We repair concrete across Hamilton, from cracked and lifted driveway panels to spalling surfaces, failed joints and trip hazards on a path. Some of it is worth repairing and some of it is not, and the difference is what caused the damage, not how bad it looks. A stable crack in a sound slab is worth stitching and filling. A panel that rocks when you drive over the edge has a base problem underneath it.
We diagnose before we quote, because resurfacing a slab that has moved covers the symptom and leaves the cause. The site visit is free, and where the honest answer is that a repair will not hold, we say so before you spend anything. Joint resealing is the cheapest work on this list and the one that prevents the most damage, since open joints let water straight into the base. Tell us how long it has been moving, because that changes the answer.
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Repair Work
What the concrete is doing tells you what it needs. These are the six repairs we are called out for most.
We stitch and fill cracks where the crack is stable and the slab either side of it is sound. We route the crack out, clean it and fill with a flexible or rigid product depending on whether it still moves. Where the two sides have to be tied together, stitching bars to AS/NZS 4671 get cut in across the crack.
A crack opening season by season is telling you the base is moving, and filling it treats the symptom, so we check that first.
Lifted panels are the most common call we get on paths and footpaths. One panel has lifted at a joint and the lip catches a toe. Grinding the lip flat is quick and it lasts until whatever lifted the panel lifts it again, usually a root or a soft patch under one end.
We take the panel out, deal with the cause, and pour back at 75 mm with 668 mesh to the existing joint lines so the repair reads as part of the path.
We rebuild spalled and delaminated surfaces, where the top has flaked away and exposed the aggregate underneath. It usually means the top layer was overworked or closed while bleed water was still on it, which leaves a weak skin that eventually lets go. Delamination sounds hollow when you tap it.
We break back to sound concrete, prime and rebuild the surface to the finish classes in NZS 3114. Where the whole slab is going that way, patching it is throwing money at it and replacement is the better spend.
We clean out and reseal joints, because they are meant to move and the sealant in them is a wearing part. Once it perishes, water and grit get into the joint, the edges ravel and the panels start working against each other. On a driveway those joints run right across the slab, so there is a lot of sealant doing quiet work.
Cleaning out and resealing is cheap maintenance that prevents an expensive repair. Tell us if a joint has started stepping, because a step means vertical movement and that is a base problem.
We resurface where the slab underneath is structurally sound and the problem is purely how it looks. A bonded overlay gives a new surface and a new finish over an existing slab for a fraction of a replacement. Over a sound 100 mm driveway slab it is the cheapest way to change the look.
It is the wrong answer over a cracked or rocking slab, because every crack underneath copies itself through the topping within a season or two, so we check the slab is stable first.
Sometimes the cheapest repair we can offer is a new panel. Where a section has broken up, rocks underfoot or has cracked into pieces, cutting it out and repouring costs less than repeated patching. We saw cut to the joint lines and pour back at 100 mm in 20 MPa with 665 mesh so the new panel matches what is around it.
A new panel never quite matches a twenty year old one in colour, and we would rather tell you that now than after the pour.
Reading the Damage
Most concrete problems fall into four groups, and which group you have decides whether a repair is worth doing. This is what we are looking for at the visit.
A fine map of hairline cracks across the top, usually from the surface drying faster than the slab beneath it. Cosmetic. It does not spread into the slab and it does not need a new driveway, whatever anyone tells you.
Concrete shrinks as it cures and it will crack somewhere. Where control joints were cut too late or spaced too far apart, it cracks between them instead. Stable, repairable, and it does not usually come back once filled.
Cracks that open over seasons, panels that rock, and joints that step. The base has moved, which on Hamilton silt usually means water got under it. Surface repairs on settlement come back, so we fix the ground or we replace.
The surface flaking off or sounding hollow underfoot. Normally the slab was overworked or finished over bleed water, leaving a weak top skin. Patchable in areas, not worth chasing once it is going across the whole slab.
Bring us a photo before you book anything. Two of these four need nothing more than a repair, and telling them apart is quicker in person than it is in a quote.
Repair Method
STEP ONE
We look at the damage and work out what caused it, because that decides whether a repair will hold. We tap for hollow areas, check whether panels rock, look at the joints and dig where we need to see the base. The visit is free, and pricing follows it, not the other way round.
STEP TWO
The written quote follows inside a few days and sets out which method we are using and why. Where we think a repair will not hold, the quote says so and prices the alternative. You get an honest read on whether the money is better spent patching or replacing.
STEP THREE
Saw cut to clean edges, break out to sound concrete, and fix whatever caused the failure before anything new goes down. Then repour or resurface, match the finish as closely as the existing work allows, and cut joints back to the original lines. Foot traffic is fine inside a day or two. Vehicles need seven days, ten in winter.
Full driveway replacement runs $120 to $180 per square metre, including break-out and removal of the old slab. Resurfacing runs $40 to $80 per square metre. Crack sealing sits between $150 and $500, epoxy injection between $300 and $1,500+, and slab levelling between $500 and $2,500, each priced on the length, the area and the condition. A guide, not the final figure.
What changes a repair price most.
Free Site Visit
A concreter looks at the damage, works out what caused it, and tells you whether a repair will hold or whether the money is better spent on replacement. No charge and no obligation.
When Repair Is Not the Answer
Concrete tells you what went wrong if you read it properly. Fine surface crazing across a slab is a finishing issue in the top few millimetres and it never becomes structural. A hollow sound under the hammer means the surface has debonded from the slab. A crack that runs through a panel and steps at the joint means the ground under it has moved, and no product applied to the top fixes ground.
That distinction decides where your money goes. We would rather turn down a resurfacing job than lay a topping over a slab we know is moving, because it fails and it fails in our name. The ready mix we order is produced to NZS 3104, and a repair is specified the same way as new work.
New concrete beside old concrete never matches perfectly. Cement colour, aggregate, the weather on the day and twenty years of weathering all sit between them. We match the finish and the joint lines so a repair reads as deliberate, and we tell you where a colour difference will show.A repair often opens a wider conversation about the rest of the property. We price the fix, a replacement or new work in the same visit, because Hamilton based concrete contractors who do all three can compare them honestly.
Concrete supply per NZS 3104 and construction per NZS 3109. Reinforcing steel to AS/NZS 4671. Basecourse rebuilt in compacted layers where it has failed. Ground conditions and groundwater levels reference Hamilton City Council geotechnical reporting, mapped at catchment scale and not a substitute for site assessment.
Repair is the right call when the slab is structurally sound and the damage is on the surface or confined to one or two panels. Crazing, worn joints, a single lifted panel and a stable crack all repair well and cost a fraction of a new slab.
Replacement wins once the base has gone. Rocking panels, cracks that open season by season, and a surface delaminating across the whole slab are all telling you the problem is underneath. Money spent patching that comes back within a couple of years, and it comes back on top of the replacement you were going to need anyway.
Concrete Repair, Hamilton
Cracks, lifted panels, trip hazards, spalling surfaces, failed joints, resurfacing and panel replacement. Licensed, insured and willing to tell you when a repair is not worth doing. Send a photo and we will take a look.
Concrete Repair Questions
Full replacement of a driveway runs $120 to $180 per square metre with break-out and removal included. Resurfacing is $40 to $80 per square metre, crack sealing $150 to $500, epoxy injection $300 to $1,500+ and slab levelling $500 to $2,500. We assess on site across Hamilton and the wider Waikato.
The crack decides it. Fine surface crazing is cosmetic and never becomes structural. A single shrinkage crack between joints is stable and repairs well. A crack that opens season by season, with panels rocking or stepping at the joint, means the base has moved and a surface repair will not hold.
Where the slab underneath is sound, yes, and it costs a fraction of replacement. A bonded overlay gives a new surface and a new finish. Over a cracked or rocking slab it is the wrong answer, because every crack underneath copies through the topping within a season or two. We check stability first.
Most residential repairs are one to two days on site. Feet after a day or two, vehicles seven days on and ten in winter. Joint resealing is usually a single day. Breaking out reinforced concrete by hand takes considerably longer than machine access does, which is why access affects the price.
Not perfectly, and anyone promising otherwise is guessing. Cement colour, aggregate and years of weathering all sit between new and old work. We match the finish and cut back to the original joint lines so the repair reads as deliberate, and we tell you up front where a colour difference will show.
Yes. Repair callouts run the whole Waikato, Te Kauwhata down to Te Awamutu, with distance priced in at quoting. For smaller repairs further out we will often group jobs in the same area, so tell us if there is no rush and we can time it better.
