Frequently Asked Questions

They get the ground ready, set forms, place steel, then pour, finish, joint and cure the concrete. For a homeowner that usually means driveways, patios, walks, steps, garage floors and shed pads, plus breaking out and replacing concrete that has failed. Much of the job is done before any concrete shows up: digging, base work, grading and forming.

Portland cement, water, sand and coarse aggregate such as gravel or crushed rock. Water and cement react and harden, locking the sand and stone together. Outdoor concrete in Iowa also gets an air-entraining admixture, which spreads tiny bubbles through the paste so freezing water has room and the surface does not scale.

HomeGuide's national cost guide lists plain concrete driveways at $6 to $10 a square foot. For a 20 x 20 two-car driveway (400 square feet) that works out to roughly $2,400 to $6,000, and tearing out an old one adds $2 to $6 a square foot. Grade, access and thickness move the number, so we measure before we quote.

In Sioux City it is the owner of the adjoining property, under Iowa Code and city code. The Engineering Division inspects one zone of the city each year. You can hire a contractor of your choice, who works under a city permit with an inspection before the pour, or have the city's contractor do it and send you the bill.

Inside Sioux City, the Engineering Division issues driveway and sidewalk installation and replacement permits for work in the public right-of-way, which covers the approach at the street and the public walk. Other towns set their own rules. We confirm what applies at your address before a pour date is set.

Most flatwork goes in between spring and fall. Cold-weather pours are possible with heated water, insulated blankets and accelerators, but they cost more, and a late-season slab meets salt and freeze-thaw before it has much strength. We watch the forecast and will tell you if a job is better left until spring.

Not during its first winter. Citing the Iowa Concrete Paving Association, the city's Engineering Division recommends plain sand instead of ice melt on driveways and sidewalks put in that construction season. After that, shovel early, use deicer sparingly and keep the surface sealed.

HomeGuide puts the floor at 4 inches for passenger cars, 5 to 6 inches for heavy vehicles, with thicker edges. We settle the number once we know what you park and how firm the ground is.

Laying new concrete over a cracked, sunken drive copies the old cracks into the new surface and raises the height at both the garage and the curb. Almost always, the right move is to break out the old slab and rebuild what is under it.

Plan on about a week for ordinary cars and longer for heavy trucks. Curing slows down in cool weather, so the date we give you depends on conditions during the pour.

The city's Engineering Division issues driveway and sidewalk installation and replacement permits for the part of the job in the public right-of-way. We find out what your address needs and get it done ahead of the pour.

Usually water. It gets under the slab or into the surface, freezes and expands. A poor base, no slope, missing joints and salt make it worse. A replacement fixes the cause, not just the crack.

In HomeGuide's national figures, a plain concrete patio runs $4 to $12 a square foot. A 12 x 12 patio (144 square feet) lands around $600 to $1,700. Decorative finishes add to that. We quote in writing after seeing the yard.

Four inches is standard for a patio, according to HomeGuide. A hot tub or outdoor kitchen calls for 6 inches with extra reinforcement.

Away from the house, typically a small fall per foot so water does not sit or run toward the foundation. We set the slope with the forms before the pour.

A concrete patio sits on the ground, needs little upkeep beyond sealing and lasts for decades. A deck makes more sense when the back door is high above the yard. Many homes in hilly parts of town have both, with the patio below the deck.

Any concrete can crack. Good base work, air-entrained concrete and joints hidden in pattern lines keep cracking to a minimum and make hairline cracks harder to spot.

Smoother patterns can be slick when wet or icy. Textured patterns and a grit additive in the sealer help on walks and steps.

HomeGuide recommends resealing concrete every 2 to 3 years. Stamped surfaces look and wear better when kept on that schedule.

Pavers can be lifted and reset one at a time, but they can shift and heave with frost. Stamped concrete is one slab, so it stays flat and keeps weeds out, but repairs are harder to blend. We can talk through both for your yard.

Stamping is done on fresh concrete. An old slab in good shape can sometimes get a decorative overlay, but a cracked or settled slab should be replaced first.

You can hire your own contractor under a city permit, with an inspection before the pour, or let the city's contractor do the work and bill you. Call us with the notice and we will quote the marked panels in writing.

The adjoining property owner, under Iowa Code and city code. If the city's contractor does the work, the bill becomes a special assessment if it is not paid within 30 days.

Sometimes. The city notes that some defects can be fixed without replacing the whole panel. Panels that are broken into small pieces, badly spalled or far off grade usually need replacement.

HomeGuide lists poured concrete steps at $200 to $500 per step. Landings, railings and removal of old steps add to the total.

Usually the soil under the steps has settled or washed out, often because water runs off the roof or walk into that spot. New steps on a compacted base with good drainage fix the cause.

HomeGuide lists garage floors as typically 4 to 6 inches. We go thicker where heavy trucks, lifts or equipment sit.

Shed slabs are typically about 4 inches, according to HomeGuide, on a compacted gravel base.

Yes. We break out the old floor without damaging the walls, rebuild the base and pour a new floor sloped toward the door.

It depends on the size and type of building and on local code. We check with the city or county building department before we form the slab.

Repair or lift when the slab is in one piece and only cracked or out of level. HomeGuide's guidance is to replace when cracks are wider than 1/4 inch, spalling is significant, or the concrete is badly deteriorated.

Foam is lighter and goes in through smaller holes; mudjacking usually costs less. Either one only holds if the drainage that let the slab settle is corrected.

Flaking, called scaling, starts when water in the top layer freezes and expands, and salt makes it worse. It shows up most on concrete that had no air entrainment, was finished with too much water, or was salted during its first winter.

Sometimes. The city notes that some defects can be repaired without replacing the panel. If the panel is intact and lifting brings it within the city's limits, it can work; broken or spalled panels need replacement.

It depends on the fix. HomeGuide puts mudjacking at $4 to $9 a square foot and full slab replacement at $6 to $15. We price it once we have seen the damage.