# Driveway/Concrete question. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 20, 2007, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driveway-concrete-question/404815 "2007-05-20T14:11:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driveway-concrete-question/404815/1 "2007-05-20T14:11:38Z")
My mother is having her ribbon (two strips of concrete) driveway replaced with a full width drive. Also to be replaced is a sidewalk and a patio that will be enlarged from 11’ x 11’ to 11’ x 29’ The proposal she received from a company she likes wants to put in 6 inches of concrete. Is 6 inches a bit excessive? It seems so to me. But then, the cost of concrete is really minimal. An extra yard or three is really not going to affect the price. For a little bit more money, might as well have it bomb proof. The proposal does include wire mesh and they are going to put road base in and compact it. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driveway-concrete-question/404815/2 "2007-05-20T14:17:09Z")
Where is your mother located? Here in the Great North State, I would think 6 inches would be overkill, but if she gets significant ground freezing, it might be on the skimpy side. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driveway-concrete-question/404815/3 "2007-05-20T14:52:54Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Where is your mother located? Here in the Great North State, I would think 6 inches would be overkill, but if she gets significant ground freezing, it might be on the skimpy side. [/QUOTE] Denver. And it’s a driveway to an ally. There will never be anything but passenger cars on it. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driveway-concrete-question/404815/4 "2007-05-20T15:01:52Z")
[QUOTE=enipla] There will never be anything but passenger cars on it. [/QUOTE] Says you. AFAIK, most codes about driveways are enforced to ensure safe transit for emergency vehicles (especially fire trucks, I suspect). Surest answer, I’d call the local zoning board and ask what’s required/recommended. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driveway-concrete-question/404815/5 "2007-05-20T15:15:02Z")
Agreed. Check with your zoning board or a building inspector for your area. ---
**Author:** ![Carson\_O\_Genic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Carson\_O\_Genic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carson_O_Genic)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driveway-concrete-question/404815/6 "2007-05-20T16:33:23Z")
Six inch is good for a drive-maybe minimal even. It gives a little room for error in the mesh placement,which should be in the bottom third. Four inch is typical for walks and basement slabs 'round here. Ain’t no bomb proof. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driveway-concrete-question/404815/7 "2007-05-20T18:00:15Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Says you. AFAIK, most codes about driveways are enforced to ensure safe transit for emergency vehicles (especially fire trucks, I suspect). [/quote] When was the last time you saw a 40 foot long fire truck in a 30 foot driveway? Says Me. 😉 The driveway is off an alley. Nothing bigger than an SUV will ever use it. My mid-size SUV is tight. A larger vehicle may be able to use it if it can take off and land. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driveway-concrete-question/404815/8 "2007-05-20T19:03:01Z")
[QUOTE=enipla] When was the last time you saw a 40 foot long fire truck in a 30 foot driveway? Says Me. 😉 The driveway is off an alley. Nothing bigger than an SUV will ever use it. My mid-size SUV is tight. A larger vehicle may be able to use it if it can take off and land. 😃 [/QUOTE] It’s not the weight of the vehicles on it but the stability of the ground beneath it. It can crack without ever seeing the weight of a bicycle. ---
**Author:** ![DistendedPendulousFrenulum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/43a26b/32.png) [@DistendedPendulousFrenulum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DistendedPendulousFrenulum)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2007, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driveway-concrete-question/404815/9 "2007-05-20T19:52:10Z")
The more the better. I had a house on a big hill once–a hill so steep the concrete truck couldn’t get up there. So, we had to cast 15’ sections of the driveway, 6" thick with lots of rebar, 4000 lb strength using early-strength concrete. We cast one section every thirty days, so that the concrete would be hard enough to support the weight of the truck. Needless to say, that’s been a very low-maintenance driveway. We’ve since sold the house–very probably, if you come back in a hundred years, the house will be gone, but the driveway will still be there. Six inches is good for a driveway. .