What Is a Concrete Driveway Installation?
A concrete driveway is a reinforced slab poured over an engineered base, and almost everything that determines whether it lasts 15 years or 40 happens before the truck arrives. We excavate to depth, compact a 6-inch granular A base over geotextile fabric where the subgrade is soft, set 15M rebar or 6x6 welded wire mesh, then place 32 MPa air-entrained concrete and finish it to the texture you chose.
Air entrainment matters more in Toronto than almost anywhere else in the country. CSA A23.1 puts exterior residential slabs exposed to de-icing salts in exposure class C-2, which calls for a specified air content and a minimum strength. Those microscopic air voids give freezing water room to expand instead of blowing the surface apart. A driveway poured without them looks identical on day one and starts flaking after two or three winters.
We pour new driveways, replace failed slabs, resurface tired concrete that is still structurally sound, and add decorative finishes. Every job starts with the same assessment, and if the slab underneath can be saved we will tell you before we quote a tear-out.
What’s Included
- Removal and disposal of the existing slab
- Excavation and 6-inch compacted granular A base
- Reinforcement with 15M rebar or welded wire mesh
- 32 MPa air-entrained concrete rated for freeze-thaw and salt
- Broom, exposed-aggregate or decorative finish
- Saw-cut control joints on a proper spacing grid
- Curing compound and site clean-up
Common Problems We Solve
Salt Spalling and Surface Scaling
Flaking, pitted surfaces are the most common driveway complaint we hear across Toronto, Etobicoke and Scarborough. Chloride from road salt penetrates the top few millimetres, and each freeze-thaw cycle lifts another layer away. If the damage is shallow and the slab is structurally sound, a bonded overlay at $5 to $10 per sq ft restores the surface. If the aggregate is exposed across most of the drive, replacement is the better spend.
Cracking at the Garage Apron
The apron carries the most weight and sits where the sub-base transitions from compacted fill to the garage footing. Poor compaction there shows up as a step crack within a few years. We repair it with epoxy injection when the crack is stable, or lift and rejoint the panel when the base has settled.
Sunken and Uneven Slabs
Toronto clay shrinks as it dries and leaves voids under the slab. The concrete drops, water pools against the garage or the house, and the joints open. Polyurethane foam lifting raises the slab back to grade in a morning without excavation. Replacement only wins when the concrete itself is broken.
Ponding and Poor Drainage
A driveway that slopes toward the house rather than the street sends meltwater into the foundation. We re-grade during a replacement so the slab drains away from the building at a minimum of one quarter inch per foot, and tie in a trench drain when the site cannot shed water any other way.
How Much Does a Concrete Driveway Cost in Toronto?
Installed concrete driveways run $10 to $16 per square foot. Where you land inside that band depends on five things:
- Slab thickness and reinforcement. Four inches with wire mesh sits at the bottom of the range; five or six inches with a 15M rebar grid sits at the top.
- Base condition. A subgrade that needs extra excavation, geotextile fabric, or imported granular adds cost before any concrete is ordered.
- Removal and disposal. Tearing out and hauling away an existing slab is real labour and real tipping fees.
- Finish. A broom finish is standard. Exposed aggregate, integral colour and stamped borders add $2 to $9 per square foot.
- Access. A drive that cannot take a chute pour needs a line pump, and we quote that up front rather than adding it later.
A 600 sq ft two-car driveway therefore lands roughly between $6,000 and $9,600. Same-day written quotes are available for jobs under 500 sq ft.
Types of Concrete Driveway Finishes
Broom finish is the workhorse: a light drag with a soft-bristle broom after bull floating gives grip in winter and hides minor imperfections. Exposed aggregate uses a surface retarder and controlled wash-off to reveal decorative stone, which grips better than any other finish and is popular in Oakville and Vaughan. Stamped concrete presses polyurethane texture mats into plastic concrete for a stone, slate or brick look at $12 to $25 per sq ft. Integral colour mixes iron-oxide pigment through the whole load so a chip does not show grey underneath. Many homeowners combine a broom-finished field with a stamped or exposed-aggregate border, which gives the decorative read at a fraction of the full decorative cost.
When Do You Need a New Driveway?
Replace when the slab has heaved out of plane, when cracks are wider than a pencil and running through multiple panels, when the surface has scaled deep enough to expose aggregate across most of the area, or when the base has failed and lifting would only be temporary. Repair when the concrete is intact but settled, when cracking is isolated, or when the surface has worn without structural damage. That distinction is worth thousands of dollars, which is why we assess it before we quote.
Booking is straightforward: call us any time, or send the details through and we will come back with a written published-rate quote inside two hours.
