How thick should driveway be?

[hallerb]

common but 5 inches thick is better with reinforcement mesh

[Ook]

I'm getting ready to replace my driveway. Question - how thick should the concrete be? I think the old concrete is about 4 inches, is this typical?

[Joseph Meehan]

A lot depends on your local soil conditions weather conditions and what kind of foundation you have. I would want at least 5" with reinforcement and a good foundation. What I got with my home was less and it is doing OK after 10 years, but there are a few cracks.

I might also add that the quality of the materials makes a big difference and while it does little to weaken the structure if the workmanship is poor, you can find you get scalding.

[DK]

How large a vehicle will park on your driveway?

[Moe]

"Ook" wrote

I suppose the answer depends on who you talk with.

Here in Northeast Ohio, all the contractors recommended 4", with the apron and sidewalk at apron/driveway @ 6".

I had mine redone with new compacted base, and 5" city mix, with wire. I had the apron & sidewalk done @ 6". I believe city mix is 6.5 sac, though I forget. They worked/pulled the wire as they were placing concrete.

[Sacramento Dave]

Most driveways are formed with 2X4 so you get if everything is perfect a 3

1/2" driveway. If it was me and how I did a pad for a boat. I went with 2x6 form compacted the ground. Then put in a 12" grid of #4 (1/2") rebar. Why rebar instead of wire mesh, if the concrete cracks and it will it will not separate. Most the time that wire mesh get pushed down to the ground doing the slab no good , plus it will rust. Another thing they are doing in slabs now is putting fiberglass in the mix, you might check with a concrete Co. about that. I know allot of slabs are fine with the wire mesh but cover all the bases.

[zxcvbob]

If I remember right, when i had mine poured a couple of years ago, it is only 4 inches (3.5" forms, actually), but is reinforced with rebar instead of just wire mesh, and he used extra strong concrete. "City mix", I think. I told the guy that I wanted to be able to park a 3/4 ton truck on it with 4000 pounds of dirt in the back without it cracking, but i would wait at least a month before parking anything heavy on it, then he did whatever was the cheapest way to achieve that. Maybe I'm remembering it wrong and he used 5" forms and a lesser grade of concrete, but still a stronger mix than is normally used for driveways.

Bob

[Ook]

Hi, thanks everyone for the input. It is a large driveway, and will have to passenger vehicles on it - a subaru, and my nissan pu. Nothing heavy.

So, question - how long does it take for the concrete to set? How long before we can park on it, how long before it reaches max strength?

[# Fred #]

Until you have a truck delivery to your front door.

A few hours to set, so you could walk on it but not anything heavy. Setting time is pre-adjusted in the mix, so ask your contractor.

How long

About 7 days around where I am but you should ask your contractor.

how long before it reaches max strength?

Almost reach max strength in 30 days.

[Joseph Meehan]

Are you sure you got that right? Dive (where you drive trucks and cars) less than the walk, which is smaller and will support far less weight? Are the women who walk on the walks up there in Youngstown area that heavy?

[Joseph Meehan]

Until that new sofa is being delivered. :-)

[Moe]

"Joseph Meehan" wrote

No, the men have fat ( ! )

Yes I'm sure. Code is 6" for the apron & the sidewalk between the apron & drive.

[George E. Cawthon]

Why would anyone ever go more than 6 sack which is waterproof. Most stuff is between 4 and 5 sack. I've even heard of shyster city contractors that poured 3.5 sack sidewalks; would not recommend that.

[Nick Hull]

Have you considered keeping the 4" of concrete (even if broken) and putting 2" of blacktop on top?

[Mike Dobony]

Mine was done w/2x6's so 5.5" It has held up well except for by the garage. If I did it again I would put 2x8's for the first 8' to the garage and 2x6's for the remainder of the drive. Also suggest you use the risers for the mesh to keep it in the middle of the slab. I have areas where the mesh is at the surface for over-zealous lifting by the contractor. Also recommend it slightly higher at the center to let the water run off to the sides. I requested this, but did not get it and have several areas where the water pools.

[Ook]

Not really. It's very old concrete, sags badly in one spot. And I hate blacktop :P

[Moe]

"George E. Cawthon" wrote

It's called, planning ahead.

I knew I would be tearing my roof off in the future, and the driveway needed attention b/4 the roof.

Having been in construction, I'm familiar with weights of material & weights of trucks. A ladder/conveyor tandem axle truck has an empty weight of around 22,000 lbs. I have a 30+ square home, which adds about 8,400 lbs, not including accessories. Plus, if I was the first stop, there could have been additional stops after me, which the truck may have grossed out at about 56,000 lbs. legal weight.

I had also given thought of the tear-off weight at a double layer, plus the weight of a roll off dumpster sitting in the drive.

Having a higher sac placed, only ran an additional $75.00.

I would say the question becomes, why wouldn't anyone go with a higher sac?

[<aemeijers]

No argument here- when you can overbuild something for such a small up-charge, it is cheap insurance. If I ever decide to splurge and replace the badly cracking asphalt drive here, I&#39;ll definitely be leaning toward concrete, and I&#39;ll make sure to have them cost it out &#39;standard&#39; vs. &#39;heavy duty&#39;, on thickness, rebar, and mix.

aem sends....

[Edwin Pawlowski]

To save $75.

[hallerb]

a neighbor went cheap:(

Really regretted it when a tree removal REQUIRED a bucket truck, and that truck cracked his driveway