Frequently Asked Questions

HomeGuide's national cost guide lists $6 to $15 per square foot. On its size table, a two-car 20 by 20 foot driveway lands around $2,400 to $6,000. Removing an old drive, regrading, going to 6 inches and decorative finishes raise it. Your real number comes in writing after we measure.

Inside Bloomington city limits, yes. Municipal code section 12.04.010 puts upkeep of the adjacent sidewalk on the property owner. A city notification letter asks for the repair within 90 days of its postmark, and some owner-occupied homes in Community Development Block Grant areas can get help through the Sidewalk Repair Assistance Program.

Work in Bloomington's public right-of-way, such as an apron at the street or a public walk, is permitted through the city's Civic Access portal, and the Engineering Department's fee table lists separate driveway and sidewalk fees. A backyard patio on your own lot is usually a different matter. We confirm the rules for your address and file anything that is required.

People can usually walk on it after a day or two. Give cars about a week and heavy trucks or campers longer. Strength keeps climbing for around four weeks, so your move-in dates depend on the mix we order and how warm or cool it is.

Not entirely. Concrete shrinks as it dries and moves with heat and cold, so some cracking is expected. Control joints give that movement a planned place to happen, and a firm base, the right depth and a good cure keep stray cracks rare.

If the slab is sound but has sunk, leveling can work. If it has wide cracks, heavy scaling or many broken sections, replacement usually costs less over time. HomeGuide's leveling guide points to cracks wider than about a quarter inch and severe surface damage as signs that replacement is the better option.

Yes, with planning. The slab has to stay above freezing while it cures, so late-season pours get insulated blankets and are scheduled around the forecast. Fresh concrete should not get de-icing salt its first winter.

HomeGuide gives 4 inches as the minimum for passenger cars and 5 to 6 inches for RVs and other heavy vehicles, plus thicker edges. We choose the depth from what you park and how firm the ground is.

Both help hold cracks together; neither stops them. Rebar, set at the right height on supports, adds more strength and suits heavier loads. We recommend reinforcement based on the slab size, load and soil.

Plan on about a week for cars, longer for heavy trucks and campers. Cooler weather slows curing, so fall pours can need more time.

Rarely. A new layer over a broken or sunken slab inherits the same cracks and raises the height at the garage door. Taking the old slab out lets us fix the base it failed on.

Inside city limits, work in the right-of-way, like the approach from the street, goes through the city's Civic Access portal, and the city lists a fee for residential driveway installation. We check your address and handle it.

HomeGuide's national table lists a 12 by 12 foot patio at about $600 to $1,700 in plain concrete and $1,150 to $4,300 stained or stamped. Site prep and access shift that, so we price it after seeing the yard.

HomeGuide lists 30 to 50 years for concrete patios. A good base, proper slope and regular sealing are what get a patio to the long end of that range.

Yes. We may cut into the slope, add fill and compact it in layers, step the patio, or add an edge to hold the grade. The plan depends on how steep the yard is and where water goes.

We can leave a ring around a tree, but cutting large roots can harm it, and roots can lift the slab later. We often suggest shifting the patio a few feet to give the tree room.

Poured concrete usually costs less per square foot and has no gaps for weeds. Pavers can be pulled up and reset if the ground settles. On a flat yard with good drainage, a well-built concrete patio is typically the simpler option.

When wet or icy, sealed stamped concrete can be slick. On walks and steps we put a grit additive in the sealer, and in busy foot-traffic areas we can steer you toward a more textured pattern.

Plan on every two to three years, or when water stops beading. Sealing keeps the color strong and protects the surface from water, freeze-thaw and salt.

It can, as all concrete can. Joints are cut along the pattern's grout lines so any cracking follows the design and stays hard to spot.

No. Stamping needs fresh concrete. A sound existing slab can take a stamped overlay or a stain instead, while a damaged one is better removed and replaced.

In HomeGuide's patio guide, plain concrete runs $4 to $12 per square foot against $9 to $30 for stamped. The gap comes from the color, the stamping labor and the sealer.

Yes. Bloomington Municipal Code section 12.04.010 makes property owners responsible for keeping the sidewalks next to their property in good repair.

The city asks owners to finish repairs within 90 days of the letter's postmark. Call early, because fall and spring schedules fill up.

The city's Sidewalk Repair Assistance Program helps some owner-occupied single-family homes in Community Development Block Grant areas with sidewalks rated poor. Contact the City of Bloomington Street Department to see if you qualify.

Small chips and worn spots can be patched. Steps that have pulled away from the house, settled unevenly or crumbled through usually need replacing. HomeGuide lists poured steps at roughly $200 to $500 each.

Normally within a day or two, depending on temperatures. We leave barricades up until it is ready.

Four inches works for cars on good ground. Six inches, or thickened areas, suit trucks, campers, tractors and heavy equipment. HomeGuide lists 6-inch slabs at about $8 to $10 per square foot.

For a building you will heat, finish or use for storage, yes. The barrier limits ground moisture moving up into the floor. Open carports and equipment sheds often go without one.

It depends on size and site work. HomeGuide's range of $6 to $12 per square foot puts a 30 by 30 foot slab at about $5,400 to $10,800 before extra grading.

Yes, if a concrete truck or pump can reach it. We grade and compact the existing floor, add stone and a vapor barrier, and form around the posts.

Framing can often start within a few days, though heavy loads should wait longer. Dates depend on the mix and the weather at pour time.

Frequently, if it is still in one piece. Mudjacking or foam lifting raises it back to level. HomeGuide's leveling guide prices mudjacking at roughly $4 to $9 per square foot and foam at $8 to $25.

Yes, if the slab is otherwise sound. Sealing keeps water out of the base, which slows freeze-thaw damage and settlement. Wide or growing cracks can be a sign of a bigger problem.

That is scaling. It usually traces back to freeze-thaw on concrete without air entrainment, a surface finished while bleed water was on it, or salt applied too early. Shallow scaling can be resurfaced; deep scaling generally means replacement.

Not right away. New concrete starts lighter and darkens as it weathers. Matching the finish texture and joint spacing helps it blend in sooner.

When cracks run wider than about a quarter inch, the surface is badly damaged, the slab is in many pieces or the base has washed out. Patching those usually means paying for the same fix twice.