Concrete bids move on thickness and steel, base depth, how hard the tear-out is, whether a pump or hand labor is needed to reach the site, the finish, permits and engineering, the season, and scope: what is in and what is left out.
Updated November 10, 2026 · Metroplex Concrete & Stone
Two bids with different prices are almost always two different specs, so find the line that differs before you decide on the number.
Going from a 4-inch to a 5-inch slab adds roughly a fifth to the concrete material and raises load capacity substantially; rebar in place of mesh adds material and labor. If one bid is thicker or has heavier steel, it should cost more, and it is the better slab for a truck or trailer.
Source: ConcreteNetwork, how thick should a concrete driveway be
Removing soft topsoil, conditioning clay and placing compacted stone is work and material that a bare-minimum bid leaves out. On Blackland Prairie clay it is the line that decides whether the slab lasts. A bid with a real base line will be higher than one without, and it is the one to take.
Source: Texas Parks & Wildlife, Blackland Prairie ecoregion
Breaking out an old driveway, loading it and paying to dispose of it is a full day for a crew. A replacement bid should list it; a bid that is cheaper because it assumes you will have the old slab gone is not comparable.
A backyard patio behind a fence may need a concrete pump or wheelbarrows through a gate. A long acreage driveway needs trucks staged. Access adds labor and sometimes a pump rental, and it is a legitimate line.
Broom finish is the baseline. Exposed aggregate, integral color, stamping with release and sealer, and borders each add steps and materials. A stamped patio bid should be higher than a broom patio bid for the same slab.
Saw-cut joints on a tight grid, dowels drilled into existing panels (Fort Worth requires at least 6 inches of embedment for approaches) and expansion material at the house line are small lines that add up and that a cheap bid skips.
Source: City of Fort Worth, Parkway Standards (driveway approaches and sidewalks)
Permit fees, a bonded contractor's time at the city, a pre-pour inspection, and an engineer's sealed design for an addition or a large building are real costs. A bid that includes them will be higher than one that leaves them to you.
Source: City of Sachse, residential flatwork permits
Summer pours start at first light and need retarders and immediate curing; winter pours need blankets and a forecast. Peak spring and fall demand lengthens lead times more than it moves price, but a crew that is booked may price to its calendar.
Source: Portland Cement Association, curing in construction
The biggest mover is the one that is not a line item at all: one bid includes the approach, the haul-off, the permit and the base, and the other quietly does not. Lay the bids side by side on the checklist and the price gap usually turns into a list of missing lines.
A price. Concrete prices move with cement, fuel, labor and the lot, and a number on a website would be wrong by the time you read it. What we will do is help you get one written quote from a vetted DFW crew with every one of these lines on it, so you can compare it to the bids you already have.
Because a price without a spec and a lot is a guess. Get the spec, then the price.
Often it is the more complete one. Check which lines it has that the cheaper bid does not.
Sometimes: handle the haul-off yourself, choose broom over stamped, schedule off-peak. Do not cut the base or the steel.
Tell us the job and where it is. One independent, insured North Texas contractor will look at it and send a written quote with thickness, steel, base, joints, finish, permits and dates on it.
Residential and commercial, in all eleven DFW counties. No price on this site, because the lot decides the price.
One vetted, insured North Texas contractor will call or text within one business day to set a time to look at it. You get a written quote with the full spec.