How to Price a Concrete Driveway per Square Foot

Pricing a driveway at a flat number per square foot sounds simple until pour day. You run short on concrete, the base was not ready, the truck cannot get close and you have to call a pump, or the old slab was twice as thick as you figured. A per square foot price only works when there is a full cost breakdown behind it. Here is how to build one.

Measuring the driveway

Measure length times width to get square feet (SF). If the driveway has curves, a flared apron or odd shapes, break it into rectangles and triangles, figure each one and add them up. While you are on site, also note:

• The apron where the driveway meets the sidewalk or street, since many cities regulate it.
• Slope and drainage, so water runs away from the house and garage.
• Access for the ready-mix truck and the demo equipment.

Thickness and cubic yards

As a common practice, a driveway for passenger cars is poured at 4 inches, and 5 to 6 inches when heavier pickups, RVs or trucks will use it. Thickness and concrete strength are set by the engineer, the project specs or local code. If nothing is specified, check with your ready-mix supplier.

Concrete is ordered by the cubic yard. The formula is:

Cubic yards = length (ft) x width (ft) x (thickness in inches / 12) / 27

Then add an allowance for waste, subgrade variation and what stays in the drum. Many contractors add 5% to 10%. Ask your supplier how they handle small orders, since some charge a short-load fee.

Base preparation

Driveways fail at the base long before they fail in the concrete. Your bid should include:

• Excavation to the depth needed for the base plus the slab.
• Gravel base, compacted, usually in lifts, at the thickness your soil, engineer or local code calls for.
• Compaction with a plate compactor or roller, plus the time to do it right.

If the soil is clay, soft or drains poorly, say so in the proposal and price the fix as a separate line.

Demo and haul-off

Breaking out an old slab is heavy work. Measure its area and check its actual thickness by probing an edge. Concrete weighs roughly 150 pounds per cubic foot, so figure tonnage to know how many loads or dumpsters you need. Include equipment, labor, disposal loads and any recycling yard fees.

Forms, reinforcement and joints

• Forms: lumber or steel forms around the full perimeter, staked. Price them by the linear foot.
• Reinforcement: rebar grid or welded wire mesh. Either way, it has to sit inside the slab on chairs or supports, not lie on the ground. Bar size and spacing come from the engineer or local code.
• Control joints: a common rule of thumb is spacing of 2 to 3 times the slab thickness, in feet (a 4 inch slab gets joints every 8 to 12 feet). They are cut or tooled to about one quarter of the slab depth, and panels should be kept as close to square as possible. Follow project specs when they exist.
• Expansion or isolation joints: where the driveway meets the garage slab, sidewalk or house.

Finish, curing and permits

The standard finish is a broom finish for traction. Curing is part of the job: keep the slab moist or apply a curing compound per your supplier. Tell the homeowner how long to wait before walking on it and before driving on it, based on what your ready-mix supplier recommends.

Many cities require a permit for a new driveway, especially for the apron or a curb cut. Check with your local building department and include the cost and inspection time.

Labor and access

Figure crew days: prep, forming, pour and finish, plus the return trip to strip forms and saw joints. If the truck cannot get close to the pour, price a concrete pump or extra hands with wheelbarrows. Access can swing the cost of a job a lot, so look at it carefully during the site visit.

Overhead and profit

Add up your direct cost: concrete, base, forms, reinforcement, demo, disposal, equipment, pump, permit and labor. Add your overhead, the fixed cost of running the business spread across jobs. Then price with margin:

Price = total cost / (1 - desired margin)

For a 30% margin, divide by 0.70. To get your per square foot price, divide the final price by the SF. That way your price per SF comes from your real costs, not the other way around.

Example bid

The numbers below are an example only. Concrete, material and labor pricing varies by region, season and supplier.

A 20 x 24 ft driveway (480 SF) at 5 inches, replacing an old slab.

• Volume: 20 x 24 x (5 / 12) = 200 cubic feet / 27 = 7.4 cubic yards.
• With an 8% allowance: 8 cubic yards.

Example costs:

• Concrete: 8 yards x $160 = $1,280
• Gravel base and compaction: $600
• Forms and reinforcement: $700
• Demo and haul-off: $1,500
• Labor: $2,400
• Permit: $150
• Direct cost: $6,630
• Overhead (example 10%): $663
• Total cost: $7,293

Price at a 30% margin: $7,293 / 0.70 = $10,419, or about $21.70 per square foot in this example.

Good, better, best options

• Good: plain concrete with a broom finish, standard thickness and reinforcement per spec.
• Better: thicker slab, rebar reinforcement, full expansion joints and a sealer.
• Best: stamped or colored concrete, a decorative border and sealer. Let the homeowner know stamped concrete needs to be resealed periodically.

Common mistakes

• Ordering yards with no allowance and coming up short on pour day.
• Not checking the old slab's real thickness before pricing demo.
• Forgetting the pump when the truck has no access.
• Spacing control joints too far apart.
• Quoting a fixed per SF price without running the costs on each job.

How RoofDesk helps

With RoofDesk you enter the measurements you take on site and build the proposal from concrete templates that include good, better and best options, trade units (SF, LF, fixed price, per day) and waste factors. You track cost, overhead and profit per job, and the suggested price uses total cost / (1 - margin). The homeowner signs from their phone, and if something changes on site you handle it with a change order and a digital signature.

Frequently asked questions

How thick should a concrete driveway be?

As a common practice, 4 inches for passenger cars and 5 to 6 inches for heavier vehicles. Always follow the engineer, project specs or local code.

How do I figure how many yards of concrete I need?

Multiply length by width in feet, times thickness in inches divided by 12, then divide by 27. Add an allowance, usually 5% to 10%.

How far apart should control joints be?

A common rule of thumb is 2 to 3 times the slab thickness in feet, so a 4 inch slab gets joints every 8 to 12 feet. Follow the project specs when there are any.

Book a demo

If you want to price concrete off your real numbers and close more jobs, book a RoofDesk demo and we will show you how to build your driveway proposal.