Driveway Contractor Northern Virginia

Fairfax Contractor Replaces Concrete Driveways. Our company is located in Manassas, Virginia, and we are a local concrete company that can handle just about any type of project concerning the replacement of concrete driveways. Fairfax Contractor can replace any concrete driveway at your home or business. Fairfax Contractor holds a contractor’s license from the Virginia DPOR Class A with the endorsement stamp of BLD builder. Fairfax contractor is also an insured contractor. Over time concrete deteriorates, and you may need to replace a broken and correct concrete driveway. We specialize in installing new driveways made of concrete in Northern Virginia. After many years of wear and tear, your concrete driveway may become cracked and worn out. Fairfax contractor can remove your dilapidated concrete driveway and install a newly updated driveway. Our driveway replacement projects always include fine broom-finished concrete. In addition to regular concrete driveways, we also install colored driveways utilizing Davis Colors to create a unique driveway finish colored to your specifications. Other options Fairfax Contractor offers are exposed aggregate concrete driveways, brick bordered driveways, And micro exposed aggregate driveway options. Fairfax Contractor also can work with The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to install new aprons or additional accesses to your driveway, such as a circular driveway. Arlington, Virginia, controls all new apron installations, and there is no need to deal with VDOT. If you want to replace your existing driveway apron in Fairfax County, Loudon County, or Prince William County, VA, you as the home will have to make the application and post the bond to VDOT. In addition, we can also expand your existing concrete driveway to allow for more additional parking. If you are a budget, Fairfax Contractor can repair your driveway without replacing it for more information, click here.

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Our Process For Replacing Concrete Driveways

When it comes time to replace your Northern Virginia concrete driveway we will described below the exact process that Fairfax Contractor utilizes. After proposal and plans have been formulated and the driveway replacement is ready to commence, we will call Miss Utilities of Virginia to have your property marked for location of any utilities in the area as required by law. Once the 72-hour processing, and we have an active Miss Utilities number, we will call you to set up a preproduction meeting. During this pre-production meeting we will lay out exact location of your new concrete driveway, where electrical and water is located for our employees, and discuss any concerns you may have. At this point we will bring in the equipment that is needed to remove your old concrete driveway and haul away the demolished concrete. Fairfax Contractor will go green and the removed concrete will be recycled. The next step and properly installing a concrete driveway is to determine the proper grade of the new driveway, this is done by using either a transit, or a series of masonry string lines that will set the grade. Once the grade has been set the outline of your driveway will be formed out with wood 2″x 4″ so that you can see the exact design of your driveway before pour the concrete. It’s always been much easier to move forms around, then to re-do your driveway. Depending on your contract, we may lay some #57 gravel, which will be used to level the driveway substructure to a constant 4” level. We will then tamper down with a plate tamper the soil to produce a stable base. If your concrete driveway is being replaced we do not think adding a gravel base is a good idea. If your current driveway is 10-30 years old the current soil conditions are firmly compacted. Adding a base of # 57 gravel allows the soil types found in most part of Northern Virginia to collect water under your driveway. With the most common types of soils found in Northern Virginia adding gravel as a sub base will cause water to collect under your new concrete driveway slab. Most of Northern Virginia is been tested as dense smectite clay. During periods of heavy rain, groundwater backs up into the clay, saturating the sandier soil layers below it. This condition would lead to water taking the path of least resistant and collecting under your driveway, if it was installed with a gravel base. Considering Northern Virginia is Climate Zone Number 4 that has a freeze thaw cycle. And your driveway is above the frost line you will experience hairline or major cracks if you place a base of gravel under your driveway. This is why you would not want standing water under your driveway by adding a #57 gravel subbase.

Fairfax Contractor Concrete Reinforcement Techniques

When your new concrete driveway as been formed out, and had base preparation completed one should consider what type of reinforcement should be used. If you’re going with the standard four-inch concrete base one should probably not use rebar for reinforcement. Our recommendation is to have concrete reinforced with micro fine fiberglass concrete grade integrated into the design mix of the concrete itself. If you are going with a 5 inch thick slab you may want to consider upgrading to a rebar reinforcement system, the typical rebar used is #4 or half-inch rebar. In the past welded wire mesh was typically used to reinforce concrete driveways, but after many years of replacing concrete driveways we have often found that the welded wire just laying next to the dirt below the concrete slab, and had no overall affect in reinforcement. Typically Fairfax Contractor utilizes a higher strength concrete design mix which is poured at 4 inches.

Fairfax Contractor Concrete Design Mix For Driveways

Design Mix For Driveways is concrete’s strength is measured in PS I at 28 days. What this means is what will the strength the concrete be at 28 days relates to the design mix. Most people think that concrete just simply dries out becomes hard, but the truth is it’s a chemical reaction called hydration. Most sidewalks and driveways for at a 3000 PSI strength meaning that at 28 days concrete the stand 3000 pounds per square inch without cracking. Fairfax Contractor utilizes a stronger design mix that is rated at 4000 PSI at 28 days. In addition to determining the design mix for a concrete driveway there are many options that can be ordered from the concrete plan when placing a concrete driveway. One of which is air entrained concrete, air entrained concrete is the induction of air producing chemicals that produce billions of microscopic pockets. These little microscopic bubbles within your concrete mix allow the concrete to accept expansion in cold weather climates such as Northern Virginia and may prevent cracking. Though air entrained concrete may be slightly weaker than design mixes that air entrained the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Air entrained concrete AEA’s create a concrete mixture that can stand up to freezing conditions much better than a design mix that is not take account this feature. The quintessential ingredient Fairfax Contractor uses in our concrete admixtures is residential fibers to reinforce our concrete. These micro sympathetic fibers prevent much of the cracks that are associated with plastic state of concrete, when most initial cracking can occur. When ordering a design mix one of the key factors is what slump is to be used for your driveway. Most contractors utilize a very high slump factor, it is easier to finish. By adding plasticizers we can design our concrete mixture, to be more malleable at lower slump ratings than typical concrete. In conclusion Fairfax Contractor’s residential driveway concrete mixture includes, 3000 PSI concrete, residential microfibers, air entrained, and plasticizers we have added at our order from the concrete plant. Some other options that may be considered in your design mix is colored concrete again we utilize Davis Colors to change the typical color of concrete to your desired finished colored concrete driveway. We also install exposed aggregate concrete driveways.

The Perfect Finish For A Residential Concrete Driveway

Once your concrete base has been properly placed, all grade considerations have been made, and the perfect concrete design mix has been ordered from the concrete plant we can start pouring concrete into the forms. Typically the ready mix concrete truck will pull in to the driveway and start releasing the concrete into the forms. During this process our crew will start leveling the concrete, following the grade stakes. Once all of the concrete has been screed to the desired thickness, typically by means of a wood 2×4 the finishing process and start. Typically are crews will utilize wood concrete trowels to smooth out the concrete to a semi-finished state. The next step in the finishing process for a concrete driveway, as the company starts to hydrate we will set out to further finish the concrete utilizing magnesium bowl floats. After these magnesium bowl floats have smoothed out the concrete, we will start utilizing handheld magnesium hand trowels to further smooth the concrete without pulling out too much cream. The cream of the concrete is basically the sand, and Portland components of the concrete. Once the concrete is almost hydrated, our workers will start laying down, and finish in the concrete with steel trowels, this will produce the final smoothing concrete process for your driveway. Just at the right moment, before the concrete has completely hydrated, we will pass a specialized concrete broom to give your driveway a fine broomed finish. This broomed finish is typically done by the master concrete finisher. During colder months, we may lay down concrete blankets, or if the weather is fair we will let the concrete hydrate overnight. In the morning of the next day, we will saw cut expansion joints every 8 feet to 10 feet to allow for expansion and contraction. Some of the final steps of your new driveway is to remove the forms, and back fill the area where the initial concrete forms were placed for your driveway. We will place yellow caution tape to protect your driveway from traffic and to allow the concrete base to cure for 7 days before any vehicle traffic is allowed onto the driveway.

Design Options Your Concrete Driveway

Before any changes are made to your Northern Virginia driveway, Fairfax Contractor recommends you check with your homeowners Association on what is allowable for a driveway in the covenants of your homeowners Association. Some of the design options that we are capable of producing include colored concrete, exposed aggregate concrete, brick over concrete, and interlocking brick paver driveways. Fairfax Contractor can install in the design the perfect driveway for your home the it a concrete driveway, concrete finished with brick pavers, exposed aggregate, colored concrete, stamped concrete driveway or interlocking concrete paver driveways. If your budget we can combine a brick bordered concrete driveway, the looks absolutely amazing. Please give us a call free estimate, or fill out the free estimate form to receive professional consultation for your new driveway project in Northern Virginia.

Is A Building Permit Required To Replace A Concrete Driveway In Northern Virginia

Many homeowners in Northern Virginia are concerned about proper permitting of any construction project, and the answer to the question is do not need a permit to replace a driveway in Fairfax County, Arlington County, Prince William County, or Loudoun County Virginia. The answer to the question is there is no requirement for a permit for concrete driveway replacement in all Northern Virginia Counties including Fairfax County. There is however exception consideration to the rule, you may need to check with your HOA to see if a concrete driveway is allowed in your community.If you’re new concrete driveway is elevated, exceeds 2500 ft.², or as a circular driveway that has a new entrance to the street zoning, and other permits may be required.