Texas doesn't license concrete contractors at the state level. There's no board exam, no state credential to verify, and anyone with a truck and a trowel can print a business card. That puts the burden of vetting on you. These are the questions worth asking, and roughly what a good answer sounds like.
1. Are you insured, and can I get the certificate directly from your carrier? General liability protects your property if something goes wrong. Workers' compensation matters more than most homeowners realize, because Texas doesn't require it for private employers, and if an uninsured worker is injured on your property the exposure can land on your homeowner's policy. Ask for the certificate to be sent from the insurance agency rather than handed to you as a PDF, which is trivially forged.
2. What thickness, what PSI, and what reinforcement? A driveway should be 4 inches for cars and 5 to 6 for heavy vehicles, at 3,000 to 4,000 PSI, with reinforcement specified by type and spacing. A contractor who answers this precisely has thought about your job. One who says standard has not.
3. What exactly are you doing to the base? You want to hear about excavating to grade, removing organic material, mechanical compaction, and usually a few inches of crushed base. In North Texas clay this is the difference between a driveway that lasts thirty years and one that fails in eight. If base prep isn't mentioned, that's the answer.
4. Where will the control joints go, and how deep? Concrete cracks as it cures. Saw-cut joints at roughly a quarter of the slab depth, spaced about 8 to 10 feet on a 4-inch slab, decide whether the crack lands where you planned it. A contractor who can answer this without pausing has poured a lot of concrete.
5. Is tear-out and haul-off included? This is a frequent source of surprise charges and a common reason one bid is mysteriously cheaper. Get it in writing. And if anyone proposes pouring over your existing slab, decline.
6. Who pulls the permit, and does this job need one? Requirements vary by city across the metroplex, and work touching the driveway approach between your property line and the street is usually governed by municipal standards. Dallas city code, for instance, sets residential driveway approach width between 10 and 30 feet at the property line. You want the contractor handling this, and you want to know they know it applies.
7. What's the warranty, in writing, and what voids it? A meaningful warranty distinguishes between workmanship and normal curing cracks, states a duration, and is signed. Verbal warranties from a crew you found on a yard sign are worth what you paid for them.
8. What's the payment schedule? A reasonable deposit covering materials is normal. A demand for most or all of the money up front is a serious warning. Never pay in full before the work is complete and you've walked it.
9. Can I see three jobs you did in this area more than three years ago? Anyone can show you a photo of concrete poured last week. Concrete looks perfect the day it's finished. What tells you something is how a slab looks after it has been through three or four North Texas wet-dry cycles. Ask for addresses you can drive by.
A few things worth checking on your own. Look up the business and confirm it has a real local footprint and a phone number that a person answers. Read the reviews, and pay attention to how the company responds to critical ones. Confirm the name on the contract matches the name on the insurance certificate. And be wary of unsolicited door knocks offering a discount because they have leftover material from a nearby job, which is one of the oldest pitches in the trade.
Finally, be careful with the lowest bid. Concrete has a real material cost that nobody escapes, so a bid substantially under the others is almost always thinner, less reinforced, or skipping base prep. Ask which one it is. Sometimes there's a good answer.
We've been pouring concrete across North Texas since 1985 and we'll answer every one of these before you ask. Free written estimates that specify thickness, mix, reinforcement, and prep. Call 972-921-9488.
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