paperwork is in order before the crew arrives.
Our crew builds the driveway
On the work days our crew lead runs the job with our finishers, and I come by to check the work and answer your questions. When the work is finished, we clean up and leave the new slab to cure.
How we build a concrete driveway, and the slabs that go with it
We start by digging out the soft and organic soil and packing the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, along with any fill and utility trenches, because a base that's only raked level settles with the dirt and takes the concrete down with it. Then we set an even grade and check where the water runs, so the finished drive sheds rain away from your garage and doesn't hold puddles at low spots or along the edges. If a budget has to be trimmed somewhere, I would trim the finish before the base, since the base is buried on the first day and it's what decides whether the slab stays flat. Inside the forms we set rebar, the steel bars that tie the slab together, or wire mesh, depending on the vehicles you told me about, and before the pour I show you where the control joints will go, the planned cuts that give the slab a place to crack. We time the pour around the heat, since a slab poured carelessly in the midday sun can end up weak and dusty on top, and a windy, sunny day calls for more care than a calm, humid one. Our finishers give it a broom finish, a light ribbed texture that gives tires and shoes grip when it's wet. We cut the joints on time rather than late, and curing, the care that lets new concrete harden properly, starts as soon as the finishing is done.
A driveway is flatwork, the trade's word for slabs that lie on the ground, so the same groundwork and drainage check carry over to a concrete patio behind the house if you've been thinking about one. If you'd like a walk or patio with more than plain gray, stamped concrete presses a pattern into the surface that sits well beside a new broom-finished drive. We're based in Lafayette and do the same work in the cities around it, so please ask if yours isn't named on this site, and on every job our promise is the same: your satisfaction, guaranteed.
Get a written estimate for your new driveway
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out and write up your free on-site estimate. There's no obligation to go ahead once you have it in hand.
Driveway questions we hear in Lafayette
How much does a concrete driveway cost in Lafayette, LA?
A concrete driveway in Lafayette usually costs about $6 to $11 per square foot, and that range doesn't include tearing out an old driveway. Breaking out and hauling away an existing slab can raise the cost per square foot, and heavier reinforcement adds to it as well. Your written estimate gives the figure for your own driveway.
Do I need a permit to build a driveway in Lafayette?
Yes. The city requires every driveway to be permitted, through either a driveway permit application or a building permit application. The part of your drive in the strip along the street has to be the same material as the street or something more durable. A culvert, the pipe that carries water under a drive, needs written approval from Public Works before it goes into the drainage system. We take care of the application and keep you informed.
Will my new concrete driveway crack like the old one?
Some cracking can't be prevented entirely in any concrete, but properly designed joints keep cracks controlled and small, so they follow lines we planned. Old driveways usually crack in odd places because the ground under them was raked level instead of dug out and packed, or because the joints were cut late or skipped. Lafayette Parish soil is rated low for shrink and swell, which measures how much the ground moves as it wets and dries. That's a parish-wide rating and not a reading of your lot, so I still look at the ground on every job.
What is the best way to reinforce a concrete driveway?
The best reinforcement depends on what will drive on the slab. Steel rebar gives the most strength and matters most when large trucks or heavy traffic will use the drive. For a typical home driveway, wire mesh is a less expensive choice. Heavier loads or weak ground can also call for a different thickness or design, and I'll explain the option I suggest when I write your estimate.
How long does a new concrete driveway need before I can park on it?
Plan on a wait after the slab can be walked on, because concrete keeps gaining strength well past that point and its edges and corners need protection from early traffic. Don't judge it by its color or by how hard the surface feels. We'll tell you when it's ready for your car and when heavier loads are fine, so you aren't left guessing.
Does a driveway contractor need a license in Louisiana?
Under state rules, a home improvement project worth more than $7,500 and up to $50,000 has to be bid or done by a registered home improvement contractor or a licensed contractor. We're fully licensed and insured, so you can check that off before you sign anything.
Other concrete work you might need
Concrete patio construction
If the back of your house needs a place to sit or grill, a concrete patio gets the same careful groundwork and drainage check we give a driveway.
Stamped concrete services
When plain gray isn't the look you want, stamped concrete presses a pattern into the surface of a patio, walk or drive.
Request an estimate for your driveway
Call (337) 216-1997 or send the form with the rough size of the driveway, whether an old one comes out and what you'll park on it, so I can come out ready to talk through your choices, and thank you for considering us.