Concrete Driveways in Aurora, IL

Concrete driveways in Aurora carry the heaviest daily load of any slab on a typical lot, and they carry it all winter. Cars track in brine, shovels and plow blades scrape the surface, and meltwater runs down the slope and refreezes overnight. Failures tend to start in the same places: the apron at the street where salty slush collects, the joint where the drive meets the garage floor, and any spot where water sneaks under the slab.

When repair stops making sense

Look for these signs:

• Flaking or pitting over a large share of the surface
• Cracks you can slide a coin into, or cracks where one side sits higher
• A panel by the garage that has dropped and now holds a puddle at the door
• Runoff heading toward the foundation instead of the street
• A broken apron or crumbling edges along the lawn
• A width that no longer fits the household's cars

A single dropped panel on a sound slab can often be lifted, and light surface damage can be resurfaced. Once settling, wide cracking and scaling show up together, a new driveway usually costs less over the next decade than yearly patching.

The part you never see

Most driveway failures start underneath. We break out the old concrete or asphalt, remove soft or organic soil, and replace it with crushed stone compacted in layers, which gives firm support and lets water drain away. Forms are set so the finished surface falls toward the street or yard, away from the garage slab and foundation.

Thickness follows use. HomeGuide's driveway guide calls for at least 4 inches for ordinary cars, 5 to 6 inches for RVs or heavy vehicles, and edges of 6 to 8 inches. If a trailer, a pickup with a plow or a camper parks on the drive, we thicken that area.

In the mix, air entrainment is the main defense against freeze-thaw. Rebar or welded wire set mid-slab keeps cracked pieces from drifting apart. Joints placed on a planned grid give shrinkage cracks a straight, intended path.

Aurora's apron rules

Many driveways in Aurora cross a public sidewalk on the way to the curb. The city's Sidewalk and Driveway Replacement page says the city and owners share upkeep of the drive approach, the walk through the driveway and the curb and gutter, and that the city reimburses owners for part of the cost to replace a deteriorated approach through its Driveway Assistance Program. Both the program application and the Driveway Permit come from the Division of Building and Permits. Our quote marks where your private slab ends and the approach begins, so you can apply before the job goes on the calendar.

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Surface choices

• Broom finish: the standard for a reason. The light texture grips in rain and slush.
• Exposed aggregate: the top paste is washed off to show the stone. It hides tire marks and grips well.
• Stamped or colored borders: a decorative band along the edges, leaving the main lanes plain and easy to shovel.
• Smooth trowel: looks clean but turns slick when wet or icy, so we keep it off sloped drives.

The first year with a new driveway

Keep vehicles off for at least seven days. Skip rock salt the first winter and spread sand for grip. In later winters, stay away from de-icers containing ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulfate, which break down cement paste. HomeGuide recommends waiting 28 to 30 days before the first sealer coat and resealing every 2 to 3 years. Point downspouts away from the slab, and ask whoever plows to use a rubber-edged blade or keep the blade slightly raised.