A concrete pour is fast and permanent. The truck is on site for an hour, the crew is gone in a day, and whatever went into the ground, good base or bad, correct reinforcement or a skipped step, is sealed under a surface nobody can inspect once it cures. That is why the useful moment is before and during the work, never after. Print this and carry it through the three stages of any driveway, patio, or walk: signing, pour day, and the first week.
Before you sign
Everything that decides how long your slab lasts is invisible once it is poured, so it belongs in the contract in writing. Thickness, reinforcement, base depth, and the joint plan are not details to sort out on pour day. A bid that names four inches of concrete on compacted subgrade, rebar on a grid, control joints laid out at sensible spacing, and a defined curing method is a bid you can hold someone to. One that reads only "concrete driveway, turnkey" is a blank check. Our walkthrough of reading an estimate shows what a complete one lists.
Before you sign
- Confirm slab thickness in writing: 4 inches for walks and standard drives, 5 to 6 inches where vehicles park or turn
- Require the reinforcement to be named: rebar on a grid is the norm for Georgetown clay, not mesh laid on the ground
- Get the base spelled out: compacted subgrade plus a few inches of base rock, not concrete on loose dirt
- See a joint plan: where control joints go and roughly how far apart, decided before the pour
- Confirm the concrete mix strength the contractor is ordering
- Get tear out and haul off of the old slab listed as its own line, not buried in a lump sum
- Name the finish and any color so there is no surprise: broom, exposed aggregate, stamped, or stained
- Confirm the curing method the crew will use, water cure or curing compound
- Put isolation joints in writing anywhere new concrete meets the house, garage, or an existing slab
- Confirm who protects irrigation lines, trees, and the neighbor's drive during access
Pour day
Pour day is the one window where you can catch a shortcut in progress. You do not need to hover, but be home and paying attention at two moments: when the trucks arrive and when the crew starts cutting joints. Water added to the mix at the truck to make it flow easier is the most common way a strong slab gets quietly weakened, and it happens in seconds. Joint timing matters just as much in Texas heat; cut too late and the slab has already cracked on its own. Our guide to control joints explains what to look for.
Pour day
- Be home when the trucks arrive and again when the crew cuts joints
- Watch for water added to the mix at the truck to make it pour easier; it weakens the finished slab
- Check that reinforcement sits up on chairs in the middle of the slab, not flat on the dirt
- Confirm the base was compacted and dampened, not dry and loose, before concrete went down
- Verify the slab thickness matches the contract as the forms fill
- Watch that control joints get cut or tooled on time, before the slab cracks on its own
- Check joint depth: roughly a quarter of the slab thickness, deep enough to actually control the crack
- Note the pour time; summer pours should start early, not on a 100 degree afternoon
- Make sure curing starts promptly, water or compound applied, not left to bake
- Take your own dated photos of the base, the steel, and the finished pour
After the pour
The slab is most vulnerable in its first week, while it is still gaining strength. Curing is not waiting; it is active, keeping moisture in the concrete so the chemical reaction finishes instead of stalling in the sun. Georgetown summers make this the difference between a durable surface and a dusty, crack prone one. Hold off on traffic, keep it wet or coated as the crew directed, and save sealing for later. Our note on curing in Texas heat covers the timeline in full.
After the pour
- Keep foot traffic off for the first day or two as directed
- Wait about 7 days before parking a passenger vehicle on a new drive
- Give heavy vehicles and dumpsters more time, closer to a month
- Keep the slab moist or coated through the curing window if the crew used a water cure
- Do not seal fresh concrete; wait the interval the contractor specifies
- Keep de-icing salt and metal off the surface through the first winter
- Watch for thin hairline lines; they are normal shrinkage, not a warranty problem
- Flag any crack that displaces, widens, or opens at a joint edge to the contractor
- Collect the final invoice, written warranty terms, and a lien waiver before the last payment
Keep this printout with your contract. If a step on it was skipped, you will know exactly what to ask about before the final check leaves your hand.
Georgetown Concrete Guide editorial team
Independent research for Georgetown homeowners. Cost figures come from published industry data and are estimates, not quotes. Updated July 17, 2026.