Concrete driveway building in Oxnard CA - a slab that drains toward the street

Concrete costs more up front, but it holds its shape in heat and often lasts decades with joint upkeep and an occasional seal. Asphalt costs less to put in but needs regular seal coating and wears out sooner. If you plan to stay in the house a while, I'd lean toward concrete for that reason.

An unreinforced concrete driveway in Oxnard usually costs about $7 to $13 per square foot, not counting removal of an old driveway. Steel, a thicker slab, a deeper base and tear-out all add to that, so your written estimate lists each one for your driveway.

One guide sets 4 inches as the minimum, and going to 5 inches adds about 20% to the concrete cost while raising the slab's load capacity nearly 50%. If a work truck or RV will park on it, that extra inch is usually worth it.

One field guide advises keeping cars off a new driveway for about 7 days, and heavier trucks or an RV for closer to 28. That wait is curing, the time concrete needs to harden and gain strength before it carries weight.

Most concrete cracks somewhere as it dries and shrinks, so we cut control joints, shallow lines that give it a planned place to crack. Rebar, steel bars set in the slab, holds cracks tight rather than stopping them, and a random crack is usually cosmetic and doesn't shorten the driveway's life. Our work is satisfaction guaranteed.

You can look up any contractor on the state licensing board's License Check or Find A Licensed Contractor tools before you sign anything. The board has a concrete contractor class for people who form, pour and finish flatwork, the flat slabs like driveways and patios.