Tag Archives: concrete

In with the new

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Well so far so good … the new driveway was poured today. The construction crew, seven guys, were here fairly early and got to work immediately. It took longer than I thought it would, but they sure knew what they were doing.

Driveway BeforeHere’s what the driveway looked before … it was pretty wavy and cracked. It had been resealed once, but that didn’t help a lot. It was hard to shovel and the snow thrower would get caught up on the various dips & cracks.


Driveway Pre-PourI applied for the village construction permit, and posted it in the window, about a week later (middle of the next week), I noticed on the web cam that there was a crew breaking up the old driveway. Here’s what it looked like after they were done.


Driveway In ProgressThe work itself was kind of like a dance … the guys dumping the concrete were followed immediately by the guys spreading it. Once it was spread, the guys with the float were there to smooth it out. Then the guys with the hand trowels & floats were in to touch it up. Finally the guy with the grooved trowels laid in the expansion joints.


Driveway FinishedAfter they were finished, it looked pretty good. Obviously the proof will be when it’s dry, we can drive on it (which will be in about 3 days), and we have a few snows.

I noticed that the contract with the construction company specifically voids their warranty (one year) if we use chemical deicers on it. I’ll have to look into getting it sealed. The folks on DSL Reports Home Improvement forum suggested that I get it sealed in October. It’s probably going to be an ‘every two years’ thing.

Aside from the amount of time & effort it took to get an actual estimate, I’m pretty pleased with it so far. The cost was good, the work was done quickly & professionally, and there was a minimum of fuss.

Out with the old …

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drivewaygone.jpg… driveway.

Hopefully a new, concrete, driveway will take it’s place in the next few days.

I never liked our driveway … it was asphalt … and had buckled and heaved over the many winters & summers it’s been in place. Plus, last year, we got a notice from the village that we needed to get it resealed (it looked really ratty).

Considering how hard it’s been to get a hold of the company that’s doing the work, I’m quite amazed that it’s gotten even this far.

The construction company that is replacing our driveway is the same one that is rebuilding our street. I had hoped to have the driveway ripped up during the same period that the street was ripped up.

I called the company when they first started removing the street. I was promised that an estimate would be done within a week to 10 days. 10 days later, I had no estimate. I called again, left a message on their voice mail. Called again later in the day, talked to their receptionist, who promised she would walk the message over to the estimating department. Never heard a peep.

Some of our neighbors were getting their driveways replaced also … so I asked one how they got a hold of the company, and was told that their experience was much like mine. The only way to actually get an estimate was to find a supervisor for the job and get them to give me an estimate.

The next day I worked from home for the morning and, as soon as I saw a crew starting to work, I walked up to them and asked for a supervisor. The supervisor called the estimator, who came to our house about 45 minutes later.

The estimate was quite reasonable … about $2.5k … which stands to reason … since they don’t have to bring the crew out, equipment, or materials, out to the job.

The driveways that have already been replaced look nice … I’m hoping ours will be just as nice.