Concrete driveway building in Hoover AL - a slab that drains and stays put
Cracked, sinking or puddled driveway? We dig out and pack the base, then pour a new slab that sheds water and holds your car.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What does it take to build a concrete driveway in Hoover?
Building a concrete driveway in Hoover means digging out and packing the ground, making sure water drains away, and pouring a slab sloped to shed rain, so once it cures it carries your car and sends water toward the street instead of your garage.
Most folks call us because the old driveway has cracked, sunk or started sending water toward the garage, or because a new house or addition needs one. The price mostly comes down to the size, whether there's an old slab to break out and haul off, how much digging and base work the lot needs, and whether trucks will use it, since a driveway that carries more weight gets built heavier. The schedule turns on the permit check, the weather on pour day and the days the concrete needs before you can drive on it, and your estimate spells out what's in it for your job. We're based in Hoover and work in Birmingham and many of the cities around it.
How do you know it's time for a new driveway?
Cracks that keep widening
Hairline cracks are common, but cracks that open wider every year or leave one side sitting higher than the other usually mean the ground underneath is moving. Wait too long and water gets in, the pieces shift further, and patching stops being worth the money.
Sinking or tilted sections
When a slab drops near the garage or the edges break off along the grass, it usually sat on loose fill or edges that were never built up. Every hard rain that runs under it washes out a little more of what's holding it up.
Puddles that won't drain
Water that sits for days, or runs toward your garage instead of the street, means the slab was poured with the wrong fall. Left alone, that water works its way under the slab and against your foundation.
How we handle concrete driveway building
It starts before the price, with you telling us whether delivery trucks or other heavy vehicles will use the driveway, because that changes how we build it. Our crew digs out to firm ground and packs the subgrade, the layer the slab sits on, instead of raking loose dirt level, since a slab on loose fill settles right along with it. We set the forms so the slab falls away from your house, pour in the cooler part of the day so the top doesn't dry into a weak, dusty skin, and give it a broom finish, a light ridged texture that keeps tires and shoes from slipping. Then we cut control joints, shallow grooves that tell the slab where to crack, before it has a chance to pick its own spots. If something in the budget has to give, I'd rather trim the finish than the base, because nobody sees the base on day one, but it's the one part you can't fix later without breaking out the whole slab.
A driveway often ties into other work around the house. If you'd like a level spot to sit out back, we can pour a concrete patio while we're set up, and if plain gray isn't the look you want out front, stamped concrete adds pattern and color to a border, a walk or the whole slab. When the job is a replacement, we break out and haul off the old driveway first.
Get a free driveway estimate at your house
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time for me to come out. The estimate is free, done at your place, and there's no obligation.
- estimates@concretehoover.com
- Based in
- Hoover, AL 35216
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–11 PM
What happens after you call us about a driveway in Hoover?
From your first call to the final walk-through, here's how a driveway job runs with us and who you'll be dealing with along the way.
Call or send us the form
Reach us at (205) 325-9006 or through the form, and we'll set a time for me to come see the job. If you know the rough size and whether there's an old slab to tear out, that helps.
Walk the lot together
I walk the site with you, look at the ground and where the water runs, and ask what vehicles will use the driveway. The estimate I put together lays out what's in it, so you can see what you're paying for before you decide.
Permit, pour and final walk-through
Once you're ready, we take care of the permit side, set the pour date and our crew builds the driveway. When it's done, we walk the finished work with you before we pack up.
Why Hoover homeowners call A&B Hoover Concrete Construction for driveways
I'm the one who comes out
I come out myself to look at the job and talk it over with you, and our own crew does the work with me on the job alongside them. You're talking to the person who'll be standing there on pour day.
Fully licensed and insured
The City of Hoover requires every contractor and subcontractor to hold a city license plus any state license the work calls for, and we're fully licensed and insured. Our work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
Six years building from the base
I learned this trade as a helper on a small crew, one pour at a time, and opened this business in Hoover in 2020. I explain what we're doing with the base and drainage as we go, because that's what decides how your driveway holds up.
If your driveway is cracking, sinking or holding water, tell us about your driveway or call (205) 325-9006, and I'll come take a look.
Driveway permits, curbs and drainage in Hoover
In Hoover, the city's Building Inspections Department handles driveway permits, and you can reach them at 205-444-7522. If the work cuts into or replaces a city curb or sidewalk, that takes a street-cut permit, and a driveway that connects to a state, county or federal highway needs the right approvals as well, with the Alabama Department of Transportation taking part when it's a U.S. highway. Before we schedule anything, we check with the building office for your address about what your job needs, handle the paperwork when a permit is called for, and leave room in the plan for the inspections.
A lot of the driveways we pour around here climb or drop from the street, so I spend time at the estimate watching where the water wants to go and setting the slope to carry it past the garage, not into it. We see the same kind of sloped lots on jobs in Vestavia Hills and Homewood, and we build them the same way.
Questions about concrete driveways in Hoover
How much does a concrete driveway cost near Hoover, AL?
In the Birmingham area, a plain concrete driveway with no steel reinforcement and no old slab to tear out usually costs about $5 to $10 per square foot. Tearing out an existing driveway can add to that per-foot cost, so a replacement can run higher than a new pour of the same size. We'll give you your own number after we've seen the lot.
How long does a new concrete driveway take to cure before I can drive on it?
You can usually walk on new concrete after 48 hours and drive a car on it after 7 to 10 days. Curing is that wait while the concrete keeps hardening, and the edges stay weaker the longest, so keep tires off them at first. We'll help you plan where to park until then.
How long does a concrete driveway last?
A concrete driveway can last 40 years or longer, so one well-built driveway should serve you for decades. What decides whether yours gets there is mostly what's under it, a packed base and water that drains away, and that's where we put our time.
How thick should a concrete driveway be?
Michigan's concrete industry guidelines recommend at least 4 inches of concrete for a driveway, and 5 inches when delivery vehicles will use it. That's one region's guidance, so at the estimate we look at what will actually drive on yours and settle the thickness with you.
What causes cracks in a new concrete driveway?
Many early cracks start when the top dries out faster than the concrete underneath, which is why the first few days of curing matter so much. Concrete guidance for hot weather says curing should start as soon as finishing is done and keep going for at least 3 days, so on a summer pour, ask us how we'll keep it going. Fine surface cracks from early drying look bad but rarely weaken a slab, and if you spot some, we'll tell you which kind you're looking at.
Should I seal a new concrete driveway?
You can, and Michigan's concrete industry guidelines say a penetrating sealer can go on 30 days after the pour and typically needs reapplying every three to five years. Plan on it as a repeating upkeep cost rather than a one-time job.
Other concrete work that goes with a driveway
Concrete patio construction
A patio poured to match your driveway gives you a level spot out back, with the same packed base and slope so rain runs off instead of pooling.
See the service Concrete patio constructionStamped concrete services
If gray concrete feels too plain for the front of your house, stamped concrete adds pattern and color to a walk, a border or the whole slab.
See the service Stamped concrete services
Cities where we build driveways around Hoover
A&B Hoover Concrete Construction is based in Hoover, Alabama, and works in Birmingham, Mountain Brook and many of the cities around them. The 12 cities below have their own pages, though they aren't the only places we pour.
Hoover, AL
Start planning your new concrete driveway
The sooner we check what your address needs from the building office, the sooner a pour date can go on the calendar.