Worker prepping concrete for an overlay.

Concrete Maintenance & Repair FAQ's

Get All Your Concrete Maintenance & Repair FAQ's Answered

The Short Answer: The cost to seal a concrete driveway runs between $0.50 and $2.00 per square foot.

 

The Real Answer: The cost to seal a concrete driveway depends on a few things. Here's just a few.

 

  • The size of the driveway
  • The amount of cleaning and pressure washing that needs to be done before sealing.
  • The amount of cracks that need to be sealed.
  • The amount of repairs that need to be done.

Get up to 3 FREE estimates from our certified concrete driveway pros.

 

Answer: A concrete driveway should be sealed every 3 to 5 years depending on the type of sealer that's used, how much use the driveway gets and most importantly, if you live in a snowy, cold, wet region and deicing chemicals or salt are used on the roads.

Answer: A heavy duty degreaser and a wire brush. Scrub the oil spot off and rinse it well.

 

Cat little or topsoil are excellent alternatives if the oil spots are very recent or fresh. Let the cat little or topsoil sit on the oil spot for a few days. Alternate the oil soaked litter or topsoil with dry litter or soil every couple of days until the oil spot disappears.

Answer: Seal cracks when they are visibly open more than 1/8" to 1/4" of an inch or wider. Seal them up again when they are visibly opening up from the previous sealing. This may be every year, every other year or more.

 

Cracks that are less than 1/8" are very difficult to seal as the material cannot penetrate the crack properly.  Sealer can also get on the surface of the driveway which can be very unsightly.

Answer: Unfortunately, ice melting chemicals and salt can damage and stain the surface of the concrete.

 

While the best answer may not be the most popular, we covered this question in a recent article about what to use for ice on your concrete driveway.

Answer: Yes. It's safe to pressure wash concrete. However, it's best to avoid extremely high pressure which can not only damage the surface but can inject water into the capillaries which can be detrimental to the surface of the concrete in cold, icy climates.

The Short Answer: Yes, in some cases. Concrete Driveways can be overlayed one of two ways. A spray overlay or by adding 1/4" or more of resurfacing mix that can be stamped and patterned with a variety of different colors.

 

The Real Answer: Not all concrete driveways can be overlayed. Concrete that has extensive damage cannot and should not be overlayed. Furthermore, the cost to repair concrete driveways with extensive damage before overlaying the concrete, would likely far exceed the cost to remove and replace the concrete.

Answer: Yes. New an exciting concrete technologies introduced in the past several years have made it possible to resurface concrete driveways. However, often times the fix is more expensive than just removing and replacing the concrete.

 

Check out some concrete driveway designs that some of our users and contractors have sent us!

Answer: Yes, you can. You can also paint a car with a paint brush, but should you? No. Paint will flake and chip off of concrete.

Answer: Clean the crack out as good as possible with a screwdriver or other similar object as much as a few inches deep. Apply a weed inhibitor and allow to dry for 24 to 48 hours. Seal the crack with a professional concrete sealer.

 

*Be sure to use caution when using sharp objects, applying weed inhibitor and handling chemicals by wearing gloves, eye protection and an air filtering breathing mask.

The sooner you seal a new concrete driveway the better, but no sooner than at least 3 weeks after installation.

 

Sealing your concrete driveway is imperative if you live in a snowy region and the Department Of Transportation uses Magnesium Chloride or salt on the streets, roads and highways.

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