Two concrete bids for the same driveway can differ by four thousand dollars and both be honest, because they are quoting two different slabs that happen to share a footprint. One is thicker, reinforced with a rebar grid on chairs, poured over compacted base rock, and jointed on a real plan. The other is thinner, meshed, and poured on dirt. From the street, the day after, they look identical. This guide teaches you to read the difference before you buy it.
Read the scope before the total
Resist the urge to compare bottom lines first. A concrete estimate is a list of decisions about your slab, and the cheap ones are usually cheap because several of those decisions went missing or got downgraded. Line the bids up by scope, make the scopes match, and the totals finally mean something. Until then you are comparing a number to a different number, not a slab to a slab.
What a complete bid spells out
| Line item | What good looks like | If it is vague, ask |
|---|---|---|
| Tear out and haul off | Existing slab removal and disposal, priced in | Who hauls it, and is the dump fee included? |
| Subgrade and base | Compacted subgrade plus stated inches of base rock | How many inches of base, and is it compacted? |
| Thickness | 4 inches standard, 5 to 6 where vehicles are heavy | How thick, and why that thickness here? |
| Reinforcement | Bar size and grid spacing, on chairs; or mesh with placement | Rebar or mesh, what spacing, held up how? |
| Concrete mix | A stated strength, commonly 3,000 to 4,000 psi | What psi, and any fibers or admixtures? |
| Joint plan | Control joint spacing and type, isolation joints noted | Where are the joints, and how deep? |
| Finish | Broom, exposed aggregate, or stamped, named | Which finish, and any color? |
| Curing | Wet cure or curing compound stated | How will you cure it, and for how long? |
| Cleanup | Debris haul off, site protection | What gets protected, and who cleans up? |
| Warranty | Workmanship term, and what it says about cracks | What cracking is covered, and for how long? |
| Payments | Small deposit, balance at completion | Why any large sum before the pour? |
A bid that names all of these is not padded. It is finished. A bid that reads "remove old driveway, pour new reinforced concrete driveway, $X" has left out almost everything that decides how long the slab lasts.
The two lines that carry the most money
Two items separate most good slabs from bad ones, and both are invisible after the pour. Reinforcement is the big one: a rebar grid on chairs versus mesh on the dirt is a real difference in how the slab ages, and it is the argument of the rebar vs wire mesh guide. Base is the other: a few inches of compacted rock over a prepared subgrade is what keeps a slab flat, and it is the easiest thing to skip because no inspector or homeowner sees it a week later. When a bid goes quiet on base and reinforcement, it is usually quiet for a reason.
Allowances versus fixed scope
Some unknowns are legitimate. If the crew cannot know the subgrade condition until the old slab comes out, a fair bid handles that with a unit price, so many dollars per extra load of base or per square foot of unforeseen repair, rather than a vague "as needed." An open-ended "as needed" clause is a blank check; a stated unit price is a fair way to price a real unknown. Ask any allowance to name its unit.
Phrases that mean money is coming out underground
A few lines should slow your pen.
- "Pour over existing" on a driveway means skipping tear out and bonding new concrete to a moving slab, which inherits the old cracks fast.
- "Reinforced" with no bar size or spacing tells you nothing, and can quietly mean mesh on the ground.
- "Base as needed" with no depth or unit price usually means as little base as the crew can get away with.
- No joint plan at all means the crew has not decided where your slab will crack, so it will crack wherever it likes.
- A large deposit, half up front on a small residential job, is a cash-flow request, not a materials one, and a reason to ask why.
A concrete estimate is a character reference in table form. The crew that writes down thickness, reinforcement, base, joints, and curing before the sale is the crew most likely to pour them after it. Match the scopes, price the real unknowns by the unit, and check the two invisible lines hardest. Then compare totals against the driveway cost guide, and before you sign, run the crew itself through vetting.
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.