Looking to replace our failing 17' x 40' driveway.

It's my understanding that Houston requires 6".
Contractor recs?
How much $$$ am I looking at for tear out and replacement?
Is it a pointless effort with the water oaks on either side?
Will replacing the driveway kill the trees?

On a related note, I'm also looking for a rec for a contractor to restore a flagstone patio.

City of houston has construction details/specs on their site but yes the approach in ROW is required to be 6" thick with stabilized sand. #4@18 " ew I believe. Public walks are similar but 4.5" and no stabilized. Some areas of houston are starting to require permeable pavers to help with drainage so might check that.

Past public ROW the specs are typically only constrained by your subdivision. I'd recommend 4" w/ #3 @18", redwood expansion joint with dowels and preformed joint cap / caulk joints afterwards.

If you truly want to mitigate future root encroachment your best bet is to put a 18"-24" turn down beam along the sides.

Not sure but I would t expect the trees to be damaged to the point of death.

A rough starting point for budgeting demo& pour back is $10/sqft.

You can find a bigger Concrete sub that's has other work in the area or look for a smaller guy that wants projects of this size.

P.H. Dexippus said:

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Looking to replace our failing 17' x 40' driveway.

It's my understanding that Houston requires 6".
Contractor recs?
How much $$$ am I looking at for tear out and replacement?
Is it a pointless effort with the water oaks on either side?
Will replacing the driveway kill the trees?

On a related note, I'm also looking for a rec for a contractor to restore a flagstone patio.

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How old is this driveway? Looks like a 70s vintage from what I can see. If so, then there is a high chance there is no metal in the driveway to begin with which makes for a lot a cracks. I think a modern driveway will survive quite well. All the driveways I've seen replaced in my look to be doing ok while almost every original is cracked (and most have no rebar)

On the water oaks, If it is 70s vintage, then your water oaks are 50 years old and are near their life expectancy anyway... Sources vary, but 30 - 70 years covers the range. I had 5 40 year old trees when I moved in 12 years ago. I'm down to 3 and probably will have to remove 1 more in the next year or 2. The big issues is that they just start losing large limbs as they get to their life expectancy. You should be thinking about what replacements look like in the future either way if you're sticking around.

The house is a 1964, not sure on the actual age of the driveway. I removed a section of adjacent sidewalk to run a drain and it lacked rebar, not sure if that is indicative of the driveway as well.

I hear you on water oaks, but my understanding is that they were planted in the 90s. At least another few years before they become a crumbling disaster.

The city was recently replacing sections on the street and may still be in the neighborhood. Maybe I can get them to do a side job for me. But I will still take recommendations if anyone has them.

Revisiting. Driveway contractor recs?

Scabbing onto P.H.'s thread, I'd like any recommendations for Sugar Land, myself.