Questions worth asking before the pour.

Plain broom-finished flatwork on the Front Range usually runs $6–$12 per square foot installed, with driveways at $8–$12 because they are thicker. Stamped and colored work runs $12–$18 per square foot, and removing an old slab adds $2–$4. The size of the job, base work for your soil and access move the number, and the cost guide has ranges for every kind of project.

Yes. Every estimate is free, on site and in writing, so you know what the project involves and what it costs before any work begins. We measure, look at the grade and drainage, and talk through finish options while we are there.

Tear-out and haul-away, excavation, the depth of compacted base, slab thickness, the reinforcement (rebar on chairs, not just mesh), the finish, joints, sealing, cleanup and any permits. If a quote leaves one out, ask, because that is usually where two prices differ.

Mostly because of what is under the slab. A low bid often pours a thinner slab straight onto native clay with little or no compacted base and no rebar, and that is the slab that cracks and tips in a few winters. Compare quotes line by line: thickness, base depth, reinforcement and tear-out.

Concrete costs more up front and lasts far longer: 30 years or more with good base work, against roughly 15 to 20 for asphalt, which also needs sealcoating every few years and softens in July sun. Both fail early on expansive clay without a proper base, so the base matters more than the material.

Concrete costs less, needs less upkeep and won’t shift or grow weeds between units. Pavers are easier to patch one piece at a time. On expansive clay, a well-built concrete patio is usually the lower-maintenance choice.

Stamped concrete gives you the look of stone or brick as one solid slab, usually for less than pavers, with no joints for weeds or ants. It needs resealing every two to three years in Colorado sun to keep its color, and a crack shows across the pattern instead of hiding in a joint.

Four inches for walks and patios, four to five for a driveway that sees cars, and six for trucks, trailers and RVs. Edges and aprons where loads come on and off the slab get thickened. Thickness only helps if the base under it is compacted, so ask about both.

Rebar set on chairs at mid-depth is what holds cracks tight and keeps panels level. Wire mesh often ends up trampled to the bottom of the slab, where it does little. Fiber in the mix reduces surface shrinkage cracking, but it does not replace rebar on driveways or anything carrying weight.

Not exactly. New concrete starts darker and lightens over months, and old concrete has years of wear and stains. The clean options are to replace whole panels out to existing joints, or to make the new section a deliberate border in a contrasting finish.

Only over a slab that is sound and level, and only where the added height works at doors, the garage and the street. If panels have sunk, heaved or broken, the base under them has failed and an overlay cracks along the same lines. In that case replacement is the honest answer.

Yes, when the weather allows and with the right precautions: never on frozen ground, with an adjusted mix and insulated blankets while it cures. If a cold snap makes a pour risky, we would rather move the date than compromise the slab.

Late spring through early fall, and those months book up first, so estimates in March and April help. Summer pours start early in the day so the sun and dry air don’t pull water out of the surface before it sets. Winter work is possible with cold-weather protection.

Freeze-thaw and de-icer. Water soaks into the top layer, freezes and expands, over and over each winter, and the magnesium chloride that drips off cars speeds it up. Air-entrained exterior mix, proper curing and a penetrating sealer before the first winter are the defense.

Much of the metro sits on bentonite clay that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, so the ground under a slab moves every season. Poured straight onto it, concrete cracks, lifts and tips toward the house. Removing soft soil, bringing in compacted road base and moving water away from the slab is how a slab survives it.

All concrete shrinks as it cures, so some hairline cracking is normal. What we control is where it happens and how wide it gets: control joints cut where the slab should crack, reinforcement to hold cracks tight, and a properly compacted base so the slab doesn’t move.

Roots under a slab lift it as they grow, which is why so many older Denver sidewalks have trip edges. We plan the layout and base around the tree, reinforce the slab near it, and talk with you before any large root is cut, because cutting the wrong one can harm the tree.

It depends on the city and the work. Anything in the public right-of-way, such as a sidewalk, driveway apron or curb cut, usually needs one. Many private patios and walks do not. We tell you which applies before we start, and HOA approval is a separate step we can help with.

Yes. Many Front Range neighborhoods review driveway widening, colored concrete and new patios before work starts. We put together the drawings, dimensions and finish details the submittal asks for, so the review goes through the first time.

Colorado law requires a locate request through Colorado 811 at least two business days before digging, not counting the day of the request, and Colorado 811 recommends allowing three. Whoever digs places the request, so on our jobs we file it, and the utilities mark their lines with paint and flags before excavation starts. Private lines, like sprinklers and landscape lighting, aren’t marked, so tell us where they run.

Most residential projects take a few days on site: tear-out and forming, the pour, and finishing. Curing continues after we leave. We’ll give you the schedule up front, along with how it changes if the weather does.

Usually not for the whole job. We need clear access for the crew and the truck, vehicles moved off the work area, and a plan for pets and sprinklers. We go over all of it before the start date.

We watch the forecast and don’t pour into heavy rain. Light rain after the surface is finished does little harm, and we keep plastic on site to cover a fresh slab. If a storm hits mid-pour, the surface gets protected and touched up while it is still workable.

A loaded ready-mix truck is heavy enough to crack an old driveway or rut a lawn, so we plan its route at the estimate. Where it can’t reach the forms safely, the concrete is pumped or wheeled in instead.

Our own experienced concrete professionals. The team behind DenverConcrete.com has been pouring concrete across the Front Range since 1989, and you’ll have one point of contact from the first estimate through the final walkthrough.

You can usually walk on it after a day or two and drive a car on it after about a week. Hold off on heavy trucks, trailers and de-icers until it has fully cured. We’ll go over the timing for your project at the final walkthrough.

On the Front Range, yes. A penetrating sealer helps exterior concrete resist water, freeze-thaw and the magnesium chloride that drips off cars all winter. Avoid de-icers entirely during the first winter, and reseal every few years.

For the first winter, none: use sand for traction. After that, shovel early and use de-icer sparingly. Avoid products with ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulfate, which attack concrete directly, and rinse off the magnesium chloride that drips from cars when you can.

Blot fresh oil right away, cover it with an absorbent like cat litter, then scrub with a concrete degreaser. Old stains may need a poultice and more than one round. Sealed concrete resists stains far better, which is one more reason to keep it sealed.

Thirty years or more for a driveway or patio built on a compacted base, with joints in the right places, water running away from it and a sealer every few years. Most slabs that fail early were poured thin onto native clay.

Isolated cracks and light scaling can often be sealed or patched. If panels have sunk, lifted or broken up, the base underneath has usually failed, and patching on top only buys a year or two. We’ll tell you honestly which one your concrete needs.

Sometimes. Slab lifting can level a panel that sank in one piece: mudjacking typically runs $4–$6 per square foot and foam $8–$25, with most Denver jobs around $850–$1,500. It won’t fix a panel that is broken up, heaved by swelling clay or tipping because water runs under it. Those need the base fixed, which means replacing the panel.

Yes. We saw-cut or break out to the nearest joints, fix the base under that section and pour new panels that tie into the old ones. The new concrete won’t match the old color exactly at first, so it helps to plan the cut lines around that.

Panels that rock, sound hollow when tapped, have sunk below their neighbors or tip toward the house are the signs. Water standing in the same spots after storms is another. The 30-second check on our home page walks through the rest.