Apron
The apron at your curb is broken, and nobody can tell you who owns it
A cracked apron at the street can sit partly in the road right of way. Before you pay for a pour, ask whose road it is. Tell us your street and what you see, and we will help you find the office that decides.
Apron work booked here takes $100 off your first job
Who decides at each piece of your property
- Garage floorYours
- Steps and walksYours
- DrivewayYours
- ApronYours, with a permit
- Public sidewalkCity or your town
- StreetRoad owner
Whose job
Whose job is the driveway apron job
On a county road you maintain the apron, but you cannot dig up the part in the right of way without the county's permit. On a city, town, village or state road, that owner sets the rules, so ask which one you front before you book.
Questions
Questions people ask before they book
- 1
Who repairs the apron if it is crumbling?
On a county road, you do, and in the city you pay for an approved curb change and its upkeep. On a town, village or state road, ask that owner. Either way, the road owner decides whether the work needs a permit.
- 2
Is the apron part of the city sidewalk?
They are different pieces. In the City of Syracuse the city repairs public sidewalks, but the apron that serves your driveway is yours to maintain, with the right permission.
- 3
Do I need a permit to repave my apron?
On a county road, yes, a Work in the Right of Way permit. On other roads, ask the city, town or village office that maintains your street.
- 4
What happens if the work skips the permit?
On a county road the fine can reach $1,000 a day. Ask who is applying and put the permit number in the contract.
- 5
Can the contractor fix the culvert while there?
Maybe, but drainage rules apply and county roads do not allow ditch enclosures. Ask about the culvert as its own line in the scope.
- 6
Can I do the apron in winter?
Cold weather rules come into play. Ask for a spring date as a fallback and what protects the slab if nights drop below 40F.
- 7
Why does the apron fail before the rest of my drive?
It takes plow edges, standing water and salt carried in by cars. Ask about the mix and the slope for that reason.
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.
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 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.
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
This fits when
When the driveway apron job is next
Broken edge at the curb
The corner by the road has crumbled or dropped. Plowing and traffic load that edge more than anything else on your drive.
Water pools at the street
Water stands where the apron meets the road. Ask whether the ditch or culvert is yours to clear.
Heave over a culvert
The slab rides up near a pipe. Poor drainage at a driveway culvert is a known place for uneven frost movement.
A notice from an office
A town, village or county letter mentions the right of way. Read it, then call the office named on it before you hire anyone.
A contractor who skipped the permit question
You got a price and nobody mentioned who owns the road. Ask now, in writing.
Drawing
The driveway apron job, drawn out
- Your side
- The private part of the slab, behind the right of way line.
- Right of way
- The strip where the road owner decides what work is allowed.
- Culvert
- Pipe and ditch that you may be asked to maintain.
- Road edge
- Where plows and traffic strike the new slab first.
The job
Inside the driveway apron job
Apron repair
Cracked or crumbled sections are removed and poured new. Ask where your private slab ends and the right of way begins.
Apron replacement
The whole apron is cut out and rebuilt to meet the road edge. Ask who sets the width and the slope.
Edge and transition work
The seam where the apron meets the pavement takes the most wear. Ask how the joint will be formed.
Drainage at the entrance
Culverts, ditches and swales keep water off the slab. Ask who is responsible for each one.
By season
What each season changes in the driveway apron job
- An air-entrained mix
- Ask for air-entrained concrete at the street too. The apron takes plow edges, standing water and the salt that rides in on tires, which is hard on a mix without air cells.
- The right pour month
- A permit can add days, so ask for the date the permit comes through before a pour month is set. Then check the nights: air at or expected below 40F during the protection period counts as cold weather.
- First-winter protection
- Plows and cars hit an apron first. Ask how the edge will be kept clear of plows and de-icer in the first winter, and who keeps the slab marked until it has cured.
Basis: Portland Cement Association NRMCA
Your side of the line and the road owner's
Onondaga County says owners of a driveway on a county highway are responsible for keeping it up, including the part from the right of way line to the shoulder or curb. That duty is why a broken apron is your bill. It does not mean you may dig it up on your own.
Work in the right of way on a county road needs a county permit, and a violation can bring a fine of up to $1,000 for each day. Ask the contractor, in writing, who applies for the permit.
Two neighbors can answer to two offices
Roads in the county belong to different owners. The state's 2017 mileage report counts 790.4 of the county's 3,144.0 miles as county-owned, and the rest is town, village, city or state. A house on one street may need the county, and a house a mile away may need a town.
The village of Baldwinsville has no county-owned highway inside it, while the Town of Skaneateles is close to an even split between town and county roads. Call the office that maintains your own street, and note who you talked to.
Tell us the address and the problem.
What a county permit asks of the person doing the work
For widening or repaving an existing driveway in a county right of way, the county asks for a site plan or sketch and a one million dollar policy naming the county, plus workers compensation. Fees vary, and a deposit comes back after the work is inspected.
Ask any contractor you meet whether they can meet those terms. If they cannot, ask who will apply, because the applicant carries those terms. Learn that before a deposit changes hands.
No ditch enclosures on county roads
Onondaga County has long refused to allow ditch enclosures because of the problems they cause. A plan to pipe the roadside ditch and pour over it is not available on a county road.
If a quote includes that, ask what the county office said. Water that cannot drain also heaves slabs, so a quote that blocks drainage is a warning for the slab, not only for the permit.
The sequence
From your first message to a finished slab
- 01
Find the road owner
Call the office that maintains your street. A plain call settles city, town, village, county or state.
- 02
Get the permit sorted
On a county road, the contractor or you apply for the county's right of way permit. Ask who applies and when.
- 03
Agree the scope
Write the mix, the pour month, the width and the finish into the quote, with the permit number.
- 04
Protect the new edge
Keep plows and de-icer off the new apron through its first winter, and ask for a note to hand the plow driver.
Written down
Put these in writing first
The permit
Where the county owns the road, a work permit comes first. Ask for the number and the dates it covers.
The right of way sketch
The county asks for a sketch of the work in relation to the road center. Ask to see the sketch before it goes in.
The written scope
It lists the mix, the thickness, the pour date and what is removed. Keep it with the permit.
The policy question
The county asks the applicant for a one million dollar policy naming the county. Ask any contractor how they handle that, and ask to see the proof yourself.
Tell us which slab is giving you trouble.
Cost
What moves the bill on a driveway apron job
- Permit fees depend on the road owner, and the county sets its own by case.
- A job that touches the right of way may need extra paperwork time before any pour.
- The size and slope of the apron change the amount of concrete.
- Drainage work at a ditch or culvert is a separate line from the slab.
- Cold-month protection around a street edge adds cost, so ask for it in the quote.
Same property
The other four jobs
Where
Where to read about driveway apron locally
The city
Villages
Guides
Read before you decide
- Whose job
Who Pays to Fix a Cracked Sidewalk in Syracuse
Public sidewalk in the city is the city's job. Check first.
- Whose job
Driveway and Apron Permits in Onondaga County
Apron work can need a permit. Find the road owner first.
- The paper
What Your Concrete Contract Should Say
The written scope to ask for before you sign.
Settle the owner, the mix and the pour month first.