Concrete driveway building in Midland TX - a slab built for what you park

A concrete driveway in Midland usually costs about $6 to $11 per square foot, before removing any old driveway. Tearing out an existing slab adds to the cost per square foot, and reinforced concrete runs a little higher at the top end. I'll put your own driveway in writing when I come out.

One Midland cost guide calls four to five inches standard and usually enough for everyday cars, while owners of trucks or RVs may want six to eight inches. If you park something heavy, plan for the thicker slab. For a house or duplex, the city's specifications let the slab sit on packed subgrade alone, while other driveways count as commercial and get a compacted base layer under them.

Yes, a driveway can go in during the summer as long as the curing is done carefully. National guidance from the American Concrete Institute says high heat, low humidity and high wind affect how concrete is mixed, hauled and placed, and that hot weather concrete with good strength and curing that keeps the surface from drying lasts about as well. On a summer pour, keeping the top from drying out is the part we don't rush.

Outside city limits, driveway permits come from Midland County Public Works, and no work can start until you have the county's written approval. If the driveway connects to a state highway, the local TxDOT district office handles the permit, and inside city limits the city's permit list doesn't name driveways, so we ask the city before we schedule. If your job needs a permit, we can apply as your contractor or help you apply yourself.

New concrete usually cracks where the ground under it moves or where it shrinks without a joint to crack along, which is why the joints and a slab thick enough for what you park matter here. Texas research shows expansive clay is common in semi-arid parts of the state and can heave in wet seasons and settle in dry ones, and Texas highway research found shrinkage cracking common in pavement near trees and other plants, so ask how your layout handles trees nearby. Where a driveway meets a sidewalk or other concrete, the city's specifications call for expansion joints, planned gaps that let the concrete move.

Look for someone who explains how they'll prepare the base, which way the water will run and where the joints go, not just how the top will look. Inside Midland city limits, contractors who build or renovate property have to register with the city before it issues them a permit, so it's fair to ask. A written quote that lists the thickness and what's included makes bids easy to compare.