Concrete Driveway Building in Montrose CO - a slab planned for what you park on it
Cracked, sinking or puddling driveway? We dig out, pack the base and pour a new slab with the joints planned before the truck arrives.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What goes into building a new concrete driveway in Montrose?
Concrete driveway building in Montrose, CO means digging out to firm ground, packing a base and pouring a slab sized for what you park, with joints planned so it cracks where we choose and not at random.
Most people call us when the old driveway has broken into pieces, sunk at the edges or started sending water back toward the garage, or when a new house needs its first one. The price mostly turns on the size, how much old concrete has to come out, how much work the ground needs before it can carry a slab, how thick it has to be for your vehicles and the finish you pick, from a plain broom finish to stamped concrete. The schedule turns on the weather, any permit check where the driveway meets the road and the wait before you can drive on it. When I come out for the estimate, I explain what I see and what we'd do before you decide anything, so you know where each dollar goes.
How can you tell your driveway needs replacing?
Cracks that keep spreading
Cracks that run across the slab and get wider every year usually mean the ground underneath has moved. Each winter water gets into them and freezes, so a crack you could live with this year can turn into loose pieces by the next.
Sections sinking or tilting
When one section drops lower than the one beside it, the base under it was usually raked level instead of dug out and packed, so it settled right along with the dirt. The step tends to grow as water gets under the low side, and before long it's a trip edge and a spot that holds ice.
Water pooling near the house
Puddles that sit for a day, or water running toward the garage instead of the street, mean the slab was poured flat or tipped the wrong way. Water against your foundation is trouble you don't want to wait on, and a driveway that sends it there won't fix itself.
How we handle concrete driveway building
It starts before any digging. I ask what you'll be parking on it, a couple of cars or a camper and a work truck, because heavier loads can need a thicker slab, and I plan where the joints go and show you on the layout, since joints decide where a driveway cracks. Then we dig out the old concrete and soft dirt down to the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, and pack a base so the slab rests on even support instead of settling with loose dirt. We set the forms so the slab falls away from the house, add rebar, steel bars that hold the pieces together if it does crack, where the job calls for it, and pour in the cooler part of the day, because midday heat leaves a weak, dusty top. We cut control joints, grooves that give the slab a planned place to crack, before it picks its own, put on a broom finish, a light texture for grip when it's wet or icy, and let it cure, which is the wait while it gains strength before you use it. Before we leave, I go over how to treat it through its first winter.
A driveway often leads to other flatwork, our word for slabs on the ground like walks and patios, and it's easier to plan them together while we're set up. Plenty of customers add concrete patio construction out back at the same time, and if you'd like the front of the house dressed up, stamped concrete services can give the drive a pattern and color of its own.
Broom finish
This is the plain textured finish most driveways get, and it suits anyone who wants good grip and the lower price. If the budget is tight, this is where I'd point you, because nobody sees the base on day one, yet it's the part that keeps the slab flat for years, so that's where the money does the most good.
Stamped or decorative finish
This suits a driveway that's part of how the front of the house looks, and it costs more and asks a little more care. I'll gladly pour one, but only on top of a base and joint plan done right, not instead of them.
Get a free estimate for your new driveway
We reply within one business day to set a visit. I come out, look at the site and give you a free estimate on site, with no pressure to book.
(970) 964-6176- hello@montroseconcrete.com
- Based in
- Montrose, CO 81401
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM
What happens after you call about a driveway in Montrose?
Here's how it goes from your first call to the day you park on the new slab, and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call or send a message
Tell us roughly how big the driveway is and what you'll park on it, and we'll set a time for me to come out. We take calls every day from 7 AM to 11 PM.
I walk the site with you
I look at the ground, the slope and where water runs, ask how you'll use the driveway, then go over the estimate with you line by line. You'll see the tear-out, base work, slab thickness, joint layout and finish each listed, so nothing on the bill is a mystery.
We check, prep and pour
Once you're ready, we check with the office that covers your address, then dig out, pack the base, pour and finish. Weather can move a pour day, and if it does, we'll let you know.
Go over care together
Before we leave, we walk you through when to start using the driveway and how to treat it that first winter. Ask anything you like, because I'd rather explain it twice than have you surprised later.
Why homeowners in Montrose call Montrose Concrete for driveways
I look at every job myself
I come out to look at your driveway myself, and I'm on site with our crew when the work gets done. The person who planned your joints is standing there when they get cut, so nothing gets lost between the estimate and the pour.
In business since 2013
I've run this business since 2013, 13 years now, after learning the trade on a concrete crew every summer through school. I learned it by pouring and asking why, and I'll explain the why of your job before we start.
Licensed and fully insured, every job
We're licensed and fully insured. That matters when a crew, forms and a loaded concrete truck are working on your property and out by the road.
On a driveway, the work that counts most goes in before the concrete truck shows up. Request your estimate or call (970) 964-6176. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
Road connections and clay under Montrose driveways
Where your driveway meets the road is where the rules come in. If the work reaches into the county's right-of-way, the strip along a county road, Montrose County requires a separate permit for each activity there, and it won't issue one until utility locates, the paint marks showing buried lines, are done and still visible for its inspection. A new or changed connection to a state highway needs an access permit from the Colorado Department of Transportation. Before we schedule, we check with the city or county office that covers your address, walk you through what it asks for and, where a permit is needed, help you sort out the paperwork and keep you posted.
Clay is the other thing we watch. Letting expansive clay dry out too much before the pour, or letting water pond near the foundation during and after the work, adds to the trouble that soil causes, so we keep the ground from drying out ahead of the pour and grade the site to move water away from the house, the same way on driveways around Montrose and Delta.
Questions about concrete driveways in Montrose
Will a new concrete driveway crack?
Probably a little, because nobody can stop concrete from cracking entirely, but properly planned joints control where cracks show up and keep them small. When you compare bids, ask each contractor where the joints go and why, since that tells you more about the job than the price does.
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Colorado?
A concrete driveway in Colorado usually costs about $8 to $18 per square foot, and that's a statewide range, not our price. Where a Montrose job lands depends on tearing out the old slab, how much base work the ground needs, the thickness your vehicles call for and the finish. Your own figure comes from the estimate once I've seen the site.
Do I need a permit to connect a driveway to a county road in Montrose?
Yes, if the work reaches into the county's right-of-way, and a state highway connection needs a state access permit, as I explained in the section on road connections above. Tell us which road your driveway meets when you call, and we'll sort out what applies.
Can I use salt on a new concrete driveway the first winter?
It's best not to, because one concrete trade group's driveway guide advises against salt or de-icers during a new driveway's first winter. If we pour before the cold sets in, plan another way to handle ice that first season.
How long before I can drive on a new concrete driveway?
There isn't one number to go by, because concrete keeps gaining strength well after you can walk on it, so ask when heavy loads are okay instead of judging by its color or how hard it feels. When you do start driving on it, keep tires off the edges and corners at first, since those are what early traffic damages.
What causes a concrete driveway to flake and pop in winter?
Water inside the concrete freezes and expands, and with nowhere to go, it breaks the surface apart. Air-entrained concrete has tiny, evenly spread air pockets built in that give freezing water room to push into, and where a driveway sees freezing, that's one of the main things that makes it last. Ask whether the mix you're quoted is air-entrained.
Other concrete work that pairs with a driveway
Concrete patio construction
If you want somewhere to sit out back, a patio built on the same packed base can go in while our crew is set up.
Stamped concrete services
For a front entry that looks like stone or brick instead of plain gray, stamped concrete adds pattern and color to a slab built as solidly.
Driveway service areas around Montrose
Montrose Concrete is based in Montrose, Colorado, and builds driveways in Montrose, Delta and the cities around them. Those two cities each have a page of their own with more on the work we do there.
Montrose, CO
Call to plan your new driveway
Have the rough size, the vehicles it will carry and whether it meets a county road or state highway handy, and we can talk through your job on the first call.