Heritage Concrete Austin: Driveways, Slab Foundations, Patios & Stamped Concrete, Residential & Commercial

Not the part on your own lot. Concrete flatwork outside the public right-of-way, a driveway or sidewalk included, is exempt from a building permit, though it still has to meet the codes. The approach in the right-of-way is another matter: to install, move, remove or repair one, you need a Driveway/Sidewalk permit, and the City runs a transportation review. A new permit costs $345, only licensed right-of-way contractors may apply, and the fees change each October 1.

Most new drives can take a car after about seven days, when the concrete has reached roughly 70% of its strength; keep off the edges at first. Wait 48 hours before walking on it, at least three days before bikes and scooters, and at least 28 days before parking an RV or a large truck.

Thirty years or more is a fair expectation. Concrete drives can handle daily traffic "often for over 30 years," according to the Illinois Ready Mixed Concrete Association, and a well-built, well-kept drive should outlast asphalt, whose service life is about 15 years. A poorly prepared subgrade is one of the most common causes of early slab failure.

Upkeep and repairs. Stamped surfaces typically need resealing every 2 to 5 years, at roughly $1.20 to $2.50 a square foot each time in Austin (2026), and UV-resistant sealers are a common guard against sun fading. Rain drains off more slowly because it collects in the pattern, and a stamped slab is often harder and costlier to repair or replace than pavers.

With routine cleaning and resealing, 30 years or more. A stamped overlay laid over an existing slab is shorter-lived, about 10 to 20 years or more when it's applied properly, and it isn't an option over large cracks, heavy spalling or severe settlement.

A 20-by-20-foot patio (400 square feet) runs $1,600 to $4,000 at typical 2026 Austin-area prices, or $4 to $10 per square foot. The finish moves it most: a broom finish runs $6 to $12 per square foot and stamped $10 to $30. Taking out an old patio beforehand adds $550 to $1,700 on average.

A 2024 Austin cost guide puts a reinforced 40-by-60-foot slab at $20,600 to $35,200, at $6 to $10 per square foot, and says demolishing an old slab first costs $1.10 to $1.70 more for each square foot.

Austin figures are the closest we have. In 2026, local delivery pros charge $110 to $150 per cubic yard for standard material and transport, and a full truckload runs $1,100 to $1,440. By type, fast-setting 3,000 psi concrete runs $125 a yard, general-purpose 3,000 to 3,500 psi $130, and the 4,000 psi mixes used for driveways and foundations $150. A two-car driveway takes about 10 cubic yards.

Most Austin walls cost $35 to $40 per square foot at heights of 3 to 6 feet, and the typical project runs $2,886 to $7,716 (2026). Hilly lots can raise labor 50% or more, and limestone takes extra work to dig. A wall taller than 4 feet from the bottom of its footing, or one holding a surcharge, isn't exempt from a City building permit.

Mudjacking in Austin typically runs $4 to $8 per square foot; the average job is $1,352, and small jobs often carry a minimum charge around $400 (2026). By surface, a sidewalk runs $400 to $1,100 and a driveway $900 to $3,000. Polyurethane foam costs more for the material but gives a lighter, longer-lasting lift.

Expect 20 to 40 years from a concrete sidewalk. Joints help it get there: NRMCA calls joints pre-planned cracks, and the City's standard walk has control joints every 5 feet and expansion joints no more than 40 feet apart.

Flatwork is concrete placed flat on the ground: the sidewalks, patios and driveways NRMCA names as exterior flatwork. USDA's soil survey describes concrete driveways and sidewalks as poured slabs between 3 and 6 inches thick. In Austin, flatwork that stays outside the right-of-way doesn't need a building permit.

Concrete work is usually priced by the job or by the square foot. Typical Austin-area figures for 2026 have driveway labor at $4.50 to $13 per square foot, and patio labor at $4.50 to $6 per square foot or $50 to $100 an hour, which is 40% to 60% of a patio's total. An estimate from us is free.

Start with the Texas Attorney General's checklist: written bids from at least two contractors, caution about a "low-ball" bid, and a contractor with an established physical address. Texas has no state general-contractor license, so check the local credentials instead: in Austin, a general contractor registers with the City before doing building-permit work, and a driveway or sidewalk permit can be pulled only by a licensed right-of-way contractor holding a $10,000 bond.

Concrete costs more to install and lasts longer: by national figures, it gives 30 to 40 years of service and asphalt 15 to 30 (2026). ACI adds two practical points: concrete lots stay cooler than asphalt, and oil and fuel drips barely affect them. At national prices, figure $5 to $10 a square foot, about $1,500 to $3,500 for each stall.