New Driveway and Sidewalk

If you live in the country, chances are you may have a gravel driveway or no driveway at all. You may just have a few step stones connecting you from your house to a detached building. If you're tired of dealing with the mud and dust and mess, installing a concrete driveway or sidewalk may be just what you need. One of the important things to consider when installing concrete is drainage. In other words, where is the water going to go (since the dirt and grass won't be able to absorb it anymore)? We make sure this is planned out ahead of time and we grade our installations to make sure the water goes where it is supposed to go.

Here are a few terms you may not be familiar with:

1. Form board - board/ frame that is used to outline where the concrete will go and it holds it in place - the top of the form will be the top of the concrete
2. Form stake - wooden stake used to keep the form board in place
3. Rebar - metal rods used to add strength to the concrete and hold it together
4. Exposed aggregate - surface finish on concrete where the pebbles (aggregate) are visible
5. Expansion joint - an intention joint left in the concrete. All concrete cracks, but an expansion joint is installed to isolate the cracks and prevent them from spreading over the entire surface.

BEFORE - We formed up a sidewalk to connect the front and back porches to this customer's driveway and barn.

AFTER







Here we had to slope the concrete slightly to match up with the bottom step.


BEFORE


AFTER


The lines going across the driveway are expansion joints.

If a new driveway or sidewalk is in your future plans, please call Rainy Day Services at (972) 747-7734 for an estimate.