Nobody likes calling for a price and getting "well, it depends." It does depend, but that's not a reason to dodge the question, so here are honest numbers you can plan around.
2026 ranges around Lincoln
| Job | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Plain broom-finish flatwork | $8–$14 per sq ft |
| Stamped or colored | $14–$24 per sq ft |
| Two-car driveway, new or replaced | $5,000–$10,000 |
| Driveway widening strip | $1,600–$4,000 |
| Approach at the street | $1,200–$3,000 |
| Patio, 12×16 | $1,900–$3,400 |
| Public sidewalk panels | $9–$16 per sq ft |
| Front steps rebuilt | $1,800–$5,000 |
| Garage floor | $8–$15 per sq ft |
| Shop or outbuilding floor | $9–$16 per sq ft |
| RV or boat pad | $3,000–$7,500 |
| Shed, AC or hot tub pad | $500–$1,800 |
| Crack repair | $300–$1,000 |
| Single panel replacement | $450–$1,400 |
| Slab lifting | $600–$2,500 |
| Tear-out and haul-off | $2–$5 per sq ft |
Use these to sanity-check the bids you get, ours included. They're ranges, not quotes, and anybody giving you a firm price over the phone without seeing the site is guessing.
Four things push a job to the top of its range
- Demolition. Breaking out a thick or heavily reinforced old slab, loading it and hauling it costs real money, and dump fees aren't getting cheaper.
- Dirt work. This matters more here than people expect. Getting off native loess and onto a compacted granular base means digging deeper and hauling material both directions.
- Access. If the truck can chute straight to the pour, that's one price. If we're running a pump or wheeling buggies through a 36-inch gate, that's hours of labor and it shows up in the number.
- Thickness and steel. The one place in a bid where paying more is almost always right. Going from four inches to five on a typical driveway adds a modest amount and roughly doubles the load it'll carry before cracking.
How to read a low bid
Ready-mix has a floor cost per yard that nobody gets around, and so does a crew that's being paid properly. So when one bidder comes in $3,500 under everybody else on the same driveway, that money came from somewhere, and it's almost always one of four places: a thinner slab, no granular base, no reinforcement, or all three.
The frustrating part is that you can't see any of it once the concrete's down. It's a smooth gray slab either way on the day. The difference turns up in the fourth spring.
So compare the specs, not the totals. Every bid should state:
- Slab thickness in inches
- Reinforcement type, and how it's held up off the ground
- Base depth and what material
- Whether the mix is air-entrained (in this climate it has to be)
- Joint spacing and depth
- What cleanup and haul-off covers
If a bid doesn't say, ask. A crew that pours good concrete will rattle all six off without thinking, because those are the things they argue about on site. Vagueness is an answer.
Ways to genuinely save money
Not by buying a thinner slab. These are real:
- Combine jobs. A big chunk of any flatwork price is mobilization, just getting crew, forms, equipment and trucks to your house. Driveway, side walk and front steps on one trip costs noticeably less than three visits, and the finishes match because it's one pour.
- Pour in the shoulder season. April and late fall are usually quicker to schedule than the May-to-September rush.
- Keep it plain, spend on the border. A stamped or exposed-aggregate border around a broom-finished field reads as a design decision, costs a lot less than a fully stamped slab, and holds up better through our winters.
- Repair instead of replacing, when that's honest. Lifting a settled but sound slab is often a fraction of replacement. Ask whether that's an option before you budget for a tear-out.
- Do the drainage first. If water getting under the slab caused the problem, fixing the gutter is the cheapest part of the whole job and it protects everything you spend after it.
What a written estimate from us looks like
Scope and price covering demolition and haul-off, excavation, base material and compaction, forming, reinforcement, the mix and thickness, finish type, joint layout and cleanup. Where a choice changes the price, five inches instead of four, rebar instead of mesh, color instead of plain, you see both numbers so you can actually decide rather than be sold.
And the price is the price. No expiring discount, no number that drops when you say you'll think about it.
Quick answers
Why won't you quote over the phone?
Because the two things that move the price most, what's under the existing slab and how a truck reaches the pour, can't be assessed over the phone. We can give you a ballpark from the ranges above. A firm number comes after somebody has stood on it, and that visit is free.
Is concrete cheaper than asphalt?
Up front, no, asphalt is usually cheaper to install. Over the life of the driveway concrete generally wins, because asphalt needs resealing every few years and softens in our summer heat. If you're staying in the house a long time, concrete is normally the better spend. If you're selling in two years, that math changes.
Do you need a deposit?
A reasonable one at scheduling is normal, since material gets ordered and dates get held. What isn't normal is a large payment up front, a cash-only price, or pressure to pay in full before the work is done. That's the spring door-knocker playbook and it runs through eastern Nebraska every April.
Got concrete that needs work?
Tell us what you're looking at and we'll tell you what it needs, what it costs, and when we could get to it.