Concrete driveways in Detroit.
Repair it or replace it?
Leveling a sunken slab costs $600 to $2,000. Tearing out a drive for two cars and repouring it runs about $7,200 to $9,000, plus removal.
A referral service for Detroit homeowners. An automated assistant answers; calls are recorded.
Typical cost: $12 – $15 per square foot installed, plus $1 – $3 per square foot to remove the old slab (one Southeast Michigan concrete contractor's posted range, March 2026)
- Cost to call
- Nothing
- Answered by
- Automated assistant
- Hours
- Any hour
Four jobs, four prices
Not every driveway needs tearing out.
Tear out and repour
$12 – $15 per sq ft
The approach at the curb
$1,300 – $7,800
Resurfacing or overlay
$3 – $10 per sq ft
Cracks, broken panels, a sunken slab
$600 – $2,000 to level
The repour is one Southeast Michigan contractor’s posted price, March 2026, before removing the old slab. The other three are national ranges (approach · overlay · leveling), not Detroit quotes, and the approach range is not priced at the six inches Detroit requires. All fourteen rows.
How it works
Tell us about the driveway
One concrete contractor, not five. You’ll hear back either way.
Ask for the price in writing
The city can order the repair, then bill you for it.
Detroit’s code gives an owner 30 days’ notice to repair a sidewalk or driveway; after that the city does the work and charges the cost to the owner. the 30-day notice · what follows it
If a notice has come, the clock is 30 days.
Questions
Checked September 17, 2026
When can I call?
Any hour. An automated assistant takes your details, and you’ll hear back from a concrete contractor who serves Detroit or from us.
Why is the approach quoted separately?
The city’s own drawing puts a residential approach at six inches of concrete, against the four inches a driveway is normally poured at, with a 1-inch expansion joint at the sidewalk and at the back of the curb (the drawing (PDF)). It also needs a city permit and a drawing sealed by an architect or engineer, so it is priced on its own (the city’s permit page).
Does the work need a city permit?
For the part at the curb, yes: the city’s code says no driveway may be laid in a street, alley or public place without a permit from the city’s public works department (the code). For the slab behind your sidewalk the city publishes an answer only for the part in its own ground, so ask the city’s building department before the pour (the city’s permit guide (PDF)).
How long before I can drive on it?
The city tells residents to stay off new concrete for up to seven days (the city’s sidewalk page). Curing is three to seven days of keeping it wet, and skipping it can cost half the strength (the industry’s technical guide (PDF)).
Will salt ruin it?
Use clean sand for traction the first winter; after that rock salt and calcium chloride are the ones the industry’s guide calls acceptable, and ammonium or magnesium de-icers are the ones it says destroy the surface (the guide (PDF)). Hose off what the cars bring home, and fix any spot where water stands.
Will I be charged for the visit?
Calling us costs nothing. Some contractors charge to come out and measure. Ask before they come, and get the price in writing.