Concrete Driveway Drainage

Concrete driveway drainage is extremely important. It’s probably one of the most important aspects of the driveway installation process. As a matter of fact, it’s so important if it’s not done right the first time, parts of the driveway may have to be completely removed, re-graded and replaced in order to repair it. And if the contractor doesn’t stand behind their work, goes out of business or simply doesn’t have the experience to make sure the concrete driveway drainage is properly executed, who’s going to pay for the removal and replacement costs?

Obviously, we don’t want water running into the garage or towards our home and we also don’t want low spots that hold large amounts of water. These problems are not problems which can be ignored. They won’t go away on their own, so they must be repaired. Therefore, the grading of the sub-grade prior to installation of the concrete is very important. The driveway should be graded so there is positive drainage away from the garage and home once the concrete has been installed and dried or cured. More importantly, water should drain off of the concrete. There should be very, very little or virtually no standing water on the surface. Standing water can lead to surface damage like spalling and eventually complete failure! Even worse, you could end up with a driveway that looks patchy and discolored from numerous patch repairs.

So make sure your contractor will grade the driveway properly for drainage.

Once the contractor you choose to install your driveway is finished and has been paid, will they stand behind their work and return to fix it if it doesn’t drain properly or has excessive bird baths?