Concrete Driveways in Beaumont, TX

Concrete driveways are the biggest concrete job most Beaumont homeowners will ever buy, and a lot of the ones in town are due. The city's median home was built in 1978, according to Point2Homes' summary of Census survey data, so many driveways have 40 or more years of tree roots, heavy rain and settling behind them. Some are single-car strips that no longer fit two trucks. Others are cracked into pieces or sunk where a downspout empties. We tear out old driveways, pour new ones and widen the ones that are still sound.

What a driveway job involves

A driveway is only as good as what is under it. We break out and haul away the old concrete, dig out soft or organic soil, and bring the subgrade to grade. The City of Beaumont's driveway handout calls for subgrade compacted to 95% of standard Proctor density on approaches, and we compact the whole drive to the same standard. Forms go up with a slope that carries water toward the street, not toward the garage. Then the reinforcement goes in: the city's minimum for residential approaches is No. 6 wire mesh or No. 4 rebar at 12 inches on center, set up on chairs so it ends up inside the slab instead of under it.

We pour 3,000 psi or stronger concrete at least 4 inches thick, which is the city's residential minimum. Where you park heavy trucks, a boat or an RV, we recommend thickening to 5 or 6 inches. The surface gets a broom finish for traction in the rain, and we cut control joints so the cracks that every slab wants to make happen in straight lines instead of across the middle.

The approach, the ditch and the culvert

Many Beaumont streets drain through open ditches, so the driveway approach crosses a culvert pipe. The city's process is specific. Its survey crew sets the grade and checks the pipe size, the culvert is installed to city standard, and an inspector checks the pipe, slope and backfill before the trench is closed. Then the approach gets its own pre-pour inspection for dimensions, location, reinforcement and forms. The abutting property owner pays for materials and labor on the approach and culvert. We plan the job around these steps so the inspections do not hold up the pour.

Signs your driveway needs work

• Cracks that keep widening or have one side higher than the other
• Sections that have sunk and hold water after rain
• Edges crumbling along the ditch or the lawn
• Roots lifting slabs near trees
• A drive too narrow for the vehicles you own now
• Water that runs toward the garage or house instead of the street

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Widening and layout rules

Widening is a common request on older lots. We saw a straight edge on the old slab, drill and epoxy dowels into it and pour the new strip so the two halves stay level. The City of Beaumont's handout sets residential driveways at a minimum width of 10 feet and a maximum of 35 feet at the approach, a 5-foot setback from the side property line, 10 feet between neighboring residential driveways and at least 30 feet from an intersection. Private-property paving must stay at least 2 feet from interior property lines. Those rules shape what is possible on a narrow lot, so we measure before we promise a layout.

Caring for a new driveway

Keep cars off for about a week and heavy trucks off longer. Point downspouts away from the slab edges, and fill in soil along the sides if runoff starts to dig a gap. A penetrating or acrylic sealer every few years helps keep water and oil out of the surface. Fix small cracks while they are small, and keep an eye on trees close to the drive, because roots are the most common reason older Beaumont driveways lift and break.