How to start a concrete business that wins bids on driveways and patios

Concrete is a trade where the result is set, literally, within hours. A pour that goes wrong cannot be fixed with another coat, and a slab poured on a poor base is far more likely to crack and heave, however good the finish looked on day one. Many homeowners know this, so they collect several bids and ask about base, thickness and reinforcement. Showing up on time, explaining the job clearly and sending a written number fast puts you ahead of slower bidders. This guide covers the work, safety and licensing, equipment, pricing, first customers, and how climate shapes the pour season.

What work does a residential concrete company do?

• Flatwork: driveways, patios, sidewalks, garage and shed slabs, pool decks, and approaches where a driveway meets the street.
• Steps and stoops, which take forming skill and often carry code requirements for rise and run.
• Decorative work: stamped and colored concrete, exposed aggregate, broom and swirl finishes, and borders.
• Tear-out and replacement of heaved, cracked, scaled and spalled slabs.
• Repair and maintenance: crack filling, joint sealing, slab lifting, resurfacing and sealing.

Foundations, structural walls and commercial work need engineering, inspections and often heavier licensing. Many new residential companies stick to flatwork and steps, partner with an excavator for big tear-outs, and build a crew of one experienced finisher plus laborers before growing. Learn finishing from someone who has done it for years. Reading about timing a broom finish is not the same as doing it on a hot day with a truck waiting.

What safety rules, licensing and permits apply?

Paperwork first: file the entity, request an EIN, open a dedicated account; our startup checklist has the order. The rest is general guidance only; it is not legal advice, and each state and city sets its own rules.

Silica dust. Cutting control joints, sawing out old slabs and grinding concrete release respirable crystalline silica. OSHA's construction standard, 29 CFR 1926.1153, sets a permissible exposure limit of 50 micrograms per cubic meter as an 8-hour average and applies unless exposure will stay below 25 micrograms as an 8-hour average under any foreseeable conditions. OSHA's silica construction page explains that employers can either use the control methods in Table 1 of the standard (water on the saw blade, vacuum dust collection, respirators for some tasks) or measure exposures and choose their own controls, and either way must have a written exposure control plan. Wet-cutting saws and dust-collecting grinders are the normal answer.

Digging. Tear-out, excavation and setting forms all disturb the ground. The 811 Before You Dig program asks diggers to give notice a few business days ahead, and the service costs nothing. Driveways often sit over gas, water and communication lines running to the house. The US Department of Transportation explains that a call to 811 reaches local utility operators, who mark the approximate location of buried gas, electric, telecommunications, water and sewer lines. Marks have limits: Virginia 811, for example, says the water line from the meter to the house and private lines such as sprinklers and landscape lighting are not marked, so ask the owner what runs under the slab. Wait for the marks before you break ground.

Licensing and permits. Some states license concrete work under a specialty or general contractor license, or as home improvement work. Cities commonly require permits for driveway approaches and work in the public right of way, and may set rules on sidewalk specs, slope and drainage. Start with your state on our state startup pages, then ask the city engineering or building department what they require for residential flatwork.

Insurance. General liability (ask specifically about damage to buried utilities and to neighboring property from equipment), commercial auto for trucks and trailers, equipment coverage, plus workers' compensation under your state's rules once you hire. The contractor insurance guide goes through each policy and the certificates customers request.

What equipment does a concrete contractor need?

• Forming: form boards or steel forms, stakes, string line, levels, a laser level, and a transit for grades.
• Base prep: a plate compactor or jumping jack, rakes, shovels, and a skid steer or mini excavator (rent first).
• Placing and finishing: screeds, bull floats, darbies, hand floats, trowels, edgers, groovers, brooms, and a power trowel for larger slabs.
• Reinforcement: rebar, mesh, chairs, cutters and benders.
• Cutting: a walk-behind or handheld saw with water feed or vacuum for control joints and tear-out.
• Curing and protection: curing compound, sprayers, poly sheeting and insulated blankets for cold weather.
• Hauling: a dump truck or dump trailer for broken concrete, and a truck for forms and tools.

Set up accounts with a ready-mix supplier, a rebar and accessories supplier, and a recycling yard that takes broken concrete. Ask the ready-mix plant about short-load charges and its cancellation policy for weather; both affect your pricing on small jobs.

How do you price driveways and patios?

Price per square foot, built up from the decisions that change cost:

1. Tear-out and haul-away of the old slab, priced by area and thickness.
2. Excavation and base: depth of compacted gravel, soil conditions and drainage.
3. Thickness and reinforcement: slab thickness, rebar or mesh, and thicker edges where vehicles turn.
4. Concrete: cubic yards from your measurements, plus waste, at your supplier's price, with short-load fees on small pours.
5. Finish: broom, exposed aggregate, stamped or colored, each priced as an option.
6. Extras: steps, approaches, permits, sealing and access problems (pumping when the truck cannot reach).

Set a minimum job price, since a small pad costs nearly the same setup as a large one. Present a standard option and upgrades side by side. Take a deposit before ordering; deposit rules on home improvement contracts differ by state, so look yours up. Write rain-delay and cold-weather terms into the contract so a postponed pour is not a dispute. The pricing guide walks through finding the hourly floor beneath every bid.

How do you find concrete customers?

• A gallery website with driveway, patio and stamped work separated, your service area, and an estimate request form that collects photos and rough dimensions. See websites.
• Your Google Business Profile, updated with each finished job and the town name. See our Business Profile guide.
• The neighbors on pour day. A ready-mix truck draws people outside. Have cards and a yard sign ready; neighbors whose driveways were poured the same year are looking at the same cracks.
• Landscapers, fence installers and pool builders, who need patios and decks poured and would rather not do it themselves. See our fencing guide for how fence companies work.
• Realtors and home inspectors, who flag trip hazards and failing walks before a sale.

Marketplace leads in this trade still need a drive and a tape measure before you can bid, so you pay twice: once for the lead, once for the visit. Angi's own 10-K for 2025 notes that a single homeowner request may turn into multiple leads, and that the fee is owed whether or not the pro is hired. Bids you win from your own site and profile carry no per-lead charge. The concrete industry page describes the site and job software we put in place for flatwork crews.

Which systems should a concrete company set up?

• Estimates sent the same day as the site visit, with options and online approval. Our custom CRM builds these from your price list.
• Weather rescheduling: when rain is forecast, move the pour and notify every affected customer with one action rather than a round of phone calls.
• Job records with the 811 ticket, permit number, mix ordered, photos of the base before the pour, and the curing instructions you gave.
• Follow-up on open bids. Some homeowners wait a season before deciding, and a reminder in early spring can bring them back. See our quote follow-up guide.

How seasonal is concrete work across the US?

• North and upper Midwest: the pour season is short and packed, roughly from spring thaw to late fall, with cold-weather precautions at both ends. The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association's cold weather guidance says fresh concrete should be protected from freezing until it reaches 500 psi, about two days after placement, which is why insulated blankets belong on the trailer in October. Bids sold in winter fill the first weeks.
• Mid-Atlantic and central states: more pour days overall, with spring and fall the best pouring weather and summer heat to manage.
• South and Southwest: work most of the year, but NRMCA's hot weather guidance notes that concrete sets quicker at higher temperatures, so finishing has to move faster, and it advises avoiding the hottest part of the day for placing and finishing when possible. Afternoon storms in humid regions wipe out pour days.
• Freeze-thaw regions: NRMCA's guidance on scaling explains that freezing and thawing cycles can flake the surface of saturated slabs and that deicing chemicals make it worse. It suggests considering a breathable sealer and avoiding deicers in a new slab's first winter. Put that on a care sheet for every customer, and offer sealing as a recurring service.

Some concrete contractors fill slow months with snow removal in the north or decorative and repair work in the south. Our start a company hub links the other trade guides in this series. To get the estimate form, phone line and rescheduling set up before your first season, request a free launch plan.

Frequently asked questions