Concrete Driveway Repair in Baton Rouge That Replaces Only the Broken Sections

Most of the driveway calls we get are for one or two sections. A tree near the driveway pushed a panel up, or a heavy truck snapped a corner, and the rest of the concrete is fine. Gerardo puts it plainly: "Sometimes it's one section where you have a tree close to the driveway or the sidewalk. Not everything needs to be replaced."

That is why Gerardo walks the property himself before anyone talks price. He looks at every panel, not only the one you called about, explains what is actually wrong, and puts a written estimate in your hands. If only one or two sections are broken, he says so, and the estimate covers those sections and nothing else.

Three causes account for most of the broken driveway panels Gerardo sees, and each one tends to leave its own signature on the concrete.

• Tree roots. A root grows under one panel and lifts it, so one edge sits higher than its neighbor. This is very common on driveways that run near a tree.
• Delivery trucks. UPS, FedEx and Amazon trucks use residential driveways every week now, and many of those driveways were never built for that weight. The damage shows up where the truck turns and stops.
• Age. Old concrete reaches the end of its life. When the surface is wearing away and cracks run through panel after panel, the slab is telling you something.

Not every crack needs a saw. Concrete shrinks as it cures, and control joints are cut so it cracks along a planned line. A thin crack that stays flat, does not widen, and has both sides level is mostly cosmetic. Sealing it to keep water out may be all it needs for now.

A broken section is different. If one side of the crack is higher than the other, if pieces rock when you step on them, if a corner has sunk, or if water pools at the break after a rain, the problem is under the concrete. Filling the crack in a lifted or sunken panel covers the symptom and leaves the cause in place. To repair cracked driveway concrete like that, the panel comes out and the base gets fixed.

Local ground adds pressure. USDA NRCS soil data flags shrink-swell as a limitation for slab homes on roughly 4 in 10 acres in both East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes, and Louisiana averages about 60 inches of rain a year. Soil that swells when wet and shrinks when dry moves the base under a driveway, and a base that moves will crack the concrete riding on it.

Some companies raise a settled driveway panel by pumping foam or grout underneath it. That can work when the panel is whole and has only dropped. We don't lift panels. We saw out the sections that are broken, pushed up by a root or sitting over washed-out base, rebuild the base, and pour new sections tied into the concrete around them.

A panel that is cracked through or tipped by a root will not stay fixed by lifting it, because the problem is the concrete or the ground under it. That is when section replacement is the honest answer, and it is the repair Gerardo quotes.

A repaired panel is only as good as what it sits on. Ask any contractor what they will do to the base before you sign, and it matters even more for a repair, because the old panel failed for a reason, and pouring new concrete on the same base invites the same failure.

Once the broken section is out, we can see what caused it. If a root did the lifting, the root has to be dealt with or it will lift the new panel too; if the tree matters to you, talk to an arborist before any roots are cut. If the base washed out or settled, we rebuild and compact it. Gerardo also checks the slope. Years of drainage work through Hernandez Lawnscape, our sister company, mean we make sure water runs off the repaired section and away from the house instead of sitting at the new joint.

We pour new sections matched to the existing driveway in height, slope, joint lines and broom texture, so the surface drives as one driveway with no lip at the seams. Color is the part nobody can promise. New concrete is lighter than concrete that has weathered for years, and a replaced panel will show as a different shade, especially at first.

The difference softens as the new concrete gets the same sun, rain and tire traffic as the rest, but it rarely disappears completely. We would rather tell you that at the walk-through than have you surprised when the forms come off. Most homeowners decide a slightly different shade beats a trip hazard or a panel that keeps breaking.

We don't post prices, because no two repairs are the same. Price is the thing homeowners know least about going in, and the honest way to close that gap is a written estimate from someone who has looked at your driveway. These are the things that move the number:

• How many sections are broken, and how large they are.
• What is underneath: a root to remove, a washed-out base, or soft ground that has to be rebuilt.
• Where the damage is. Panels at the street take truck traffic and may need to be built heavier than the original.
• Access for equipment and for hauling the broken concrete away.
• Saw-cutting, removal, disposal and cleanup, which are real labor even on a small job.

Repair is not always the right call. When a driveway is broken up across many sections, when the concrete is old and failing everywhere, or when the whole slab drains toward the garage, replacing panel by panel just spreads the cost of a new driveway over several years and still leaves you with a tired slab. In that case Gerardo will tell you full replacement is the honest answer and show you why, section by section.

A new driveway is a different job with its own planning: tear-out, base prep, forming, and a new driveway thickened for the trucks that actually use it. Our page on full concrete driveway replacement covers that work in detail.

A repaired section needs the same patience as any new concrete. Plan on a full day before anyone walks on it and 5 to 7 days before you drive on it or park anything heavy there. We'll help you plan where the cars and the delivery trucks go that week.

Permit rules depend on where you live. The East Baton Rouge Parish permits page lists the addition to or expansion of a driveway among residential work that needs a permit, and the City of St. George has issued its own building permits since October 16, 2024. If your repair changes the footprint, or you are not sure, check with your permit office before work starts.

The job isn't finished when the last concrete goes down. It's finished when the forms are pulled, the broken concrete and debris are hauled off, and your driveway looks better than it did before we arrived. We repair driveways across Baton Rouge, St. George, Central, Baker and the rest of East Baton Rouge Parish, plus Denham Springs, Walker and Watson in Livingston Parish.