Concrete that has sunk, cracked or worn down does not always need to come out. A sidewalk that catches a toe can often be ground or lifted flat again. We repair, level and resurface driveways, sidewalks and patios across Alpharetta, and the first thing we work out is whether the base under the slab is still doing its job. If it is, a lift or a new surface will hold. A tired patio can take stamped concrete over the top instead of a full tear out.
Most of what we see here is age. The median Alpharetta home was built in 1996, so a lot of original flatwork is now thirty years old, and that is about when a sidewalk panel starts to lift at the joint, a driveway cracks along the wire mesh, and a patio surface goes chalky underfoot. Some of it moved. Some of it simply wore. Neither one means the concrete is past saving.
Pick a concrete contractor who will tell you honestly when repair is the wrong call, because sometimes it is, and a patched slab over a failed base fails again. The answer is not always the one that sells more concrete. We walk the pour with you, mark what we would fix and what we would replace, and explain the difference. Call for a free estimate on anything from a single sidewalk panel to a full driveway resurface.
Resurfacing puts a new wear layer over concrete that is sound underneath but ugly on top. We grind or shot blast the surface, patch spalls, then bond an overlay a quarter inch or so thick. Broom finish, stamped concrete, or color, depending on what the slab is doing. If the base is cracked through or rocking, an overlay just cracks again in the same line.
Leveling brings a settled slab back to grade instead of tearing it out. We drill small ports through the concrete, pump material underneath until the slab rises, then patch the holes. It works on a driveway panel that has dropped at the joint, a sidewalk that ponds water, or a garage floor pitched toward the house. Slabs that are broken into several loose pieces need replacement, not lifting.
Lifting handles the trip hazard where one sidewalk panel sits above the next. Polyurethane foam goes in through five-eighths inch holes, expands, and pushes the panel back into plane, usually within a fraction of an inch. Foam is light and cures fast, so a concrete sidewalk carries foot traffic the same day. We check the cause first: a washed-out base or a root under the concrete will lift again.
Mudjacking is the older method, and it still makes sense on heavy slabs. A slurry of sand, soil and portland cement is pumped through inch-and-a-half to two-inch holes to fill the void and raise the concrete. It costs less material per void than foam and holds well under thick commercial concrete. The holes are larger and the slurry adds weight, which matters on poorly compacted fill.
The median house in Alpharetta was built in 1996, and a lot of the concrete we look at is the concrete that came with the house. Original driveway, original walks, original patio slab. Flatwork that age is usually not failed, just tired: joints have opened, corners have settled, the surface has lost its top layer in places. Some of it was poured with wire mesh instead of rebar, and mesh that sank to the bottom of the pour never carried anything.
Most of what we do is flatwork: driveways, sidewalks, patios, steps, and the slabs behind commercial buildings where delivery trucks have pushed a corner down. A settled section can often be lifted back to grade instead of torn out. A surface that is sound but ugly can take a resurfacing coat, stamped or colored to sit right with the house. A slab broken across the middle with soft ground under it should come out, and we will say so. Nobody gains from patching concrete that has already lost its base.
We cover Alpharetta and the metro Atlanta towns around it on the same terms, the same crew and the same mix, whether the address is here or over in Roswell. Residential and commercial both. If you are not sure whether your driveway wants repair or replacement, walking it with you and reading the cracks settles the question faster than guessing from photos. We would rather tell you a slab has another good stretch left in it than sell you a tear-out. Call for a free estimate and tell us what the concrete is doing.
We start on the slab itself. We measure how far each panel has dropped, check cracks and joints for width and movement, and sound the surface for hollow spots where the base has washed out underneath. Water tells us most of it: where it sits, where it runs, whether a downspout dumps against the edge. Then we read thickness and reinforcement at a broken edge, since that decides whether a section is worth saving.
Everything goes in writing before work begins: the sections being lifted, ground, patched or replaced, the finish, and the reinforcement. Repair and resurfacing on existing sidewalks and driveways often needs no permit, and we say plainly when a job crosses into full replacement or new concrete installation that does. Permits get pulled and inspections scheduled where the work requires them. You keep a copy of the scope so nothing changes shape mid-job.
Demolition starts with a saw cut, so the seam between old and new lands on a clean straight line instead of a ragged break. The broken slab comes out and gets hauled off. Underneath, we dig out soft or washed material, then rebuild the subgrade with compacted graded aggregate base, running a plate compactor over it in lifts. Bad base is what cracked the last slab. Skipping it just repeats the failure.
Forms go in on grade and string line, braced so nothing bellies out under the weight of wet mud. Steel depends on the pour: welded wire mesh on chairs for walkways, half inch rebar on a grid for a concrete driveway or anything carrying vehicles. Flatwork runs four inches, driveways five to six. We place the mix, screed it, bull float, and tool control joints at spacing that matches the slab.
Finish is your call: broom texture for grip, stamped and colored to a pattern, or exposed aggregate washed back to the stone. Curing matters more than most people expect, so slabs get sealed or kept damp while they gain strength, and we tell you how long to stay off. Last, we walk the job with you, check joints, edges and drainage, and clean the surrounding surfaces before we pull out.
Two driveways of the same square footage can take very different amounts of work, and most of that difference is already sitting on your property where you can see it. Walk the job before you call anyone. These are the things that move the number.
| What changes the price | Which way | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Old slab still in the ground | Costs more | Breaking out and hauling concrete is its own day of labor before any new work starts. |
| Where a truck can park | Costs less when close | A chute reach beats wheelbarrowing or pumping around a house, a fence line, or a steep side yard. |
| Slab thickness the use calls for | Costs more when thicker | A patio walked on and a driveway parked on by a loaded truck are not the same pour. |
| Rebar mat instead of wire mesh | Costs more | Rebar on chairs takes material and tying time, and some slabs genuinely need it. |
| Base under the failing concrete | Costs more when washed out | Soft or voided base has to be dug out and compacted, or the new work moves the same way the old work did. |
| Where water goes after rain | Costs more when it pools | Regrading and drainage add work, and skipping it shortens the life of everything above it. |
| Stamped, colored, or exposed aggregate finish | Costs more than broom | More material, more hands on the slab, and a tighter window to get it right. |
| Roots, irrigation lines, or utilities in the path | Costs more | They have to be found, protected, or relocated by hand. |
Compare bids line by line: slab thickness, rebar or mesh, how deep the base gets prepared, control joint spacing, whether tear-out and haul-off are in the number or added later. Two quotes that look far apart usually differ on one of those.
No, not exactly. A resurfacer goes down over concrete that has weathered for years, so the new layer reads cleaner and slightly different in tone. We can color it to sit close, and stamped or broom finishes hide the transition well. Where an exact match matters, the honest answer is to resurface the whole run rather than one panel of it.
Concrete sinks when the ground under it moves. Fill that was never compacted properly settles over time, water finds a path along a downspout or a bad grade and washes soil out from beneath the slab, and tree roots decay and leave voids. The slab itself is usually fine. It is the base that failed, which is why lifting works.
We drill small ports through the slab, pump material into the void underneath, and the slab rises back to grade. The holes get patched. It lasts as long as the ground stays put, so the drainage that caused the settling has to be corrected at the same time. Lift a slab and leave the downspout dumping beside it, and you will be back.
Usually, yes. Lifting a settled section or resurfacing a worn one costs less than demolition, hauling, new base, rebar or wire mesh, and a fresh pour. The math turns when damage runs deep: a slab broken into many pieces, or one with a base that has washed out across most of its length. We tell you which one you have before anything starts.
Depends on the repair. A lifted slab takes foot traffic within hours because the material cures under the concrete, not on top of it. A resurfaced driveway needs a day or so before walking and considerably longer before a vehicle. Heat speeds curing, rain and cold slow it, and we give you the actual number for your pour.
Look at what is failing. Hairline cracks, surface scaling, a settled panel or two, uneven joints: all repairable, often for years more service. Widespread spiderweb cracking, crumbling edges, sections that rock underfoot, or a slab poured too thin with no reinforcement point to replacement. Much of the housing here dates to around 1996, and original flatwork from that era is at the age where it goes one way or the other.