Most cracked or sunken concrete has years left in it. A driveway with a dropped panel, a patio that tips back toward the house, a walk with a trip edge at every joint: these are usually problems with the base, not the slab. Repair fills and seals cracks before water can get under them. Leveling lifts a settled section back to grade by working from beneath. Resurfacing lays a new wearing layer over a surface that is sound underneath but worn on top. Around Kennesaw, we see all three on residential and commercial property, and knowing which one a job actually needs is most of the work.
We start with what sits under the concrete. Gwinnett soil is the dominant type here and it drains well, though it varies across the area, so every site is tested individually before work starts. With about 59 inches of rain a year, water is usually part of the story: where it runs off, where it pools, and how much base material it has carried away. If a slab is cracked through and still moving, resurfacing only hides the problem. When a section has lost its structural support, we replace it rather than dress it up with a coating. Call for a free estimate.
What a slab costs comes down to what sits under it and what it has to carry. Thickness drives most of it: a 4-inch slab under a shed or patio takes far less concrete than a 6-inch slab carrying a truck or shop equipment. Excavation, compacted gravel base, rebar or wire mesh, forms and the finish add to it. Grade and access change the job more than square footage does, so we price every slab after we have seen the site. Call for a free estimate.
A driveway fails from the bottom up. We cut out sod and soft soil, lay and compact a crushed stone base, then pour 4 inches of concrete, or 5 to 6 where heavier vehicles park. Rebar on a grid ties the slab together. Control joints go in about every 10 feet, so the cracks concrete always makes run along a straight line instead of across your parking spot. With about 59 inches of rain a year in Kennesaw, every driveway gets pitched away from the garage.
Floors start either with a slab you already have or a new pour over a vapor barrier. On an existing slab we grind the surface, fill cracks and pits, then either polish it through progressively finer diamond grits or seal it with epoxy. Polished concrete suits basements and living spaces. Epoxy suits garages and shops, where oil and chemicals get spilled. Moisture ruins more floors than anything else: rising through an old slab with no barrier, it will lift a coating, so we test for it before anything goes down.
Most cracked slabs trace back to the ground beneath them. Cobb County's dominant soil drains well, but it varies from site to site, so we test before we choose a repair. Hairline shrinkage cracks get routed and filled with flexible sealant. A sunken section can often be lifted back to level by pumping polyurethane foam underneath. Where the slab has broken up or keeps moving, we saw out the damaged piece and repour it, doweled into the old concrete so the two act as one.
Sidewalks run 4 inches thick on a compacted gravel base, usually 3 to 5 feet wide. We cut a control joint about as often as the walk is wide, and set expansion joints where it meets a driveway, steps or the house. A broom finish across the direction of travel keeps it from getting slick when wet. The usual failure is a tree root lifting one panel into a trip edge, so we route new walks away from mature roots where the yard allows.
Before we recommend anything, we walk the property and read what the existing concrete is telling us. Cracks that run in a clean line usually mean the slab moved as one piece. Spiderweb cracking and sunken corners point to soil washing out underneath. Gwinnett soil is the dominant type across Cobb County and it drains well, but it varies from site to site, so every site gets tested before work starts. That tells us whether a slab can be leveled, resurfaced, or has to come out.
Most concrete failures start below the surface, so this is where we spend the time. We dig out topsoil and anything organic, then build a base of crushed stone in lifts, running a plate compactor over each one. Loose fill settles, and a slab poured on it follows it down. We also set the grade so water runs off the slab and away from the house. The area sees about 59 inches of rain a year, and all of it needs somewhere to go.
Forms are straight lumber or steel, staked tight and checked with a string line and level so the finished surface keeps the pitch we set during prep. Inside them goes the reinforcement: rebar tied on a grid, or welded wire mesh, sitting on plastic chairs so it ends up in the middle of the slab instead of lying in the dirt. Steel on the ground does nothing. Where new concrete meets a foundation or an old slab, we add expansion joint material so each can move on its own.
We order the mix for the job, with a stronger mix for driveways that carry vehicles than for a patio that carries chairs. The truck backs in, or we pump or wheelbarrow where it cannot reach. Nobody adds water at the chute to make it spread easier. It does flow better, but it weakens the slab and leads to dusting and a flaking surface later. We place the concrete, work it into the corners and around the steel, then screed it flat against the forms.
Timing matters more here than at any other stage. After screeding we float the surface to push the stone down and bring the cream up, then wait for the bleed water to leave before touching it again. Finish too early and that water gets trapped, and the top layer peels. Control joints go in at a spacing matched to the slab, so cracks happen where we choose. Driveways and walks get a broom finish for traction. Decorative work gets a stamped texture or a smooth trowel finish.
Concrete does not dry, it cures, and it needs moisture to do that. If the surface loses water too fast, it shrinks ahead of the slab beneath it and cracks. We keep it damp, either with a spray-on curing compound or by covering it, and we keep traffic off. Foot traffic comes back first, vehicles later; how long depends on the mix and the weather. Rushing this stage is the most common reason a good pour ends up with hairline cracks across the surface.
Once the slab has cured, we seal it. A penetrating sealer soaks in and blocks water, oil and stains without changing how the surface looks. On stamped and decorative concrete we use a film-forming acrylic that deepens the color and keeps the pattern crisp. No sealer lasts forever. Driveways wear through it faster than patios, because tires grind at it every day. The sign to watch for is simple: when water stops beading on the surface and starts soaking in, it is time for another coat.
Stamped concrete is the most familiar of the decorative finishes, and it earns that. We press textured mats into the fresh slab to give it the look of slate, flagstone or brick, then color it to suit the house. Exposed aggregate suits people who want grip underfoot and a natural finish, since the top layer is washed away to show the stone. Stained and scored surfaces are quieter: a smooth slab, cut into a pattern and colored after it cures.
Every decorative job starts the same way as a plain one, because the finish is only as good as what sits under it. We test the soil on each site, since it changes from one property to the next, then set the base and reinforcement before the pour. Timing matters most on stamped work. The crew has a short window while the concrete is firm enough to hold a pattern but still soft enough to take it, so we keep the pour size matched to the hands on site.
Most decorative failures trace back to water or to a rushed seal. With about 59 inches of rain a year here, a patio that sheds poorly will show it, so we slope every surface away from the house and plan drainage before we set forms. Sealer protects the color and the texture, but it needs a dry, cured slab to bond. Stamped and stained finishes also want resealing over time. We explain that upkeep before the project starts, not after.
We price concrete work after looking at the property, because what a job costs depends on what is already there. Two driveways of the same size in Kennesaw can come out far apart once you count what has to be removed, how the truck gets in, and what the slab has to carry. Most of the factors below are things you can check yourself before you call.
| What changes the price | Which way | Why |
|---|---|---|
| An old slab or asphalt that has to come out first | costs more | Breaking it up, loading it and hauling it away is labor and disposal before any new work starts. |
| A mixer truck that cannot back up to the pour | costs more | Concrete then has to be pumped or wheeled in, which adds equipment, crew and time. |
| Tree roots or stumps under the new footprint | costs more | They have to be cut out, or they lift and crack the slab later. |
| A slab that carries vehicles rather than patio furniture | costs more | A driveway needs more thickness and a firmer base than a walkway or patio. |
| Rebar grid instead of wire mesh or fiber | costs more | More steel means more material and more setting time, and it is what heavier loads call for. |
| Water that stands or runs toward the house | costs more | The grade has to be cut or filled so the new surface sheds water away. |
| A sound slab that only needs a new top surface | costs less | Resurfacing keeps the structure you already have and skips the tear-out. |
| A sunken section that can be lifted back to level | costs less | Leveling the slab in place avoids removing and repouring it. |
When you compare bids, compare the details rather than the bottom line. Look for the slab thickness written down, the type of reinforcement, how deep the gravel base goes, and whether tear-out and haul-off are included or billed separately. A lower number that leaves any of those blank usually makes up the difference later.
We don't keep a neighborhood list, because we don't draw our area street by street. If your property sits in the part of metro Atlanta around Kennesaw, it's inside the work we do. That could be a driveway in a newer subdivision, a patio behind an older house, or a slab for a detached garage. Give us the address when you call for a free estimate.
Acid stain reacts with the lime in cured concrete, so the color comes out of the slab itself. The result is mottled and translucent, mostly earth tones: browns, tans, muted greens. No two surfaces take it quite the same way. Water-based stain doesn't react. It soaks into the pores and holds the color you pick, from soft grays to strong blues, and it lands more evenly. One suits people who like variation. The other suits people who want a match.
Mostly the flatwork a business leans on every day: sidewalks, entry pads, dumpster pads, parking areas, loading aprons and interior slabs for new construction or additions. Retail and restaurant frontage, the kind that lines the streets around Marietta Square, takes steady foot traffic. We plan joints, reinforcement and surface finish for that load rather than treating it like a residential driveway. Repair and resurfacing on commercial property fall under the same work.
Marietta is in our name, but it isn't a boundary. We take residential and commercial jobs across the surrounding part of metro Atlanta. A driveway across town gets the same crew, the same materials and the same base preparation as one down the street from us. Distance doesn't change how a slab is poured. What matters is the ground under it, the load on top of it and the care taken while it cures.
The short answer is the towns and neighborhoods around Kennesaw, all on the same terms. They're named elsewhere on this page, so here is how we look at it instead. If the job is a driveway, patio, walkway, slab or repair we can do properly, and the address falls in that area, it's work we want. A house outside the city limits gets the same prep and the same concrete.
Ask to see the paperwork. We don't post license or insurance details on this site, and a web page is a poor place to check them anyway. When you call for a free estimate, ask for current documents and confirm them with the issuing office before you sign anything, with us or with any other contractor. That habit protects your property on every concrete project, large or small.