How much does it cost to replace a concrete driveway in Alabama?
Published guides put concrete driveway replacement at about $8 to $18 per square foot. That is HomeGuide’s average to tear out a concrete slab and pour a new one. The same guide puts removing an old concrete driveway at $1,200 to $4,500 on average. At HomeGuide’s ranges, a 20 by 20 drive comes to about $3,200 to $8,400 for removal plus a new pour.
These are market figures from published guides. Your price comes from a free written estimate after an on-site look. Our concrete driveway repair and replacement work starts with what made the old drive fail. Then the failed concrete comes out, and new concrete goes down on a base we rebuild first.
What goes into a concrete driveway replacement quote?
A replacement quote holds two jobs: breaking out the old drive and pouring the new one. Every row below comes from HomeGuide’s driveway and concrete removal guides.
| Line on the quote | Published range |
|---|---|
| Tear out and replace, per square foot | $8 to $18 |
| Remove the old driveway, per square foot | $2 to $6 |
| Remove a concrete driveway, average total | $1,200 to $4,500 |
| Extra to remove reinforced concrete, per square foot | $1 to $3 |
| Saw-cut the concrete, per linear foot | $5 to $15 |
| Landfill dump fees, per ton | $90 to $160 |
| Grade the base, per square foot | $3 to $8 |
| Rebar in the new slab, per square foot | $1 to $3 |
| New 4-inch pour, per square foot | $6 to $15 |
| New 6-inch pour for heavy vehicles, per square foot | $8 to $20 |
| Driveway permit | $50 to $200 |
The rows overlap, so they do not simply add up. HomeGuide notes that many driveway contractors include grading in their driveway price. Removal and dump fees can sit on one line or two. Read what each estimate covers before you compare the totals.
What does it cost to replace a whole driveway?
Start with the square feet. HomeGuide adds $2 to $6 per square foot to break out an old driveway. HomeAdvisor gives the same range for concrete removal. On a 20 by 20 drive, which is 400 square feet, removal comes to $800 to $2,400.
HomeGuide prices that same drive new at $2,400 to $6,000. Together, the tear-out and the new pour run about $3,200 to $8,400. A 24 by 24 drive, 576 square feet, comes to about $1,150 to $3,450 to remove. Its new pour runs $3,500 to $8,600, for about $4,650 to $12,050 together.
Per square foot, $2 to $6 of removal plus $6 to $15 of new pour lands at $8 to $21. That brackets HomeGuide’s $8 to $18 tear-out and replace average. HomeAdvisor says removal combined with a new driveway can run up to $10,000 for both.
Long rural drives in Baldwin and Mobile County multiply every per-foot number, so measure before you price anything. For other sizes and finishes, see our guide to what a new concrete driveway costs.
Should you replace one section or the whole drive?
How much of the drive failed sets the job. One cracked panel, or a corner that dropped at the apron, can come out on its own. It gets saw-cut at the joints, and the sound concrete beside it stays put. HomeGuide puts concrete cutting at $5 to $15 per linear foot.
A drive cracked end to end and sunk in several places has a base problem down its whole length. That drive comes out and goes back as a new pour. A new panel set on a failed base drops the way the old one did. When old concrete comes out for good, with nothing poured back, that is demolition.
Crack filling and resurfacing overlays treat the surface, and mudjacking or foam lifting raises a sunken slab. Other trades sell those fixes. HomeGuide puts minor repairs like crack filling or resurfacing at $100 to $400 or more. Our work is tear-out and repour on a rebuilt base.
Does the new driveway need rebar or a thicker slab?
Thickness and steel show up twice on a replacement quote. HomeGuide says reinforced concrete costs $1 to $3 more per square foot to remove. HomeAdvisor puts reinforced concrete at 50% to 100% more to remove than unreinforced concrete.
On the new side, HomeGuide prices a standard 4-inch slab at $6 to $15 per square foot. A 6-inch slab, recommended for heavy vehicles, runs $8 to $20. Rebar adds $1 to $3 per square foot.
A 6-inch slab takes half again as much concrete as a 4-inch one. HomeGuide puts new concrete at $120 to $170 per cubic yard, poured. We set the thickness and the steel by what the drive will carry. A drive that holds an RV or a boat on a trailer needs more than one that holds a car.
Why do the base and drainage decide how long a new drive lasts?
HomeGuide says a quality concrete driveway should last 30 to 40 years with proper maintenance. A drive that cracks and sinks long before that usually failed from below. The concrete broke because the ground under it moved.
The City of Mobile says the area averages 66 inches of rain a year. Water that gets under a slab carries sand out from under an edge. The slab above that hollow drops and cracks. New concrete poured on the same soft base fails the same way.
So the base gets rebuilt first. Our crew strips out the roots and soft dirt, then grades the base with the track loader and compacts it. The grade sends water away from the slab. After the pour, control joints get cut before the new slab picks a crack of its own.
On wet Gulf Coast ground, the base matters as much as the concrete. That base work is grading and dirt work, which HomeGuide prices at $3 to $8 per square foot.
Do you need a permit to replace a driveway at the street?
Often, when the apron meets a public street. HomeGuide says most residential driveway installs need a permit, at $50 to $200 depending on location. The rules come from the city or county that owns the right-of-way.
In the City of Mobile, the right-of-way permit application covers the placement, removal or repair of residential driveways. It has a box for replacing a driveway at an existing home. The city requires inspections before fill goes over a driveway pipe and before the concrete is placed.
Mobile County allows no construction in its right-of-way before an approved permit. Its conditions also have a new drive slope down and away from the pavement for at least eight feet.
In Semmes, the driveway right-of-way permit runs through Public Works. The form records the pipe size and type. The permit is void if work does not start within 30 days.
Rules differ by town and by road. Check with your city or county before the old apron comes out.
How do you get a real number for a driveway replacement?
Measure the drive, or pace it off, and note where it meets the street. Look at a broken edge for steel, since rebar changes both the removal and the new pour. Note where water stands after a rain and where the slab dropped.
We work out of Elberta across Baldwin and Mobile County. We look at the ground with you on site, then write up a free estimate. The estimate is built on the drive you need and the base work under it. It also spells out how the broken concrete leaves the property.
When you compare estimates, check what each one covers. Removal and grading can sit inside one price and outside another. Two prices only line up when they cover the same tear-out and the same new drive.