Skip to content
Concrete RepairSyracuse (315) 640-3590 Tap to call

Syracuse concrete repair

A flaking driveway, a broken apron, a quote you cannot judge

$100 OFF
See how the $100 works
Know whose slab it is before you pay anyone.
(315) 640-3590 Tap to call

Before you pay anyone to pour, find out two things: whose slab it really is, and what keeps a Syracuse repair from flaking again next winter. Tell us which slab it is and what it is doing, and we will say who decides and what to put in writing.

A job booked here takes $100 off your first job

Concrete driveway beside a vinyl-sided house, its surface flaked away in pale patches with white salt residue, bare trees behind.

Who decides at each piece of your property

  1. Garage floorYours
  2. Steps and walksYours
  3. DrivewayYours
  4. ApronYours, with a permit
  5. Public sidewalkCity or your town
  6. StreetRoad owner

Start here

Your problem, in your words

  1. My driveway is cracked or flakingFind out if it needs a patch, a new surface or a new slab.Driveway
  2. The apron at the street is brokenLearn whose job it is and which office decides.Apron
  3. My steps or walk are crumblingPoured steps, walks and patios, and what they need to last.Steps and walks
  4. My garage floor is pitted and peelingSalt off your tires is part of the story.Garage floor
  5. A slab has sunk or tippedLearn when leveling can work and when it cannot.Leveling
  6. The public sidewalk is brokenIn the City of Syracuse the city repairs it. Here is who to call.City or your townWho pays

Questions

What to ask first, answered

  1. How do I know if my apron is mine to repair?

    On a county road the county holds you responsible for the apron, and its permit comes first. On other roads, ask the road owner. Tell us your street and we will point you to the office that answers for it.

  2. Will the city fix a broken public sidewalk in front of my house?

    Inside the City of Syracuse, yes. The city repairs and replaces public sidewalks itself under its sidewalk program. Report it to the city and keep your money. Outside the city, ask your village or town.

  3. Why did my new driveway flake after one winter?

    Common causes are a mix without enough air, a pour late in the season, or salt on a slab that was too new. Ask what the contractor says caused it before you pay for another patch.

  4. Can I use salt on a new slab?

    Keep de-icer off new concrete through its first winter and use clean sand for traction. Ask your contractor for the exact wait they recommend, in writing.

  5. Do you do the concrete work yourselves?

    No. The pouring belongs to an independent contractor. We tell you what to ask for and arrange the introduction, and the contractor quotes you.

  6. Does a contractor here need a state license?

    New York's Department of State reports that home improvement contractors get no state license, and its list of places that do does not name Onondaga County or Syracuse. That makes a written contract and a clear scope more important, so ask for both.

  7. When does the $100 come off?

    Once your first concrete job is booked, and only one credit per customer, per property. The Terms page has every condition, so read it before you book.

  8. What if my slab is too far gone to repair?

    Sometimes it is, and a contractor should say so plainly. Ask for the choice between patching, resurfacing and replacing, and why each fits or does not.

Edge of a concrete slab beside grass with a crack running down to a chipped corner.

Ask about your slab

Tell us about your slab

Send the details once. Nothing is booked and you owe nothing for asking.

We help you work out whose concrete it is and what to ask for, then introduce you to an independent Syracuse-area contractor to quote it.

(315) 640-3590 Tap to call

Privacy policyTerms

Put it in writing before anyone pours

Seven questions for any contractor, any slab. Copy them into your messages and keep the answers with your contract.

  • Air-entrained mix, with the air content namedThe mix decides whether the surface flakes again in a few winters.
  • The pour date, and a plan if it turns coldCold nights after the pour count, even when the pour day is mild.
  • How the slab is cured and coveredCuring and cold protection run for different lengths of time.
  • No de-icer on the new slab this winterClean sand gives traction without feeding the scaling.
  • Whose road it is, and who pulls the permitWork in a county road right of way needs a county permit first.
  • A signed written contract before work startsNew York asks for a written contract on home improvement jobs over $500.
  • What is removed, what is poured, what is leftA clear scope stops arguments about patching versus replacing.
$100 OFF

$100 off your first job

Your $100 comes off once your first concrete job is booked.

  • The credit comes from us, not out of the contractor's price.
  • One credit per customer, per property.
  • Your job needs to be booked by December 31, 2026.
  • Mention the $100 when you book the work.
See how the $100 works(315) 640-3590 Tap to callOffer terms

The straight-answer slab promise

  • No charge to ask, and no obligation once you have.
  • If the city or the road owner should fix it, we say so.
  • We ask about the mix and the pour month up front.
  • Your $100 is applied the way our Terms spell out.

Your contract is with the contractor, who answers to you for the work.

Concrete Repair Syracuse, (315) 640-3590

Read the terms

Concrete walk between two snow banks with white salt crystals scattered across the slab.

Whose job

Not every broken piece of concrete is yours to pay for

Your garage floor, steps and driveway are yours. The apron and the public sidewalk are where people guess wrong.

  1. Yours

    Garage floor

    Pits, flaking or white crust on the garage slab after a few winters.

    The slab inside your garage is yours, and so is the choice of repair. Salt rides in on tires, so ask any contractor how the new surface will handle it.

    Open the garage floor page
  2. Yours

    Steps and walks

    Crumbling front steps, or a walk to the door with cracked panels.

    Poured steps, your front walk and your patio are yours to maintain. New work still needs a mix that survives salt, so ask for it by name.

    Open the steps and walks page
  3. Yours

    Driveway

    A driveway that flaked after one winter, or sank near the garage.

    The driveway on your own lot is yours. What decides the repair is what is wrong with it: a worn surface, a cracked panel or a slab that has moved.

    Open the driveway page
  4. Yours, with a permit

    Apron

    A broken apron at the street, and no one can say who owns it.

    On a county road you maintain the apron, but you cannot dig it up without a county permit. Ask the road owner before you ask a contractor.

    Open the apron page
  5. City or your town

    Public sidewalk

    A lifted or broken public sidewalk along your lot.

    Inside the City of Syracuse the city repairs and replaces public sidewalks itself, so report a broken one to the city. Outside the city, ask your village or town office who repairs the sidewalk.

    Read Who Pays to Fix a Cracked Sidewalk in Syracuse
  6. Road owner

    Street

    You are not sure whether the road in front of you is city, town, village, county or state.

    A road can belong to the city, town, village, county or state, and neighbors on different roads call different offices. Ask which one owns yours.

    Read Driveway and Apron Permits in Onondaga County

If you already have a quote, the first question is not whether the price is fair. It is whether the whole quote is yours to pay. Look at it piece by piece. The slab on your own lot is your decision. The apron, the strip where the driveway meets the road, sits partly in the road right of way, and the road owner decides what work needs a permit.

Inside the City of Syracuse, the city repairs and replaces public sidewalks itself. A contractor should not be quoting you for that walk. On a county road, the county asks for a permit before anyone works in its right of way. Ask your village, town or the county which office covers your street, then tell us what they said.

This is why the property line matters. A contractor who does not ask about the road, the curb or the sidewalk is guessing at part of the job, and you are the one who pays for the guess. Ask early and it costs you a phone call. Send us your street and we will say which office to call.

Basis: NRMCA UpCodes (Residential Code of New York State)

Get the scope on paper first.

$100 OFF
See how the $100 works
(315) 640-3590 Tap to call
Freshly poured concrete slab with a broom-finish surface and a cut joint, bare soil around its edge.

First winter

What decides whether the new concrete survives its first winter

A repair fails the same way the original slab did unless three things change.

Syracuse slabs get wet, freeze, thaw and freeze again. Salt makes every cycle harder on the surface. The slab you pay for this year has to get through all of that with no break-in period.

Ask for an air-entrained mix, with the air content written on the ticket. Ask which month the pour is planned for, and what happens if the nights turn cold. Ask how the slab will be cured and covered, and agree now that no de-icer goes on it this winter. Sand gives you traction without the damage.

Salt reaches slabs you never salt. Cars carry it off the road and drop it on the apron and across the garage floor. Hose it off when the weather allows and ask what the contractor does about drainage, because standing salty water makes the damage worse.

The calendar matters too. The danger in Syracuse is cold nights, not cold afternoons. Cold-weather rules start to apply by October, so a pour that feels safe in a warm week can still meet frost before it has gained strength. Ask your contractor to tell you the plan before the truck is booked.

No contractor can promise a slab that never changes, and the honest ones will not try. The three questions do tell you whether the contractor has thought about Syracuse at all.

Will the repair last its first winter?

  1. 1 An air-entrained mix

    Is the concrete air-entrained, and how much air is in the ticket?

    Tiny air bubbles give freezing water room to expand. NRMCA recommends about 6 percent total air for slabs with three-quarter or one inch stone, so ask for the number on the delivery ticket.

  2. 2 The right pour month

    What month will you pour, and what happens if the nights turn cold?

    Cold-weather rules apply when air is at or expected below 40F during the protection period, not only at the moment of the pour. A mild afternoon followed by cold nights is still a cold pour.

  3. 3 First-winter protection

    How will you cure and cover the slab, and what do I use on it this winter?

    Curing and cold protection are separate jobs. Then keep de-icer off new concrete and use clean sand for traction through the first winter.

The pour calendar

Read the dial by the nights, not the days. Ask your contractor which segment your pour falls in and what the plan is if the forecast moves.

Jan: cold. Deep winter: cold-weather rules apply to any pour.Feb: cold. Deep winter: cold-weather rules apply to any pour.Mar: cold. Cold nights on most days, and the ground is thawing.Apr: watch. Many nights are still cold. Ask for a protection plan.May: watch. A few cold nights remain. Watch the forecast.Jun: open. Outside the cited cold-weather counts. Plan the curing.Jul: open. Outside the cited cold-weather counts. Plan the curing.Aug: open. Outside the cited cold-weather counts. Plan the curing.Sep: open. Few cold nights in the normals. Still ask about the forecast.Oct: watch. Cold-weather pour rules start to apply this month.Nov: cold. Cold nights on most days. Ask whether it should wait.Dec: cold. Cold nights almost every day. Hold off if you can.JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecpourmonth
  • Open Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep
  • Watch Apr, May, Oct
  • Cold Jan, Feb, Mar, Nov, Dec

How salt reaches a slab nobody salts

Cars pick up road salt and drop it onto aprons and inside garages. You never have to spread a grain for your concrete to take a salt load, so hose it off when the weather lets you.

Basis: Portland Cement Association NRMCA

Cutaway

Look at the slab the way a salted winter does

A slab fails in layers. Check each part below, then ask your contractor to name what they will do about it in the written scope.

123456
Surface
Flaking in sheets points at the mix or the finish. Ask what caused it before agreeing to patch it.
Air voids
Microscopic air bubbles let freezing water expand. Ask that the air content be named in writing.
Joints
Joints are planned cracks. Ask where they will go and whether the slab is separated from the house.
Street edge
Where the slab meets the road, the road owner may need to approve the work.
Base
Frozen or soft ground under a pour is a problem you can ask about before the truck comes.
Salt off a tire
Slush from your own car is salt on your own slab. Hose it off and keep de-icer away from new work.

Basis: NRMCA Portland Cement Association

Tell us which slab is giving you trouble.

$100 OFF
See how the $100 works
(315) 640-3590 Tap to call

The five jobs

Pick the slab you are worried about

Each job has its own page with its own questions. Start with the piece that is giving you trouble.

  1. Close view of a driveway where the top layer has worn away, leaving rounded gravel exposed beside smooth concrete and a hairline crack.

    Driveway Repair and Replacement

    Flaking or cracked drive: what to ask first

    Yours

    Open the driveway page

  2. Residential street in winter with a granite curb, a snow bank along the edge and bare trees between the houses.

    Driveway Aprons at the Street

    Broken apron at the street: ask who owns the road

    Yours, with a permit

    Open the apron page

  3. Three poured concrete steps at a side door, a vertical crack down the riser and the top edge chipped.

    Concrete Steps, Walks and Patios

    Crumbling steps or walk: ask whose job and what mix

    Yours

    Open the steps and walks page

  4. Concrete driveway surface split by a straight joint with grit in the gap, a house blurred behind.

    Garage Floor and Slab Repair

    Pitted garage floor: salt rides in on your tires

    Yours

    Open the garage floor page

  5. Concrete slab sitting lower than its neighbor at a joint, with water standing in the gap and grass behind.

    Sunken Slab Leveling

    Sunken slab: lift it, or pour it new?

    Yours

    Open the leveling page

Driveways, aprons, steps and walks, garage floors and sunken slabs each fail differently. A driveway usually scales at the surface. An apron gets caught between your lot and the road. Steps crumble at the edges. A garage floor takes salt off your own tires. A sunken slab is a ground problem before it is a concrete problem.

That is why the job pages start with whose job it is, then run through the mix, the month and the protection. If you read only one page, read the one for the slab you are looking at. Each lists the signs that mean it is time, the papers to hold and the questions to ask when two quotes disagree.

This site covers poured concrete only. If your problem is anything else, this is the wrong place, and we will tell you so when you call.

Three steps

What happens after you send the form

Nothing is booked when you ask, and you can stop at any point.

You tell us the slab, what it is doing and when you hope to have it done. We reply with whose job we think it is and the questions that belong in writing. If a contractor makes sense for your job, we arrange the introduction and the contractor quotes you directly.

You compare that quote with your list. Your contract is with the contractor, and you decide whether to sign. Your $100 comes off only if you book that first job.

  1. Tell us which slab, and what it is doing.

    Describe the damage, the age of the slab and the month you want it done. A photo helps.

  2. Learn whose job it is and what to ask for.

    We say whether the piece is yours, the city's or the road owner's, and which winter questions go in writing.

  3. Get introduced to a local contractor, then decide.

    An independent contractor quotes the job. Compare it with your written questions and choose.

Local slabs

What Syracuse-area concrete is usually up against

Older streets and newer subdivisions break in different ways, and you can use that when you read a quote.

Concrete sidewalk slab crossing a granite curb to meet the asphalt street, with lawns and bare trees beyond.

Homes in the City of Syracuse were built around 1948 at the median. Many of those driveways, aprons and front steps have been patched more than once, so ask a contractor how much of the old slab is still sound.

Newer suburbs have younger slabs, and the same rules about who owns the road still apply. Whatever the age of your house, an attached garage floor takes salt off the cars every winter.

If the public sidewalk is what is broken, the guide on who pays to fix a sidewalk tells you who to call.

Price

What moves a concrete quote up or down

The contractor sets the price, not us. These are the things they will weigh.

  • How much old concrete has to come out before anything new goes in.
  • The size of the slab, and how many panels it needs.
  • Whether the ground under it has settled or drained poorly.
  • The pour month, and whether the contractor needs cold-weather protection.
  • A permit for work in a road right of way, where one applies.
  • How hard the site is to reach with a truck and a pump.

Ask for each of these as a line in the written scope, then compare two quotes line by line.

Who this is for

Who this is for

  • You were quoted a replacement

    Ask whether a patch would do, then whether the piece is yours at all, before you accept a number for the whole slab.

  • You have patched it before

    If the last repair flaked again, the mix, the month or the first winter is probably why. Tell us what was done.

  • You are not sure who owns it

    The apron and the public sidewalk are the pieces people guess about. Call and we will say which office decides.

  • You want it done before winter

    Tell us the month you have in mind and we will raise the cold-weather questions with you first.

Questions for the quote

Three questions for any contractor

  1. Can you put the scope and the concrete mix in writing?

    A written scope that names the mix and the air content gives you something to hold the work to.

  2. Whose road is this, and who applies for the permit?

    On a county road the work in the right of way needs a county permit, and a neighbor on another road may go to a different office.

  3. What month are you pouring, and how is the slab protected?

    The pour date and the protection plan decide whether the repair lasts through its first winter.

Basis: New York State Senate NRMCA

Ask who decides before you ask the price.

$100 OFF
See how the $100 works
(315) 640-3590 Tap to call

Where

Fifteen places around Syracuse, three kinds of office

A street in the city, a village or a town goes to a different office, even a mile apart.

The city

Villages

Towns

We cover Syracuse and the villages and towns around it. Each place has its own page with the office to ask and the slabs most common there. Look yours up on the areas page, then call if you cannot tell which road owner your driveway meets.

A neighbor may have dealt with the county while you deal with the village. That is normal. Ask each office the same question and write down the name of the person who answers.

Do not count on a quote to know the answer. You can check in a single call, and the answer goes in the written scope.

Guides

Read before you decide

  1. Whose job

    Who Pays to Fix a Cracked Sidewalk in Syracuse

    Public sidewalk in the city is the city's job. Check first.

  2. Whose job

    Driveway and Apron Permits in Onondaga County

    Apron work can need a permit. Find the road owner first.

  3. The mix

    Why Syracuse Concrete Flakes, Scales and Pits

    Peeling concrete has causes. Learn them before you patch.

  4. Pour month

    The Last Good Month to Pour Concrete in Syracuse

    Fall pour or spring pour? The nights decide.

  5. First winter

    Keeping Salt Off New Concrete in Syracuse

    Sand, not salt, through the first winter.

  6. The paper

    What Your Concrete Contract Should Say

    The written scope to ask for before you sign.

  7. Sunken slab

    Why a Sunken Driveway Sinks Again

    Water under the slab decides if it stays level.

Get it in writing before anyone pours.

$100 OFF
See how the $100 works
(315) 640-3590 Tap to call