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 in Summerville 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. Foundation jobs may be staged at the footing and slab inspections, and that's stated on the estimate. Permit fees are their own line: the Town's encroachment permit is $25, Dorchester County's, Berkeley County's and SCDOT's are free, the Town's building-permit plan review is half the permit fee, and an engineer's stamped foundation plan is separate unless the estimate says otherwise.
Financing
For a bigger job you didn't plan on — a long driveway to a new house on acreage in Ridgeville, a stamped pool deck, a foundation for an addition built to D2 — 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 Summerville homeowners 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, and all of the builder-driveway failures. It may cover a slab damaged by a covered event: a tree that fell on the driveway in the June 2024 downburst or the 2024 tornadoes, a vehicle through the carport slab, a pipe burst under the garage floor. Earthquake damage is excluded from a standard policy and covered, if at all, by an earthquake endorsement — worth asking about on the Middleton Place–Summerville zone. Flood damage to flatwork is generally excluded and covered, if at all, by a flood policy; Dorchester County's new CRS rating gives a 10 percent NFIP discount. 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 the Town
Some communities assess owners for shared aprons, cart paths and sidewalks; the Town can require an owner to fix a sidewalk panel it has flagged as a trip hazard. If a committee or the Town 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 an inspector wants a written opinion on a slab's condition — settlement, cracking, whether an apron meets the authority's spec — we'll write it with photos and measurements for a small flat fee, credited toward any work we do.