Concrete Driveways in Arlington, TX and the DFW Metroplex

Full tear-out and replacement is most of our driveway work. We break the old slab, haul it off, fix the base, and pour new. The old concrete tells us a lot: where it heaved, where it settled, where water sat. We use that to decide how much base to add and where the joints go on the new slab so the next driveway does not fail the same way.

New driveways for new builds and additions, extensions that widen a single drive to a double, turnarounds, and side strips for a boat or trailer. RV pads get a thicker slab and a heavier steel grid, because a loaded motorhome on the same jack point every weekend is not the same load as a sedan. We also pour the approach between the sidewalk and the curb, which is public right-of-way and has its own rules.

If the driveway ends at a carport or a gate, we pour the pad and footings and CJM Metals builds the steel on it. Same family, same standard, one phone call.

Four inches is the standard for a residential driveway that carries cars, SUVs and pickups. It is what our calculator prices by default and what most of Arlington is parked on. If the driveway will see an RV, a loaded trailer, a box truck or a dump truck during a remodel, go to 5 or 6 inches. A 6-inch slab costs about 18 percent more than a 4-inch one, which is cheap next to replacing a cracked corner where the truck backed in.

Reinforcement is rebar or wire mesh, and we prefer rebar. Mesh only works if it stays in the middle of the slab, and on most pours it gets walked to the bottom where it does nothing. We set #3 rebar on an 18-inch grid on chairs so it sits at mid-depth. Rebar adds $0.60–1.10 per square foot and it is the difference between a crack that stays tight and one that opens and steps.

Either way, steel does not stop concrete from cracking. It holds the two sides of a crack together so the slab keeps acting like one piece. The base and the joints are what keep cracks from showing up where you do not want them. More on thickness in how thick should a driveway be.

Arlington sits on expansive clay. It swells when it rains and shrinks when it dries, and a slab poured straight on it rides that movement up and down until it breaks. Most driveway failures we tear out were never a concrete problem. They were a base problem.

We cut the subgrade to depth, compact it, and build up a crushed stone base that is compacted again in lifts. The base does two things: it spreads the load so the slab is supported everywhere, not just at the high spots, and it gives water somewhere to go instead of pooling under the concrete. A void under a slab is a crack waiting for a truck.

On a tear-out we do not assume the old base is good. Old driveways were often poured on whatever was there in the 1970s. If the subgrade is soft or wet when we open it up, we tell you before we pour, not after.

Concrete cracks. Control joints decide where. We saw-cut or tool joints at 8–10 feet on center for a 4-inch slab (the rule is 2 to 2.5 times the thickness, read in feet), cut within hours of the pour while the slab is still gaining strength. The joint creates a weak line so the shrinkage crack forms there, straight and hidden, instead of wandering across the drive.

Expansion joints go where the driveway meets the garage slab, the sidewalk, the approach and the house foundation. Those are separate structures that move on their own schedule, and a driveway poured hard against them will spall at the edge or push on the foundation.

Slope is the part nobody sees and everybody lives with. We pitch the driveway a minimum of 1/8 inch per foot away from the garage, and closer to 1/4 inch where the lot allows, so water runs to the street and never toward the house. Where the garage sits below the street we add a trench drain at the door. A driveway that drains toward the foundation is a foundation repair bill with a ten-year delay.

The approach is the piece between the sidewalk (or your property line) and the street curb. That strip is public right-of-way, and the City of Arlington's own do-I-need-a-permit guide calls out drive approaches specifically. We pull the right-of-way permit, pour the approach to the City's standard detail, and schedule the inspection. Details in do I need a permit for concrete in Arlington, or confirm current requirements with the City of Arlington (One Start Development Center, 101 W. Abram St, 817-459-6502).

Schedule: a typical two-car driveway is one day of demo and base, one day of forming and steel, one pour day, and a day to saw joints and clean up. Weather moves pours. We do not pour on a day the forecast says rain within a few hours of finishing, and in July we pour early.

Curing: walk on it after 24 hours, park a car after 7 days on a 4-inch slab (10 days at 6 inches), and keep heavy trucks and trailers off for 14–28 days. Full design strength comes at 28 days, which is also when we seal if you want it sealed. The curing time FAQ has the full timeline.