How We Pour
True Grade Concrete pours driveways at 5 inches, patios and walks at 4 inches, using 4,000 psi air-entrained concrete over 4 inches of compacted limestone, fiber reinforcement, control joints cut the same day, and a pitch of at least 1/8 inch per foot away from the house. Walk at 48 hours, drive at 7 days, full strength at 28 days.
Insured · Written quote in 48 hours · Tear-out included · 1-year come-back guarantee
The Spec, Line By Line
This is what the crew is held to on every job. Hand the PDF to any other contractor you are comparing and ask them to match it line for line.
| Driveway thickness | 5 inches |
| Apron thickness | 6 inches |
| Patio and walkway thickness | 4 inches |
| Garage floor thickness | 4 inches (5 inches at the door) |
| Concrete strength | 4,000 psi, air-entrained, 5–7% air entrainment |
| Base | 4 inches of compacted #57 limestone (6 inches over clay or fill) |
| Reinforcement | fiber mesh in every pour; #4 rebar at aprons, garage thresholds, and steps |
| Control joints | control joints at 10 feet on 4-inch slabs, 12 feet on 5-inch slabs, cut the day of the pour, depth one-quarter of slab thickness |
| Expansion joints | half-inch expansion joint at every house wall, garage slab, and existing concrete |
| Drainage pitch | minimum 1/8 inch per foot away from the house; 1/4 inch per foot where the lot allows |
| Finish | medium broom finish for traction; stamped work gets color hardener, release, and a non-slip sealer |
| Cure schedule | walk on it at 24–48 hours, drive on it at 7 days, full strength at 28 days |
| Sealing | penetrating silane/siloxane sealer at 28 days, resealed every 2–3 years |
| Weather limits | no pours below 40°F without blankets and accelerator; no pours on frozen subgrade; no pours in rain |
The Job, Step By Step
Site Visit And Written Quote
We measure, check where water goes now, look at the apron and city sidewalk, and send a written quote within 48 hours.
Tear-Out And Base
Old concrete out, subgrade cut to depth, compacted stone base set to the finished grade.
Forms And String Line
Forms set to the slope we agreed on, checked twice with a string line and level before we order concrete.
Pour And Finish
Air-entrained 4,000 psi mix, fiber reinforcement, broom finish, control joints cut the same day.
Cure And Walk-Through
We walk the finished slab with you, explain the cure timeline, and come back if anything is not right.
Why Each Line Is There
Why 5 inches for driveways when code says 4
Four inches is the residential minimum. The fifth inch adds about 55% more bending strength for roughly 12% more concrete. In a freeze-thaw climate with plow trucks and delivery vans, that is the cheapest insurance on the job.
Why a stone base instead of pouring on dirt
Clay holds water; water freezes; the slab lifts. Four inches of compacted #57 limestone drains, spreads the load, and gives a uniform surface so the slab does not span a soft spot and crack.
Why air entrainment
Air-entrained concrete has billions of microscopic bubbles that give freezing water room to expand. Without it, surface scaling shows up in two or three Ohio winters, especially with salt.
Why control joints on pour day
Concrete shrinks as it cures and it will crack. Joints cut at one-quarter depth the same day, spaced at 2 to 2.5 times the thickness in feet, decide where. Cut late and the slab has already chosen.
Why fiber in every pour
Fiber controls plastic shrinkage cracking in the first hours and holds micro-cracks tight. Rebar goes where loads concentrate: aprons, garage thresholds, and steps.
Why we will not pour on a frozen or wet subgrade
Frozen ground thaws and settles under the new slab. Standing water in the forms weakens the mix at the bottom, where strength matters most. We reschedule rather than pour a slab we would not put our name on.
What This Spec Is Not
It is not a promise that the slab will never crack. Concrete cracks; the spec puts the cracks in the joints. It is not a substitute for the site visit: clay lots get 6 inches of base, steep lots get extra drainage, and the written quote says so. And it is not marketing: the numbers come from ACI 330 for residential pavements and the City of Mentor driveway standard, and we chose the stricter of the two wherever they differ.
Why thickness matters · Why concrete cracks · What the guarantee covers