How thick should my new driveway be?

Four inches minimum for passenger vehicles. We pour thicker — five to six inches — at the apron, in turnarounds, and anywhere work trucks or RVs will park. Thickness plus a compacted base is what carries the load.

How long until I can park on it?

Five to seven days of curing for car traffic, a day or two for foot traffic. Concrete keeps gaining strength for weeks, but a week gives it enough to handle vehicles. We give you the exact date based on pour-day weather.

Do you handle the apron permit?

Yes. Work at the street apron usually needs Fairfax County or VDOT approval. We determine which jurisdiction covers your street and handle the application as part of the job.

Concrete Driveway Installation in Fairfax, VA

Built From the Ground Down

A new driveway is a fresh start — no old mistakes buried underneath. We take full advantage of that. Every installation starts with excavation past the topsoil and the unstable surface clay, then 4 to 6 inches of crushed stone compacted in layers. That stone base is the foundation of the whole job: it drains water away from the slab and gives the concrete a platform that does not move when Fairfax's marine clay swells and shrinks.

The Slab We Pour

On that base goes 4,000 PSI air-entrained concrete — four inches thick minimum, thicker at the apron where it meets the street and anywhere heavy vehicles will sit. Wire mesh or rebar holds the slab together across the joints. The finish is broom-textured for traction in rain and ice. Control joints are cut every 8 to 12 feet so the concrete cracks where we plan it, in straight lines, instead of wandering.

Drainage Is Part of the Pour

Every driveway gets a slope of about a quarter inch per foot, moving water away from your garage and foundation and out toward the street. In Fairfax's flatter subdivisions we pay extra attention to this — a slab that holds puddles is a slab that will not last. Where the driveway meets the street, the apron is built to Fairfax County and VDOT specs, and we handle the permit side.

How Long It Takes

Most installations take two to four days of work on site: excavation and base prep, forming and steel, the pour day, then joint cutting and cleanup. After that comes curing — 5 to 7 days before regular car traffic. You can walk on it in a day or two. We lay out the full timeline before we start so you can plan around it.

New Build or Addition?

Building new or adding a driveway where the yard used to be? We coordinate the grading with your builder, match the apron to the street, and make sure the first driveway your home ever has is one that lasts. Send us the form and we will come out, measure, and give you a written quote.

Why Fairfax Soil Changes the Build

Most of Fairfax County sits on marine clay — dense, dark, and famously expansive. It swells when wet and shrinks when dry, and it does this every year, for decades. A driveway poured directly on that clay rides the movement: heaving in spring, settling in late summer, cracking a little more each cycle. The fix is not exotic. Excavate past the unstable top layer, lay 4 to 6 inches of crushed stone, and compact it in lifts until it rings hard under the compactor. The stone does two jobs at once: it drains water away from the slab, and it gives the concrete a platform that does not care what the clay is doing. Every installation we pour gets this base. It is the least visible part of the job and the most important.

Our Process: From First Visit to First Drive

Here is exactly how a new driveway installation goes, step by step:

Site visit and written quote. We walk the property, look at the soil and drainage, measure, and talk through what you want — size, finish, any parking needs. You get a written quote that spells out thickness, PSI, base depth, joint spacing, and what is included. No verbal estimates.
Permits and HOA. If the job touches the apron or the right-of-way, we file for Fairfax County or VDOT approval. If your HOA needs design review, we submit the finish samples. Nothing gets poured until the paperwork is in order.
Excavation. We dig out the driveway footprint to make room for the base and the slab — typically 10 to 12 inches total depth. Topsoil and unstable clay come out; the subgrade gets shaped for drainage.
Base and compaction. Crushed stone goes in in layers, each compacted with a plate compactor or roller until it is hard, level, and draining. We check the grade with a level — the slope away from your house is set here, not later.
Forms and steel. Forms shape the edges; wire mesh or rebar goes in to tie the slab together. Thickened edges go where the apron meets the street and where vehicles turn.
Pour day. The concrete arrives, gets placed, screeded flat, and finished — broom texture for driveways, or your chosen decorative finish. Control joints are cut the same day while the concrete is green.
Curing. The slab cures 5 to 7 days before cars. We tell you the exact date based on the weather. Walking is fine after a day or two.

What a New Driveway Costs in Fairfax County

Most new concrete driveway installations in Fairfax County land between $5,000 and $15,000. Where your job falls in that range depends on size, how much excavation the site needs, access for trucks and equipment, thickness and steel, and the finish you choose. Decorative finishes add 30 to 50 percent over plain broom-finish. These are starting ranges, not a quote — soil conditions and site access move the number, and the only real price is the written estimate we give you after walking your property. That estimate is free, and the final quote we put in writing is the price you pay.