Your concrete driveway resists daily wear of automobile use, extreme weather, as well as the erosion of the passing time. At some point, every homeowner comes to the same spot in their mind: fix the concrete that currently exists, or get a new one? It all depends upon your finances, as well as the long-term value of your property, so be sure to keep these considerations in mind when choosing.
It will not always be clear if repair/replacement would be the preferred solution. Apply the advice in this guide to your situation, and you’ll soon lean toward one or the other. Of course, you can also contact concrete driveways contractors in Oklahoma City for tailored advice.
Considerations to Keep in Mind
Age of Your Driveway
A standard concrete driveway would be adequate for 25 to 30 years if kept in relatively good repair. When your driveway remains relatively young—less than 15 years old—repair will be less expensive and should work well. Driveways at or even well within the average life of a driveway might be leaning in the ‘replace’ direction. Yet, considerable damage might require a full replacement.
Scope of Existing Damages
Considering the extent of the damage will be the next determining factor in your decision. Cracking, settling, or staining of a superficial kind will be likely to respond well to repairs. Extensive damage in structure, wide-range cracking, or damage in several locations will be likely to favor replacement for long-term results.
Budget Concerns
Simple repairs cost far less at the outset than a replacement. Repeated repair of aged concrete, however, becomes a repeated expense. Place the entire repair bill (over time) next to the replacement bill, and you may discover that a replacement is the better option.
When Repair is Best
Repairs are best on driveway areas that have not damaged the overall support system. Minor damage, surface erosion, and localized settling problems heal well from repair that has been performed in a localized fashion.
Patching, resurfacing, and sealing cracks can be accomplished to extend your driveway several years longer, assuming the original concrete has made it through in reasonable shape. These are very successful repairs if the damage has occurred through new causes—i.e., new tree root penetrations or slight settling of the soil—instead of through gradual wear and tear.
When your driveway has typical good construction with local trouble spots, repair allows your driveway to be remedied without jeopardizing your original concrete investment.
When Replacement is Needed
Replacement emerges as the intelligent choice if repair expenses are in the ‘50% or greater of replacement’ cost bracket. This is normally the case when the driveway is damaged in numerous areas or in an extensive way.
Cracks, settling, lifting, or water runoff would typically require replacement in the context of offering long-term results. These are usually symptoms of intrinsic problems in the placement or base of the concrete that repair will not be adequate to fix.
Elsewhere, driveways that have experienced a history of multiple repairs are ideal for replacement. Have you spent endless funds to make small repairs over the years? Replacement will break the maintenance expense cycle while providing multiple decades of trouble-free service.
Determining the Right Direction of Your Land
In the long term, the ‘replace or repair’ choice often entails short-term expense, long-term savings. An experienced analysis of concrete will be in a position to uncover the hidden problems that are maybe less easily recognizable, in order that the proper choice may be made.
Remember your long-term real estate goals, too. If short-term, strategic repair will suffice – that may be all that will be wanted. But if your goal is long-term, replacement will, in the vast majority of the time, be wiser from the standpoint of value received and confidence.
