Frequently Asked Questions

Concrete, when installed properly and with correctly compacted gravel base, correctly installed rebar and correctly finished concrete, will not only prohibit heaving & mitigate cracks, but will ensure your concrete investment lasts for decades with the least amount of maintenance required for any exterior “flooring” on the market, including pavers and interlocking brick. Simply look around your city streets, sidewalks and public spaces; does your city typically invest in concrete or cobblestone pavers as their public spaces’ exterior flooring choice? Ironically, even the “upgraded” design choice of exposed aggregate concrete is more economical for the consumer than the most basic pattern of cobblestone pavers… and without the notorious sinking, weeds, and ants that cobblestone attracts.

Residential concrete should be a minimum of 4-5” of consistent thickness.

The minimum depth of excavation in residential construction should be 8" to allow for a minimum 4"compacted gravel base and for a consistent 4" thick concrete floor, driveway or patio.

Rebar helps to control cracks and shrinkage and can also provide structural support. Rebar is to concrete what joists are to a roof. The proper installation of residential rebar applications is minimum 24” on centre.

Brackets, when properly spaced and properly installed reduce the risk of your sidewalk “settling or sinking” over time. A sidewalk without brackets installed can sink to the point where it becomes a complete structural failure and needs to either be replaced or at the very least, professionally “mud-jacked” and propped back up: both outlooks being much more expensive than installing brackets during the initial project. Brackets also help to mitigate the size and quantity of cracks in your concrete.