Questions Palm Coast homeowners ask about concrete
Licensing, permits, prices, thickness, steel, swales, weather, cure times, cracks, HOAs and financing — the answers we give on the phone every day.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes. Concrete work in Palm Coast is done by contractors registered with the city's Building Services Division, and we are; our crews carry general liability and workers' compensation, and the certificate of insurance is available before you sign. Ask any concrete contractor for their city registration and a certificate naming both coverages before a truck backs up your driveway.
Do I need a permit for concrete work in Palm Coast?
It depends on what and where. A new or widened driveway, an apron, a culvert or anything in the roadside swale or right-of-way needs the city's driveway permit and inspection. A structural slab, a screen-room slab with footings, a pool deck and a shed over 120 square feet need a building permit. An at-grade patio or slab under 120 square feet and a same-footprint driveway replacement are generally exempt. We confirm with Building Services at (386) 986-3780 before every job and pull the permit when one applies.
How much does a concrete driveway cost?
For a typical two-car driveway of 500–650 square feet in 2026: $5,000–$8,500 new, $6,500–$11,000 as a tear-out and replacement, plus $2,500–$5,500 for an apron across the swale with a culvert pipe and mitered ends. Stamped or colored work, a boat-side extension and a long run to the street add to it. Written, itemized, good for 30 days.
Do you charge for estimates?
No. The on-site measurement, the look at the drainage and the written price are free. If an engineer's drawing is needed for a structural slab, that's a real cost and it's itemized.
Do you require a deposit?
Not until you've approved the written price and we've scheduled the work. A deposit covers materials when the truck is ordered; the balance is due when you've walked the finished slab with us.
How thick should a driveway be?
Four inches of 3,000 psi concrete with fiber and welded wire on compacted sand for the driveway; five to six inches with rebar at the apron and under boat, RV and generator pads. What's under the slab — a compacted base above the wet-season grade — matters more than an extra inch on top.
Wire mesh, rebar or fiber?
Fiber in the mix plus welded wire on chairs for four-inch slabs; rebar on a grid for anything five inches and up, the apron, and pads that carry point loads. Fiber alone at four inches on Palm Coast sand is not enough.
Why do slabs sink at the street in Palm Coast?
The swale. When the culvert under the apron silts up or the swale erodes, water runs under the apron and washes the sand out. Under Municipal Code 24-159 the property owner maintains the swale and culvert on their frontage, so a sunken apron is a drainage repair and a concrete repair together.
Can you pour in the rain or the summer heat?
We pour at first light in summer to beat the heat and the afternoon storm, use a retarder when the day is going to be hot, and don't pour into standing water or an active downpour. A pour gets moved a day rather than poured badly.
How long before I can use it?
Foot traffic after 24–48 hours, cars after seven days, the boat or RV after fourteen, furniture on a patio after a week. Sealing happens after about 28 days of cure and we come back to do it.
Will it crack?
All concrete cracks; the job is to control where. Control joints on a grid no wider than ten feet, a compacted base, steel in the middle of the slab and edges that don't get washed out keep cracks in the joints where you can't see them. A crack across a field is a base problem, and we don't build those.
Do you work with HOAs?
Yes. Grand Haven, Plantation Bay, the Hammock communities, Grand Reserve and the LPGA-corridor associations all have architectural review, and we prepare the submittal — drawing, finish samples, color — before we schedule. We also bid association work as line-item proposals.
Do you offer financing?
Yes — 12-month same-as-cash and longer fixed-rate plans through a third-party lender, subject to credit approval. Ask when you get your estimate. See the financing page.