Hairline cracks, flaking patches, a driveway that looks worse every time you back out of it.
Resurfacing is the fix when the slab under your feet is still sound and only the top layer has quit on you. That is most of what people call us about in Providence: driveways, walks, patios, garage floors. Concrete resurfacing bonds to what is already there, so the whole job lives or dies on the prep. I do not trowel an overlay across a crumbling edge. It lets go within a season and takes good concrete with it.
Size, access for the mixer, and how far the surface has gone all move what drive way resurfacing runs.
Further down there is the method, the money, and when a fresh pour beats patching. Or call (401) 394-6425 and I will come have a look at the slab myself.
Drive Way Resurfacing
Drive way resurfacing is what most people call us about: the slab underneath is still flat and solid, but the top has gone gritty, patchy and tired. We open the surface up mechanically so the new layer bonds, cut out anything that sounds hollow under a hammer, then lay a polymer modified overlay and float it to keep water running toward the street instead of pooling at the garage door.
Size drives the day. So does access, how much of the old top has to come off, and whether we can back a truck near the work or we're wheeling mix up from the curb.
Some driveway resurfacing contractors will float an overlay straight across a crack that's still moving, and that lets go within a season. Concrete resurfacing on a normal two-car drive is done in a day by our concrete contractors company.
Asphalt Resurfacer
An asphalt resurfacer is that black overlay coat that goes over a tired asphalt drive, and we lay it when asphalt is what you've got, even though most of our week is concrete. Most resurfacing concrete companies won't touch it at all. It isn't paint. It has to key into the old surface, so we degrease the oil patches where the engine has been parking for years first.
Resurfacer won't bond to oil, and that spot peels before anything else on the drive. Then cracks get filled, the edges get cut back where the lawn has crept over, and the material goes down in two passes, squeegee then broom.
Size, access for the truck, how much oil and crack work is buried in it, and the time of year all move what resurfacing a drive runs. It goes down warm and dry or it doesn't go down.
Driveway Resurfacing
Driveway resurfacing is what I do when the slab underneath is still sound but the top inch has gone to sand, spalled at the joints, crazed, or worn glassy where the tires always sit.
We profile the old surface first so the overlay grabs the concrete rather than lying on it, feather the edge at the garage door and out at the apron, and hold the pitch toward the street so salt slurry and snowmelt are not ponding in the low spots.
Done badly, resurfacing is just paint. A thin skim over a dusty or damp slab lets go in sheets the first time a plow blade clips the apron, and then you own a patchwork. Some resurfacing concrete companies skip the profiling because it is loud, dusty, miserable work. It is also the step the whole job rides on.
What the job involves
Resurfacing means rebuilding the top of the slab you already have instead of tearing it out. We start by opening the surface up so the new material can grip, then cut out the spalled edges and fill the cracks. I don't trowel fresh mortar over a hollow patch.
Tap a slab with a hammer and the dead spots answer you like a drum, and those come out first, because a patch laid over a void lets go and takes concrete with it.
Then a bond coat, then the overlay, troweled smooth or broomed if you want grip underfoot. Driveway resurfacing is done in a day once prep is behind us.
Resurfacing a concrete pool deck runs longer. Coping, tile and skimmer lids all get masked, and a textured deck finish is sprayed in passes. Access, square footage and how much repair the old slab needs are what move the price.
What it costs
What it costs on a resurfacing job comes down to square footage first, and then to how much has to happen before a single bag of overlay gets opened. Grinding off old sealer, cutting out crumbling edges, filling low spots where water has been sitting: that prep is the part that moves a concrete driveway resurfacing cost more than the topping itself. Access matters too. If the truck can back up close, we save hours.
If your gate is narrow and material gets carried in by hand, that time lands on the estimate.
Resurfacing a concrete pool deck prices differently again, because of the careful cutting around coping, skimmer lids and step noses, and because the finish has to stay walkable in bare feet in July.
Call us at (401) 394-6425 with rough dimensions and the age of the slab and I can put a real number on it. A driveway that's only surface worn always prices out under one where half the panels are moving.
When resurfacing is the wrong fix
Resurfacing is the wrong fix whenever the trouble is below the surface. An overlay is only as strong as the concrete holding it up, so if your panels rock when a truck rolls over them, or one has settled below its neighbor, the base has moved and no skim coat will bridge that. The crack copies itself straight through by the end of the first wet stretch.
A concrete driveway resurfacing cost only makes sense paid once; paid twice, it passes what concrete removal and fresh concrete flatwork would have run you in the first place.
Steps are the other one. Once the nosings have broken off and the edges crumble under your heel, patch material has nothing to grab, and rebuilt concrete steps will outlast a resurfaced set every time.
And if the driveway is blacktop, nobody should resurface concrete over it. That's a concrete paving job from the ground up.
Why choose us for this
You have a slab or a drive with something wrong with it, you have had one number already, and what you actually want out of resurfacing is to hire somebody once, not supervise them, and not think about that surface again for years. Fair enough.
I am not going to be the low number on your list. Quotes that come in under mine usually leave the grinding and the wash off the sheet, so the new layer sits on dust and starts letting go at the edges. I will not float a skim coat over a crack with a crumbling shoulder under it either, because that lifts and takes concrete with it.
Whether we resurface concrete out back or spread an asphalt resurfacer across a tired drive, size, truck access and how deep the damage has gone are what move my number.
The estimate costs nothing, and nothing obliges you to book.
Frequently asked questions
Will resurfacing crack the slab I already have?
No. Resurfacing only works over concrete that's still structurally sound, so we grind the old surface open, vacuum it clean, and bond a new wearing layer on at about a quarter inch. If your slab is heaving, rocking or hollow beneath, an overlay covers it for one summer and then mirrors every crack right back up at you.
Is resurfacing the same as sealing my driveway?
No. Sealer soaks in and guards the color, but it won't hide spalling, scaling or a chipped edge you can feel with your hand. Resurfacing rebuilds the top. It also needs at least fifty degrees and dry weather to cure properly, which is why we schedule this work from May into October.
Why do resurfacing quotes come in so far apart?
Concrete resurfacing cost moves on square footage, how much patching the slab needs first, whether a mixer can actually reach the pour, and the finish you pick, plain broom versus stamped and colored.
Contact The Providence Concrete Company now
Pick up the phone and call (401) 394-6425 when you want resurfacing done right on your driveway, walk or garage floor, and we'll come out and look at what you've actually got. I run a screwdriver across the surface, tap for hollow spots, and check the edges and where the water goes, because a slab shedding rain back toward the foundation needs a different plan than one that's just worn gray from road salt and sun.
Size of the area, how far the scaling has gone, whether we can get a mixer within hose reach, and the time of year all move the concrete resurfacing cost.
Somebody's here weekdays, nine to five, and a message left after that gets a call back. We're licensed, bonded and insured, and the certificate is yours if you ask for it.