Paying for concrete you didn't plan on
Most driveways get replaced because they failed, not because anyone budgeted for them. Here's how people on the Grand Strand pay, what financing we can connect you with, and what your insurance will and won't cover.
Paying on completion
Most residential jobs — driveways, patios, pool decks, pads, lifting — are paid on completion by card, check or bank transfer, with no deposit until you've approved the written price and we've scheduled the pour. Larger foundation jobs may be staged at the footing and slab inspections, and that's stated on the estimate. Permit fees are on the estimate as their own line; the county's and SCDOT's encroachment permits are free, the City of Myrtle Beach's apron permit and inspections are not.
Financing
For a bigger job you didn't plan on — a long driveway to a new house on acreage, a stamped pool deck, a foundation for an addition — we can connect you with third-party home-improvement financing offering fixed monthly payments over two to twelve years, applied for online in a few minutes with a soft credit check to see the rate. We don't lend money ourselves and we don't mark up the financing; it's the lender's rate and the lender's decision. Many Grand Strand homeowners also use a home-equity line for a foundation or a full driveway-and-apron replacement, which is usually the cheapest money.
Insurance
Homeowners insurance doesn't cover concrete that wore out, settled or cracked with age — which is nearly all of it. It may cover a slab damaged by a covered event: a tree that fell on the patio in a storm, a vehicle that drove through the carport slab, a pipe burst under the garage floor. Flood damage to flatwork is generally excluded from a standard policy and covered, if at all, by a flood policy. After a storm, photograph the damage before anything is moved, keep our invoice itemized, and file the claim yourself; we provide the documentation and we don't negotiate claims.
HOAs and assessments
Some Grand Strand communities assess owners for shared driveway aprons, cart paths and sidewalks; others require an owner to fix the public sidewalk panel in front of their lot inside the city. If a committee or the city has asked you to replace something, bring the letter — we'll price exactly what they asked for and nothing extra.
Reports and letters
When a buyer, a lender, an HOA or a city inspector wants a written opinion on a slab's condition — settlement, cracking, whether it meets spec — we'll write it with photos and measurements for a small flat fee, credited toward any work we do.