How to Save on a Concrete Driveway

Inventory the tools you have on hand to build a concrete driveway if you're thinking about a DIY concrete driveway. If you have to rent excavators for the sub-grade work, as well as a concrete mixer and other tools, your concrete driveway costs may soon add up.

Measure the size of the driveway. If your home is set back from the street, consider building a one-lane driveway from the street to the house with a wider apron for two cars near the house. You still have access to your two-car garage, yet may be able to save several cubic yards of concrete. In any case a straight driveway costs less to create than one with curves.

Find clean, but used, sub-grade materials. If rocks for the base are available from demolition sites, make use of them after picking out any foreign materials. Look in salvage yards for materials to use for rebar.

Lay the minimum amount of concrete for your driveway. This is not the place to cut costs or the driveway may not last. Cut in expansion joints at the recommended distance for your part of the country. In most cases, concrete needs to be 4 inches thick. Expansion joints should be 1 inch deep and need to be approximately 15 feet apart.

Do part of the work and hire a contractor to do the rest. If you just hire a contractor to pour and finish the driveway, you can save a considerable amount of money. The same is true if you hire the preparation and grading work done, and pour the concrete yourself.

Limit the amount of fancy work you add to the concrete driveway. Extra colors, special textures and stamped designs are nice, but the costs add up in a hurry. Depending on the options you choose, you could double the cost of the driveway just for the extras.