Frequently Asked Questions

Very little concrete work is billed by the hour. It is priced by the square foot or by the job, because removal, base work and materials matter as much as labor. For scale, HomeGuide puts driveway labor at about $3 to $7 per square foot and complete driveways at about $6 to $15 per square foot nationally. We give a written total after measuring.

Get a written quote that lists thickness, base depth, reinforcement and joint spacing, not just a price. Ask what mix they use for outdoor work and how they cure it. For sidewalk, curb or approach work, the City of Kettering's Engineering Department can confirm whether a contractor has the bond and insurance it requires for right-of-way permits.

Small patching, yes. A full driveway, patio or walk is a different job: digging out, compacting a base, setting forms, taking a ready-mix truck, and placing and finishing the load before it stiffens, then cutting joints. In Kettering, work in the public right-of-way also needs a City permit, which the contractor doing the work must obtain before starting.

According to the City of Kettering, Engineering inspectors mark sidewalk and curb sections that need replacement with white paint during the annual repair program. You can have the City's contractor do the work and pay for it, or hire your own contractor, who needs a right-of-way permit and a final City inspection. We can quote the marked sections.

The City's residential construction page says a driveway extension needs a zoning permit, and any work on the apron or curb in the public right-of-way needs an Engineering Department permit. We confirm which ones apply to your job before we schedule it.

Avoid deicing salt on concrete during its first winter, especially if it was poured late in the season. Use sand for traction instead. A penetrating sealer applied after the concrete has cured for about a month helps protect it, and HomeGuide suggests resealing every 2 to 3 years.

HomeGuide puts a well-maintained concrete driveway at 30 to 40 years. In Ohio, the base under it, air entrainment, joint spacing and regular sealing make most of the difference.

Nationally, HomeGuide lists about $6 to $15 per square foot. A 20x20 two-car driveway lands around $2,400 to $6,000 on that scale, and breaking out the old slab adds roughly $2 to $6 per square foot. You get a written quote once we have measured.

Walking on it is usually fine within a day or two. Cars generally wait about a week, longer when nights are cool. You get dates specific to your pour.

The City of Kettering says a driveway extension needs a zoning permit. If the work touches the apron or curb in the public right-of-way, an Engineering Department permit is also needed. We confirm both before we start.

Yes, with care. Concrete must not freeze while it cures, so late-season pours may need blankets and a mix adjusted for cold. A driveway poured in late fall should not get salt that first winter.

If the approach is cracked, sunken or sits at a different height than your new driveway, replacing it at the same time usually looks and drains better. Approach work needs a City right-of-way permit and a final City inspection, so allow for that in the timeline.

For plain concrete, HomeGuide's national figures run about $4 to $12 a square foot, which puts a 12x12 patio near $600 to $1,700. Stamped and stained finishes cost more. Yard access and removal of an old slab also move the price, so we quote after seeing the site.

Four inches suits most residential patios. Under a hot tub or outdoor kitchen, HomeGuide calls for 6 inches and extra reinforcement.

Pouring over an old patio raises the height, often too close to the door threshold, and copies its cracks and settlement. In most cases we remove the old slab and rebuild the base.

Sometimes leveling can lift a sound slab back to the right pitch. If the slab is cracked into pieces, replacement with a proper slope is the better fix.

HomeGuide lists stamped patios around $9 to $30 a square foot and stamped driveways around $8 to $26. The pattern, number of colors and any borders shift the number. We give you a written figure after measuring.

Like any concrete, it can crack. Control joints are cut into the pattern, often along grout lines, so cracks follow those lines and stay hard to see.

Once sealed it can be slippery in the rain. On walks, steps and patios we mix a fine grit into the sealer so shoes have something to grip.

Plan on resealing every 2 to 3 years, which is HomeGuide's guidance for exterior concrete. Sealing also restores the color depth.

Existing concrete cannot be stamped. A stamped overlay can be applied over a sound slab, and HomeGuide puts that at about $7 to $20 per square foot. If the slab is cracked or sunken, replacement is the better option.

According to the City of Kettering, property owners are responsible for the sidewalk, curb and drive approach next to their property, and the City runs an annual inspection and repair program.

Yes. The City says your contractor must get a right-of-way construction permit, finish within 30 days of issuance and pass a final City inspection. The alternative is letting the City's contractor do the work and paying for it in cash or through a tax assessment.

HomeGuide puts removing and replacing sidewalk at about $10 to $25 or more per square foot. A few squares cost more per square foot than a long run because setup is the same. We quote the marked sections after seeing them.

If the steps are solid with surface flaking, resurfacing or repair can work, and HomeGuide puts step repair at about $300 to $800. If they have pulled away from the house or the base has failed, replacement is usually the lasting fix.

On HomeGuide's national scale, a two-car garage floor installed runs roughly $2,400 to $6,900. Tearing out an old floor, deeper edges and steel all change the total.

HomeGuide lists garage floors at 4 to 6 inches thick. We go thicker where the walls sit and where heavy vehicles or equipment will be.

No, as long as the walls and their footing are in good shape. We break the old floor into pieces, remove it through the door and pour the new one inside the walls.

The City of Kettering says sheds under 200 square feet need a zoning permit only, while larger buildings and new garages need building permits. We confirm before we pour.

Narrow cracks in a sound slab can be filled and sealed. Wide cracks, especially where one side is higher than the other, usually point to a base problem, and replacement of that section is the lasting fix.

Usually. HomeGuide lists mudjacking around $4 to $9 a square foot, against about $6 to $15 to replace. It only pays on a slab that is otherwise sound.

Flaking, or scaling, is mostly a freeze-thaw and salt problem, and it hits hardest on concrete that lacked entrained air or had water worked into the surface while it was finished. A sound slab with light scaling can often take a resurface.

Not exactly at first. New concrete is lighter, and it weathers closer to the old color over time. We cut along existing joints so the patch looks deliberate.

Yes. Marked squares are usually replaced rather than patched, because the City inspects the finished work. The City also requires a right-of-way permit for work on the public sidewalk, curb or approach.