Concrete Driveways & Patios in Cherry Hill, NJ

What we see on a typical driveway

When we look at an original Cherry Hill driveway, we usually find some combination of:

• Spalling — the top surface flaking off, especially near the street where salt collects
• Cracks that have widened, heaved or sunk so sections no longer line up
• A broken-up strip along the garage slab
• Low spots that hold water and ice
• Pitch that sends water toward the garage or house instead of away

Repair or replace?

A single damaged section on an otherwise sound slab can sometimes be cut out and replaced. But when the problem is a missing base under the whole driveway, patching just moves the failure to the next joint. We'll tell you plainly which situation you're in. On most original Cherry Hill driveways, full replacement is the honest answer.

The base is what makes it last

A driveway is only as good as what's under it. We remove the old slab, excavate below the soft native soil, and install a compacted stone base in lifts. That base spreads the load of cars, drains water away from the underside of the slab, and keeps freeze-thaw from heaving it.

Cherry Hill's sandy loam with clay pockets can be soft in places, especially in lower western and southern sections. Where we find a soft spot, we dig it out rather than paving over it.

Pitch built in, not hoped for

Cherry Hill is flat, and water leaves a driveway only if the slab is shaped to shed it. We set forms to a planned pitch that carries water away from the garage and house and toward the street or a drain. A driveway that holds puddles turns them into ice patches all winter and spalls faster.

Reinforcement and control joints

Concrete cracks; the goal is to control where. We reinforce the slab, cut control joints at proper spacing so cracking happens in straight lines where it's meant to, and isolate the slab from the garage, house and walks so each can move independently. That's the difference between a driveway that ages well and one that looks cracked within a few winters.

Aprons and the street

The apron takes the worst abuse: plow blades, salt, heavy vehicles turning in. Work in the street right-of-way generally needs township approval, and we handle that. We build the apron to meet the street cleanly so it doesn't become the next failure point.

Patios that drain away from the house

Back patios from the same era often settled toward the house over the decades, sending rain at the foundation. When we replace a patio, we build the same stone base and pitch it away from the house, so the new surface helps your basement stay dry instead of working against it.

Walks, steps and stoops

Front walks and stoops crack and settle like driveways do, and a tipped walk can be a tripping hazard. We replace them on a proper base and can match the new driveway so the front of the house reads as one finished job.

Tree roots

Mature trees near driveways lift slabs as roots grow. When replacing, we look at where the roots are and plan the base and edges to reduce future lifting, without damaging the tree more than necessary.

Under the driveway: sewer and water lines

Cherry Hill sewer laterals commonly run thirty to eighty feet to the street, often under the driveway, and many are original clay. If your lateral is failing, replacing it while the driveway is out avoids cutting a brand-new slab later. We can camera the line before we pour.

Choosing the right time

Concrete is best poured in moderate weather. Very hot days speed curing and can weaken the surface; freezing nights can damage a fresh slab. In Cherry Hill we schedule most flatwork from spring through fall and plan around rain, so the slab cures properly and the surface holds up to its first winter of salt.

How the job runs

Utilities are marked, the old concrete is broken out and hauled away, the base is excavated and compacted, forms and reinforcement go in, and the slab is poured and finished. We'll tell you how long to stay off it before walking and before driving on it, and we clean up so the site is left neat.