A driveway bid you can trust lists the slab thickness, the steel and its spacing, what the base is made of and how it is compacted, the joint layout, the finish, and whether tear-out, haul-off and the city approach permit are included. If a bid is one number and one sentence, you cannot compare it to anything.
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.
Updated November 10, 2026
For passenger cars and SUVs a 4-inch slab on a compacted base is the usual minimum; for a half-ton truck, a trailer or an RV the common recommendation moves to 5 or 6 inches, with the edges thickened by an inch or two. The number matters less than whether the bid states it. A bid that says "standard thickness" has not committed to anything.
The approach, the part between the sidewalk and the street, is often a different and thicker section than the driveway itself. Fort Worth's parkway standard, for example, requires the whole approach including the sidewalk section to be at least 6 inches thick. Ask for the approach thickness on its own line.
Source: ConcreteNetwork, how thick should a concrete driveway be
Look for the bar size and spacing in writing: for example, #3 rebar at 18 inches on center both ways, set on chairs so it sits in the middle of the slab. Fort Worth requires exactly that for approaches and sidewalks in the parkway, with the bars tied at every crossing and supported on 3 to 3½-inch chairs. Welded wire mesh is common in thinner slabs; rebar is the usual call at 5 inches and up. A bid that says "reinforced" without a bar size is a bid you should ask about.
Source: City of Fort Worth, Parkway Standards (driveway approaches and sidewalks)
Most of North Texas sits on clay that swells wet and shrinks dry, so the base is what the slab lives on. A fair bid names the base material, its depth, and that the subgrade will be compacted; Fort Worth's standard calls for subgrade compacted to 95 percent of standard Proctor at optimum moisture. If the bid does not mention the base at all, assume the crew plans to pour on whatever is there after the old driveway comes out.
Source: City of Fort Worth, Parkway Standards (driveway approaches and sidewalks)
Concrete shrinks as it cures and will crack somewhere; control joints decide where. The Portland Cement Association's rule of thumb is joint spacing of about two times the slab thickness in feet (10 feet for a 5-inch slab), up to 2½ times with larger aggregate. Ask whether joints are saw-cut or tooled, how deep, and on what grid. An expansion joint where the driveway meets the garage slab and the approach is standard.
Source: Portland Cement Association, FAQ: joints, what type are used and where
A complete bid says who breaks out and hauls the old slab, who protects the garage floor and irrigation, and who pulls the approach permit. In Dallas, paving on city property (the drive approach, sidewalk and curb) needs a paving permit that is issued only to a bonded paving contractor, and the site plan must show the paving thickness, material type and the size and spacing of the reinforcement. That is a good standard to hold any bid to, inside Dallas or not.
Source: City of Dallas, paving permit checklist (drive approach, sidewalk, curb and gutter)
The bid should name the finish (broom is standard), the curing method (curing compound or wet cure) and the dates for foot traffic, cars and heavy vehicles. PCA notes that most strength gain happens in the first month and that longer moist curing makes stronger, more durable concrete, so a crew that mentions curing on the bid is a crew that plans to do it.
Source: Portland Cement Association, curing in construction
Usually because they are not for the same slab. One may be 4 inches on dirt with wire mesh, the other 5 inches on compacted base with rebar and the approach permit included. Put both on our bid checklist and the gap usually explains itself.
Yes, or it should say plainly that it does not. Many DFW cities require a permit and inspection for the approach at the street, and in Dallas it is issued only to a bonded paving contractor.
Either works when it is placed in the middle of the slab. Mesh is common at 4 inches, rebar at 5 inches and up. What matters is that the bid names it and that the crew sets it on chairs instead of lying it on the dirt.
Ask for the dates in the bid. Concrete gains most of its strength in the first month; crews commonly keep cars off for about a week and heavy trucks longer.
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.