Concrete Apron Repair and replacement. A driveway Apron is the first 2 -4 feet from the garage or street into your driveway. Replacing our apron with concrete is a more permanent solution.
Jump to: Pricing, Why Aprons Fail, Asphalt vs. Concrete, Time to use.
What is a Concrete Apron Repair:
Concrete Apron repair is the section of the driveway that meets up with your garage. This section of the driveway is usually installed with Asphalt or Concrete:
Why do Aprons fail and how serious is it?
Asphalt Aprons usually fail because water gets between the garage floor and driveway. This water will eat away at the foundation blocks causing the holes in the cinder blocks to become exposed. These holes go down 6 – 10 feet and the gravel under the driveway will fall into the holes allowing the Asphalt to sink and break apart.
Concrete Aprons usually fail because the apron portion of the driveway was either not set on top of the foundation or the apron has fallen away from the foundation (it was not tied in) and sinks.
If I put an Asphalt Apron back in, will it fail again?
Odds are it will. Water will continue to get between the driveway and your garage. Water will compact the soil around the foundation holes. On hot summer days the asphalt will continue to sink and separate.
Will a Concrete Apron repair fail again?
If installed correctly, in most cases it will not. There are several things we do with concrete that we cannot do with asphalt.
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- Our team will back fill all cinder block foundation holes with gravel. After filling them, we will then cap them off with concrete.
- The Apron is set directly on the foundation (normally possible)
- It’s important to keep the seem between the Apron and garage floor sealed with a silicone calk every 2 or 3 years. This will go a long way in keeping the water away from your foundation.
- If you live in an area where the ground moves or sinks a lot, there is very little you can do to prevent an Apron from failing again.
How much does a new concrete Apron Repair cost?
90% of the Concrete Aprons we do are $2,000. This covers up to 140 square feet (a typical 3 car garage with a small setback on the smaller door) of concrete that will be 4 inches thick and tied into your garage floor with re-bar.
A typical driveway at the garage is 28 – 30 feet wide. If you have a 3 car garage, the 3rd stall will normally be “set back” 1 – 2 feet. So you can normally get a 3 – 4 foot deep Apron to fall within the 140 square foot limit.
If you have a 2 car garage, your driveway width is generally 15-20 feet wide. This would mean you could have an Apron 6 – 8 feet deep if you would like.
If your driveway is wider than 30 feet, your set back is greater than 2 feet or you want the depth of your Apron to match the corners of your sidewalk, you could be looking at around $2300 as the aprons are usually a little larger. Think about $10.00 per square foot extra above the 140 square feet for pricing.
Other than aesthetics, is there another reason to install a bigger Apron?
Yes. It’s very important to be sure any water falling onto the driveway at your Apron is moving away from the garage and foundation.
This could mean having to extend the depth of the Apron past the highest point of the driveway.
An alternative would be to put a drainage gate between the Apron and the garage and have the water funneled away from the foundation and garage. I cannot tie the Apron into the garage with this option and I cannot guarantee the apron as there would be no way to put it on the foundation blocks.
Do you need access to my garage?
Yes. We have to work the concrete from both sides in order to level and smooth it out. Having access to your garage is a must. Please be sure that nothing is closer than 3′ to the garage door opening.
How long before I can drive over my Apron to get into the garage?
The concrete is hard to the touch within 24 hours. You should not walk on it for at least 3 days. You should not drive over it for at least 10 days. The longer you can wait the less stress you put on the interior of the concrete while it dries completely.
Do I have to pay anything in advance to have my Apron Repair done?
When the prep work is done and the only thing we have left to do is wait on the concrete delivery I ask for 1/2 down and the rest upon completion.
See our blog about Aprons. There is a lot of additional information here.