Driveway
Your driveway flaked after one winter, and the last patch did not hold
A flaking, pitted or cracked driveway usually fails for a reason you can ask about. Tell us what you see and where it is. We will help you sort a surface problem from a sunken slab and know what to ask for before anyone pours.
Driveway work booked here takes $100 off your first job
From the house to the street
- Garage floorYours
- Steps and walksYours
- DrivewayYours
- ApronYours, with a permit
- Public sidewalkCity or your town
- StreetRoad owner
Questions
Questions people ask before they book
- 1
Does a flaking driveway always need replacing?
No. Light scaling is often cosmetic, and moderate scaling can be repaired. Heavy, spreading scaling may not be repairable. Ask the contractor to show you how deep the damage runs.
- 2
Can I pour my driveway this late in the year?
It depends on the nights ahead, not just the day. Ask the contractor for the forecast plan and a spring date as a fallback in writing.
- 3
Should I seal a new driveway right away?
Ask before you agree to it. Trade guidance covers breathable sealers, but a sealer is not a fix for a weak mix, so ask what it does here.
- 4
Who decides if the apron needs a permit?
The road owner does. On a county road you need a county permit for work in the right of way. On other roads, ask the city, town or village office.
- 5
How long before I can salt a new driveway?
Trade guidance is to avoid de-icer in the first winter and use clean sand for grip. Tell everyone who shovels, and ask the contractor for a printed note.
- 6
What should the quote say about the mix?
It should say air-entrained concrete, the strength, and that no extra water goes in at the site. Ask for those words, not a general promise.
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 repair job is next
The top peels in sheets
Thin patches lift off and grow each winter. That is scaling, and it points to the mix or the finish more than to the ground under it.
Pits and exposed stone
Small chunks have come out and the stones show. Ask a contractor how a new layer will bond to what is left.
Cracks that wander
Cracks along planned joints are expected. Cracks that run at angles, or panels at different heights, need a look at the base.
A patch that failed
The last patch lifted or crumbled. Ask what the mix and the month were that time, and what will change now.
A quote to tear it all out
You were told the whole drive must go. Ask which panels are sound and what the contractor would keep.
Drawing
The driveway repair job, drawn out
- Surface
- Scaling starts here; ask about the finish and the mix.
- Air voids
- Tiny cells let freezing water expand without cracking the paste.
- Joint
- Planned joints steer cracks into straight lines.
- Base
- Soft spots and poor slope let water sit under the slab.
The job
Inside the driveway repair job
Surface repair
Unsound top layer comes off and a new layer is tied on. Ask how far it reaches, because it is only as strong as the concrete beneath.
Panel replacement
Broken or sunken panels are cut out and poured new. Ask how the new panel will be tied to its neighbors.
Full replacement
The whole drive is removed and poured again. Ask what base work and what slope are in the written scope.
Joints and drainage
Joints control where cracks go, and slope sends water off the slab. Ask where each will sit on your drive.
By season
Mix, month and winter on a driveway repair job
- An air-entrained mix
- Ask for air-entrained concrete. Tiny air cells give freezing water room to expand, and a mix without them is a common reason a surface scales in its first winters. Flatwork guidance names about 6 percent air for the usual stone sizes.
- The right pour month
- Ask which month the contractor will pour. Cold weather means air at or expected below 40F during the protection period, not only on pour day, and Syracuse nights cross that line often from October on.
- First-winter protection
- Ask what protects the new slab through its first winter. Trade guidance says to skip de-icer in that first winter and use clean sand for grip, so tell your household and put it in the plan.
Basis: Portland Cement Association NRMCA
Whose job
Before the driveway repair work: whose slab is it
The driveway from your garage door out to the property line is yours to fix and yours to pay for. The last stretch at the street is the apron, and it can sit in the road right of way, so check that part before you book.
Basis: Onondaga County
Why a patch fails the way the first slab did
A repair that ignores the mix and the weather fails for the same reason the original did. Light or medium scaling can be repaired, but the new layer is only as strong as the base it bonds to, and loose surface has to come off first. Ask the contractor how the unsound top will be removed and how deep.
Some surfaces peel with no freeze at all. Early steel troweling, over-finishing, or finishing while bleed water is still on top can all cause it. So when a contractor blames winter alone, ask what else was checked.
Choosing between a patch, a panel and a new drive
Start with how much of your drive is sound. If most panels are firm and the damage sits in a few, panel work may fit. If cracks run through most panels and the surface is pitted across the whole drive, a new pour may cost less over the years than patching again.
Ask for the options priced separately. A quote that offers only the biggest job should make you pause, and a quote that offers only a thin overlay on a failing slab should too.
Tell us the address and the problem.
Base, joints and where the water goes
Water that cannot leave the slab freezes under it and in it. Good practice removes soft spots, compacts the base and slopes the slab so water runs off. Ask to see the slope and the base work in the scope.
Joint spacing is a trade rule of 24 to 36 times the slab thickness, with panels close to square. Ask the contractor to mark where joints will fall, so cracks go where you expect and nobody is surprised in spring.
Late-season pours and what to ask
Trade guidance warns against placing exterior concrete in late fall, winter or early spring when it will meet freezing weather while still wet. If your job slips toward November, ask whether to wait for a spring date instead.
Your quote should say what happens if the weather turns. Ask who decides to stop, who pays for the protection, and what date the contractor will pick instead.
The sequence
From your first message to a finished slab
- 01
Walk it together
You and the contractor look at the cracks, the edges and where water stands. Point out anything you have seen change.
- 02
Get the scope on paper
Ask for the mix, the pour month and the protection plan written into the quote. Check that you can read the scope without help.
- 03
Watch the pour day
Concrete should not go on frozen ground. Ask the contractor to say so before the forms are set.
- 04
Keep it clear of salt
Hold off on de-icer and use sand. Hose off salt that cars carry in, and ask for the contractor's care sheet.
Written down
Put these in writing first
The written scope
It names the work, the mix, the pour month and what is removed. Keep a copy where you can find it in spring.
The contract terms
New York asks for a signed written contract on home improvement jobs over a set amount. Check it lists dates and a payment schedule.
The permit, if the apron is touched
If your job reaches the street, ask who pulls the permit and get its number.
The protection plan
One page on curing and the de-icer wait. Ask the contractor to sign it with the scope.
Send the address and the problem.
Cost
Cost drivers for driveway repair work
- How much of the slab is sound enough to keep decides whether the job is a repair or a replacement.
- The size of the area and its thickness change the amount of concrete you pay for.
- Removing old concrete and hauling it away is its own line in a quote, so ask to see it.
- Base work and drainage fixes add cost when water is the reason the slab failed.
- A pour in a cold month can need extra protection, and that cost belongs in the written scope.
- Reaching the street can add a permit and its fees, which depend on the road owner.
Same property
Where the driveway repair job fits
Where
Pick your town for the driveway repair page
The city
Villages
Guides
Read before you decide
- Whose job
Driveway and Apron Permits in Onondaga County
Apron work can need a permit. Find the road owner first.
- The mix
Why Syracuse Concrete Flakes, Scales and Pits
Peeling concrete has causes. Learn them before you patch.
- Pour month
The Last Good Month to Pour Concrete in Syracuse
Fall pour or spring pour? The nights decide.
- First winter
Keeping Salt Off New Concrete in Syracuse
Sand, not salt, through the first winter.
- The paper
What Your Concrete Contract Should Say
The written scope to ask for before you sign.
- Sunken slab
Why a Sunken Driveway Sinks Again
Water under the slab decides if it stays level.
Ask about the mix before you ask about the price.