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How Much Is a Concrete Driveway?

The average cost of a concrete driveway.

Updated

concrete driveway
A concrete driveway. PHOTO | FILE

The question of how much to pay for a concrete driveway can be answered based on the type of decorations and finishes that you aspire for your new driveway.

That being said, you can expect to spend $5 to $7 per square foot for plain grey concrete driveway and upwards of $18 per square foot for a high-end finish.

How much is a concrete driveway?

While it is a good idea to get real quotation from concrete driveway contractors in your area, here are the average prices for concrete driveway installation:

Basic-end driveway:

If you just need to add some enhancement to your ordinary-looking driveway, you can expect to pay $8 to $12 per square foot.

This will involve adopting a one coloring method – either integral or surface-applied, textured concrete finish, exposed aggregate, and basic stencil or border.

Medium-end driveway

This is a higher version of the basic driveway, and you can expect to spend $12 to $18 per square foot to concrete a driveway of this kind.

Installation of a medium-class driveway allows you to incorporate bold decorative effects, contrasts with colours and patterns, engraving, as well as score and stained concrete.

High-end driveway

This is the crème dela crème of concrete driveways. It allows unlimited decorative effects, and it is therefore the most sophisticated driveway.

Custom-made driveways can have borders, sawcut designs; hand-applied chemical stain accents; innovative stenciling; countless scoring patterns and stain colors.

You should budget at least $18 per square foot for this driveway.

The answer to the ‘how much for concrete driveway’ question should also take into consideration the location, size of the driveway, and material and labor costs.

Driveway concrete replacement cost

What does it cost to replace concrete driveway? Well, it depends. If you want to completely uproot the existing driveway first, you should expect to pay about $1 per square foot and some further disposal costs as well.

However, resurfacing an existing driveway can cost anything from $3 to $10 per square foot depending on the design, decorations and finishes.

Concrete driveway vs. asphalt

While the focus of this article is on how much to concrete a driveway, it is important to compare the above options to help you make the right decision.

Asphalt can be a cheaper option when compared with concrete, as the cost of installing an asphalt driveway is $3 to $5 per square foot while plain grey concrete goes for $5 to $7.

However, when you compare the durability of the two driveway options, it is more economical to concrete a driveway as it can last for decades compared to asphalt – which often requires replacement after only 10 to 15 years.

Albert Andeso holds a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Nairobi. He has extensive experience in construction and has been involved in many roads, bridges, and buildings projects.