D-101
Poured Concrete Driveways
Broom-finished or smooth concrete placed with reinforcement and control joints planned before the truck ever arrives. Done right, it is the lowest-maintenance surface you can park on.
Sheet D-100 · London, Ontario
Concrete Driveways in London, Ontario
The surface your house stands behind.
A driveway in London, Ontario gets salted, plowed, frozen, thawed, and parked on every single day. We build for that, starting with what is under the surface, not just what you see.
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The Spec
Excavation, base, compaction, drainage. Then the surface.
Base
Compacted Granular A, commonly around 6 inches
Concrete
32 MPa, air entrained, made for freeze and thaw
Season
Roughly May through October
Sheet D-109 / Before + after
Same driveway. Drag to see the difference.
The cracked, heaved surface pulled out, a proper compacted base put in, and a clean new pour on top. Grab the handle and slide it across.
What changed under this surface
- Old surface out, excavation down to solid ground
- Compacted granular base, sloped so water drains away
- Reinforcement and control joints planned before the truck arrives
- 32 MPa air entrained concrete, cured and jointed properly
Before After D-102
Stamped + Decorative Concrete
Concrete textured and coloured to read as stone, slate, or brick at a fraction of the material cost. Popular for front walkways, porches, and patio surrounds that need to look sharp from the curb.
D-103
Repairs + Replacement
Cracked, heaved, or scaling concrete taken out and repoured properly, back down to a compacted base. We tell you honestly when a surface has years left in it and when replacing it is the only fix worth paying for.
D-104
Walkways, Steps + Borders
Front walks, garden paths, step landings, and driveway borders that tie the whole approach to the house together. Small footprint, big first impression.
D-105
Pads + Flatwork
Garage and shed pads, patios, equipment pads, and the everyday flatwork around a property. Same base preparation and jointing as a driveway, on a smaller footprint.
D-106
Grading + Drainage
The part you never see and always feel. We slope surfaces away from foundations, sort out pooling water, and set the base so spring melt drains instead of heaving your new driveway.
Sheet D-111 / Finishes
Pick the finish. The base underneath stays the same.
Every concrete driveway we pour in London sits on the same excavation, compacted granular and air-entrained mix. The finish is what you see from the curb, and it changes the look, the grip and the price.
F-1
Broom finish
The classic. Fine grooves dragged across the surface for grip in rain and snow. Lowest cost per square foot and the easiest to keep clean.
F-2
Stamped concrete
Pressed with a pattern (slate, stone, brick, wood plank) and coloured, then sealed. The look of pavers without pavers shifting and weeds in the joints.
F-3
Exposed aggregate
The top layer washed off to show the stone inside. Very good grip, hides tire marks and wear, and suits older homes as well as new builds.
F-4
Borders + colour
A stamped or coloured band around a broom-finish field. Most of the curb appeal of a decorative driveway for a fraction of the cost.
Have a pool? We pour concrete pool decks in London with the same spec. Thinking stamped? Read the full guide to stamped concrete in London: patterns, colours, salt and sealing.
Why the base matters
Winter finds every shortcut.
When water gets under a driveway and freezes, it expands and lifts whatever sits above it. That is why slabs crack, edges heave, and surfaces map out in spiderwebs.
The fix is not a thicker top layer. It is honest excavation, the right granular base, compaction in lifts, and slopes that move water away from the surface and the foundation.
That work disappears the day we pour or lay the finish. It is also the reason the finish still looks right years later. We quote it, we show it to you at the site visit, and we do not skip it.
Sheet D-110 / The sequence
How a driveway goes in.
01
Excavate
The old surface comes out and we dig down to solid ground. Most driveway failures trace back to skipping this step.
02
Base + compact
Crushed stone goes in and gets compacted in lifts, sloped so water drains away instead of sitting under your driveway.
03
Form + pour
Forms set, reinforcement placed, then the pour, finished clean against lawns, walks, and the garage slab.
04
Cure + joint
Concrete gets cured properly and jointed so cracking is controlled, and the site gets swept before we call it done.
Sheet D-107 / Plan your project
Estimate your driveway materials.
Punch in your dimensions for a rough idea of the base stone, concrete, and reinforcement a job like yours takes. It is a planning tool, not a quote. When you are ready, we come measure and put real numbers on paper.
Sheet D-108 / Straight answers
Driveway questions we hear the most.
The short versions, from the bylaws and the building science. The long version, with your measurements, comes with the free site visit.
Do I need a permit for a driveway in London, Ontario?
Replacing a driveway like for like usually needs no permit. Widening it, adding a new one, or changing the curb cut touches the City road allowance, which needs City approval under the Streets By-law, and the City does the actual curb work. We confirm what applies to your property at the site visit.
What goes underneath the driveway?
Excavation down to solid ground, then a compacted crushed stone base, commonly around 6 inches of Granular A for a residential driveway and deeper over soft ground, then the finished surface. The base does the real work: it spreads the load and drains water so freeze and thaw cannot heave the surface.
What kind of concrete survives Ontario winters?
Exterior concrete here should be 32 MPa, air entrained, the CSA exposure class made for freeze thaw plus road salt, placed on a proper base, cured correctly, and jointed so cracking is controlled. Skipping the air entrainment or the curing is why some driveways scale and flake after a winter or two.
How wide can my driveway be?
The City caps residential driveway width relative to your lot frontage, with a minimum around 2.7 metres. If you want to widen, we check your lot against the bylaw before quoting so you never build something the City can make you remove.
How much does a concrete driveway cost in London, Ontario?
It depends on four things: the size, how much has to come out first (old asphalt or concrete, roots, soft ground), how much base stone goes back in, and the finish (broom finish costs least, stamped or exposed aggregate more). Apron work at the street and widening add to it. We measure at a free site visit and put one written number on paper, with the base depth and the concrete spec on the quote.
Concrete or asphalt: which is better for a driveway here?
Asphalt costs less up front and needs sealing every few years. Concrete costs more to install but, built on a proper base with air-entrained mix, it lasts decades with little upkeep, stays cooler in summer, and can be stamped or coloured. For most homes we quote concrete; if asphalt is the better fit for your budget we will say so.
How soon can I drive on a new concrete driveway?
Walk on it after about a day, drive a car on it after about seven days, and keep heavy trucks off for about a month while the concrete reaches full strength. No de-icing salt on it the first winter if it was poured late in the season.
Do you remove the old driveway?
Yes. Tear-out of old asphalt, concrete or interlock, hauling it away, and fixing the base underneath are all part of the quote, so there is no second contractor and no surprise disposal bill.
When can you pour concrete in London?
The main season runs roughly May through October. Cold weather pours are possible with protection and heat, but they cost more and carry more risk, so late fall projects are often best booked for the first warm window of spring. Booking ahead of the season gets you the earliest slot.
In St. Thomas or Elgin County? Same crew, same spec: see our St. Thomas concrete page.