Heaved panels, spalled surfaces, sunken aprons, cracked steps. The honest read on what repairs, what replaces, and what can wait — with numbers for each.
Get a Free Quote Call (317) 743-3944The triage is simpler than contractors make it sound. Repairs honestly: one settled or heaved panel (replace just that panel), surface spalling confined to a small area, a sunken sidewalk section, open joints that need re-caulking. Replaces honestly: map cracking across the surface, widespread scaling that exposes aggregate, settlement across multiple panels, or a slab that has already been patched twice. The line: when damage is systemic — the whole pour aging out at once — patch money is spent money. We say which at the quote and we put the reasons in writing, including when the answer is the cheaper one.
Single-panel replacement (one square of a drive or walk) usually runs $800–$2,000 depending on size, tear-out and access. Garage aprons — the most common single failure in Fishers, where drive meets slab — typically $1,200–$2,500. New panels won't perfectly match aged concrete's color at first; they blend substantially within a year, and we saw joints to make the new panel read as a deliberate unit.
Slab jacking (mud or polyfoam) re-levels a sunken but intact panel for less than replacement, and where the slab is sound it's a fair tool. Its limits: it does not fix cracking, it does not fix scaling, and if the base washed out (the usual reason it sank) the fix can be temporary. When lifting is genuinely the right call we say so — and when it's lipstick on a failed slab, we say that too.
Get a Free Itemized Quote Call (317) 743-3944
