Concrete driveway building in El Paso TX - a slab sized for your heaviest truck
Cracked, sinking or crumbling driveway? We dig out, pack the base and pour a new slab sized for what you actually park on it.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
What does it take to build a concrete driveway in El Paso?
Concrete driveway building in El Paso means digging out the ground, packing a firm base and pouring a reinforced slab that carries the weight of the vehicles you actually own. The slab is also sloped so water runs off it instead of under it.
Most calls start with an old driveway that's cracked, sunk at the edges or holding water, or with a dirt pad you're tired of tracking in. The price moves with the size of the slab, how thick it is, how much steel goes in it, whether an old driveway comes out and the finish you pick, from plain gray to stamped concrete. The schedule turns on the weather, on any paperwork if the driveway meets the street, and on curing, the days concrete needs to gain strength before it takes a car. We're based in El Paso and work across the city and the cities around it, in Texas and over the line in New Mexico, and the written estimate gives you your own numbers.
How can you tell your driveway needs replacing?
Cracks that keep growing
You see cracks that widen each season, or edges that break off under the tires. That usually means the base underneath wasn't packed or water has gotten under the slab, and every month you wait lets more water in and more pieces work loose.
Low spots and standing water
Water sits in puddles after a storm or runs toward the garage instead of the street. Usually a section has settled or the slab was poured falling the wrong way, and leaving it sends water under the slab and toward your house.
Dusty, chipping surface
The top feels sandy, flakes off or leaves grit on your shoes. That's often a weak surface from a pour in the midday heat or a watered-down mix, and it keeps wearing away until the rough stone underneath shows through.
How we handle concrete driveway building
We start by digging out to firm subgrade, the ground the slab actually sits on, and packing a base on top of it, because a base that's only raked level settles with the dirt and takes the slab with it. Before the forms go in, I check where the water runs so the finished driveway falls away from your house and garage. We size the slab and the steel to the heaviest thing you'll park on it, not just the family car, and the rebar, steel bars set inside the slab, holds it together and helps it carry that weight. We pick the pour time by the heat of the day rather than what's convenient for us, then give the top a broom finish, a light texture so tires and shoes don't slip. Control joints are the straight grooves we cut across the slab to give cracks a planned place to go, and we cut them on time so the slab doesn't pick its own spots. Then it cures, and you stay off it until it's ready.
A driveway often isn't the only slab on the list. If the yard behind the house needs somewhere to sit, we can plan concrete patio construction on the same visit, and stamped concrete puts pattern and color into the driveway itself if you want more than a plain slab.
Plain broom-finished slab
This suits most houses, because it keeps your money in the base, the steel and the joints, which decide how a driveway holds up. It's plain gray, with the light texture that keeps it from getting slick.
Stamped or colored surface
This suits a driveway at the front of the house where you want pattern or color, and it adds to the price. If the budget only covers one, I'll tell you to cut the decoration and keep the base, because the base is buried on day one and it's the first thing people want to trim.
Get a written estimate for your new driveway
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set up a time. I come out, measure and write your estimate myself. It's free, and there's no obligation to book.
- Based in
- El Paso, TX 79901
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–9 PM
What happens when you call about a new driveway?
Here's how a driveway job runs from your first call to a finished slab, and who you'll deal with along the way.
Call or send the form
Call (915) 265-1446 or send the form with your address and what you're hoping to build. We'll set a time for me to come out.
I measure and write it up
I look at the site, measure it, check where the water runs and ask what you'll park on it. You get a written estimate that says what's included and what isn't, so you can hold it up against other bids without guessing.
We prep, form and pour
We line up any paperwork the job needs, then our crew digs out, packs the base and sets the forms. We pour when conditions make sense, which in summer usually means the cooler part of the day.
We finish, cut joints, clean up
Our crew finishes the top, cuts the control joints and clears out the forms and the mess. Then the slab cures, and we'll tell you when it's ready for feet and when it's ready for tires.
Why El Paso homeowners call Formcraft for a driveway
I'm at the pour myself
I come out to look at the job and write the estimate myself, and our own crew does the work with me on site for the pour. That's the hour when timing and finishing decide how the top of your slab turns out.
In business since 2013
I framed houses for years, learned concrete under a finisher here in El Paso and started this business in 2013. Building walls on slabs that weren't right is why the base gets more of my attention than anything else.
Licensed and fully insured business
We're licensed and fully insured, so if something goes wrong on your property during the job, you aren't the one left covering it. Ask me for the paperwork when I'm out for the estimate.
Straight answers about cracks
I won't tell you a new driveway will never crack, because concrete can't promise that, but I'll show you on the estimate how we're handling the base and the joints. Our work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
The base is the part you'll never see again, so ask everyone bidding your driveway how they build it, then set up a visit with us.
Concrete driveways at the street and on El Paso ground
If your driveway meets the sidewalk or the street, part of the job sits in the city's right of way, the strip along the street, sidewalk, alley and parkway. The City of El Paso requires a paving cut permit before anyone cuts or digs there, and the street side has to be put back to the city's design standards, in original or better condition. When a job calls for a permit, we handle the paperwork with whichever office covers your address, so it's off your plate.
The ground here usually helps. One analysis rates most of the mapped soil in El Paso County low for shrink-swell, meaning it doesn't swell and shrink much, so on most lots the soil isn't what pushes a slab thicker, though I still check it when I measure. We see the same kind of ground on jobs in Socorro and Horizon City. And if you're on El Paso Water, its residential stormwater rates leave driveways out of the hard cover they count, so a new driveway isn't part of that figure.
Questions about concrete driveways in El Paso
How much does a concrete driveway cost in El Paso?
A new concrete driveway in El Paso usually costs about $5 to $11 per square foot, and that's before taking out an old one. Removal adds to the price per square foot, and a thicker slab or more steel pushes you higher, since reinforced concrete runs a little above plain. Your written estimate breaks out your own job.
Do I need a permit to replace a driveway that meets the street in El Paso?
Yes, when the work cuts or digs into the street, sidewalk, alley or parkway, the city wants a paving cut permit first, as covered above. We take care of that paperwork and put the street side back the way the city requires.
How do I choose the right driveway thickness for a truck or RV?
Plan the slab around the heaviest vehicle you'll park on it, because a standard slab usually suits everyday cars while trucks, RVs or poor soil may call for a thicker one. Wire mesh is common for standard-sized vehicles, and rebar may be the better choice for heavy ones. I'll size both once I've seen your lot and heard what you drive.
Can you pour a concrete driveway in El Paso in the summer?
Yes, and national concrete guidance says concrete placed in hot weather generally lasts about as well as concrete placed at normal temperatures, as long as it reaches the strength it needs and curing keeps the surface from drying out. Heat, dry air and wind all work against fresh concrete, and one maker advises placing it in the cooler parts of the day, even at night. That's why our pour time follows the heat.
Should a crew add water to concrete when it's hot out?
No, one concrete maker's bulletin says water shouldn't be added to cool the mix or make it easier to work, because that can hurt its strength and long-term durability. How a crew keeps the mix workable in the heat is a fair question to ask anyone bidding your driveway, us included.
How long does it take before I can drive on a new concrete driveway?
You'll be off it longer than the pour itself takes, because concrete keeps gaining strength for days after it goes down, and you can walk on it well before you can drive on it. The exact wait depends on the slab and the weather that week, so I'll give you a walk-on day and a drive-on day once we pour.
Other concrete work that goes with a driveway
Concrete patio construction
When the driveway runs toward the backyard, a patio built on the same kind of packed base gives you somewhere to sit that drains away from the house.
Stamped concrete services
If plain gray isn't the look you want, stamped concrete presses a pattern and color into the surface, on a new driveway or the walkway beside it.
Driveway service areas around El Paso
Formcraft El Paso Concrete Company is based in El Paso, TX, and builds driveways across the city and the cities around it. The 12 areas below have their own pages, from Canutillo, TX to Sunland Park, NM, and we work in more places than these.
El Paso, TX
Get your new driveway on the schedule
Have the rough size, your heaviest vehicle and whether an old driveway comes out handy, and the first call gets a lot further.