We replace worn driveways and pour new ones across Southfield and south Oakland County. Most old driveways here failed from clay, frost and road salt, so our quote starts with the base and the mix. Work on the approach at the street needs a Southfield right-of-way permit, which we arrange.
Most Southfield driveways we look at were poured with the house, sometime between the 1950s and the 1970s. They lasted a long time, but clay, frost and road salt have caught up with them. The common signs are a panel sunk beside the garage where the basement backfill settled, a scaled and pitted surface near the street where salty slush sat every winter, and cracks that let meltwater down into the clay. A new driveway here starts below the slab. We dig out the soft soil, place and compact a crushed stone base that drains, and only then set forms.
For the concrete itself, every outdoor driveway gets an air-entrained mix. The tiny air pockets give freezing water room to expand, and that protects the surface from the salt scaling that ruins so many older slabs in Oakland County. We add steel so the slab stays together if the clay moves, slope it so water runs to the street and not the garage, cut control joints on time, and put an isolation joint at the garage floor and the approach.
The part between the sidewalk and the street, the drive approach, is in the city right-of-way. In Southfield that work needs a right-of-way permit from the Engineering Department, and if your house is on a county or state road, the road agency approves it instead. Southfield's zoning also limits how much of a front yard can be paved, which matters if you want to widen. We sort out those approvals before we tear anything out.
Concrete driveways in Southfield: common questions
Why does my Southfield driveway sink next to the garage?
Usually because the soil along the basement was backfilled loose when the house was built and has been settling ever since. The garage floor stays put on its foundation while the driveway follows the soil down. A deeper compacted base at that end and an isolation joint at the garage help a new slab stay level.
Do I need a permit to replace my driveway approach in Southfield?
Yes. Southfield's Engineering Department issues right-of-way permits for drive approaches, curb cuts and sidewalks, and the application is made online. If the approach meets a county or state road, that road agency gives the approval instead of the city.
Can I make my driveway wider in Southfield?
Often, but there are limits. The city's zoning requires that at least 65 percent of front and side yards stay landscaped, and a wider approach at the street needs a right-of-way permit. We measure your front yard and check what is allowed before quoting.
How it works
- Free estimate: Call, text or book online. We visit and measure.
- Written quote: Clear pricing with finish options.
- Prep & forms: We excavate, grade, compact the base and set forms and reinforcement.
- Pour, finish & cure: We pour, finish, cut control joints and tell you when you can use it.