Concrete driveway building in Davis CA - a slab sized for what you park on it

In the Sacramento area, a concrete driveway usually costs about $5 to $17 per square foot, going by one local cost guide. Where yours lands depends on the size, the thickness, mesh or rebar, and whether an old slab comes out first. Every driveway we build is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.

One Sacramento-area guide puts a standard driveway at 4 inches thick and says 6 inches suits RVs or work trucks. The thicker slab takes more concrete, rebar and labor, so it's a bigger job. That's why I ask what you'll park on it before I size anything.

Many pros suggest about 7 days before you drive on a new driveway, though you can usually walk on it within 24 to 48 hours. That wait is curing, as the concrete hardens, and full strength can take up to 28 days. Plan to park elsewhere that week, and I'll tell you straight when the car can come back.

Yes, but it takes more planning on pour day, because Davis summers are hot and dry and the upper soil stays dry from about May to November unless it's watered. A concrete trade group advises extra steps once concrete gets hot, such as sunshades, wind breaks, plastic sheeting and dampening the ground beforehand. We plan pours around the midday heat.

In California, a driveway crew needs a contractor license in the concrete class, which the state licensing board says covers pavement and flat concrete. The minor work exemption applies only to jobs under $1,000 that need no permit and use no hired workers, so a crew pouring your driveway should hold that license.