Why did my last driveway crack?

Usually because of what was under it rather than what was in it. A base that settles, or water under the slab that freezes, expands and lifts, cracks the concrete above it. Concrete also shrinks as it cures — control joints direct where that crack goes; they do not prevent it.

Can I use salt on it?

Not in the first winter. Chloride attacks a surface that has not fully cured, and sand gives traction without the chemistry. After the first winter, sparingly.

Pavers move with the ground rather than resisting it, which in a heaving climate is a real advantage, and one paver can be lifted and reset. They need edge restraint and their joint sand topped up. Concrete is a single surface with less maintenance and less forgiveness.

How long before I can drive on it?

Concrete gains strength over weeks rather than days, and you get a specific date at the pour rather than a rule of thumb. Driving on it early is one of the few ways to damage a new slab.

Driveway Contractor in the Twin Cities

Driveways, walkways and patios

Concrete and paver driveways, walkways and patios, in a broom finish or stamped concrete, and AOne Materials® StonePave, a joint-free permeable surface with a heated option. A paver driveway is a flexible system that moves with the ground instead of resisting it, and a single paver can be lifted and reset where a slab would have to be cut out. Concrete is one surface, with less maintenance.

A stamped concrete patio with a tooled border, laid against a lawn edge.

Freshly placed stamped concrete during finishing, before curing.

A resin-bound walkway running to a walkout entry.

What decides how long it lasts

Concrete cracks because of what is under it far more often than because of what is in it. The base is compacted in layers rather than all at once, and exterior concrete here is air-entrained: microscopic air voids give freezing water somewhere to expand into instead of spalling the surface. Control joints are cut so that when the slab cracks, it does so in a straight line rather than across the middle. Surfaces are sloped so water leaves them — away from the house and the garage slab.

The apron and the permit

The apron where your driveway meets the street usually sits in the public right of way, and most cities in the metro require a separate permit and inspection for it. We handle that, but it affects the schedule, so it is worth knowing at the estimate rather than the week of the pour.

How we price this work

You get a written scope of the work. Where it is well defined we quote a fixed price. Where it genuinely is not — an old structure, an unknown behind a wall — we work cost-plus, and we tell you which model we are using and why before you sign anything. Any change to the scope or the price is written up as a change order and agreed before the work happens.

Square footage and what has to come out first drive the number more than the finish does: the area, removing the existing surface, any soil correction underneath, and the choice between broom, stamped, pavers or StonePave.

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Questions we get asked on site visits

Why did my last driveway crack?: Usually because of what was under it rather than what was in it. A base that settles, or water under the slab that freezes, expands and lifts, cracks the concrete above it. Concrete also shrinks as it cures — control joints direct where that crack goes; they do not prevent it.
Can I use salt on it?: Not in the first winter. Chloride attacks a surface that has not fully cured, and sand gives traction without the chemistry. After the first winter, sparingly.
Concrete or pavers?: Pavers move with the ground rather than resisting it, which in a heaving climate is a real advantage, and one paver can be lifted and reset. They need edge restraint and their joint sand topped up. Concrete is a single surface with less maintenance and less forgiveness.
How long before I can drive on it?: Concrete gains strength over weeks rather than days, and you get a specific date at the pour rather than a rule of thumb. Driving on it early is one of the few ways to damage a new slab.

More on this from our blog

How Heated Driveways Work in Minnesota Winters How a heated driveway works, what decides the running cost, what it does not solve, and why the decision has to be made before the surface goes down.