Concrete work looks simple from the driveway. Mix it, pour it, let it sit. What actually decides whether that slab lasts twenty years or cracks apart in three happens before the truck even shows up, and most homeowners never see that part. Here's what to look for, and what should make you say no thanks.

The soil under McKinney isn't like the soil under Dallas or Frisco's newer areas

Collin County sits on Blackland Prairie clay. It's heavy, it holds water, and it moves. Wet clay swells. Dry clay in August shrinks and pulls away from itself, sometimes leaving cracks you can slide a fingernail into. A slab poured straight on top of untouched native clay is going to follow that movement whether it wants to or not. That's why base prep matters more here than in a lot of the country.

A contractor who knows the ground here will excavate down past the topsoil, compact a base of crushed limestone or road base, usually 4 to 6 inches, and compact it in lifts before any concrete goes down. On a job where the soil test or the site history shows real trouble, that might mean over-excavating further and bringing in select fill. Ask what's going under your slab. If the answer is "we'll just pour on what's there," that's a problem, especially on driveways and garage floors carrying real weight.

Reinforcement isn't optional, it's a choice between two methods

Most residential slabs use either rebar on a grid, typically #3 or #4 bar spaced 18 to 24 inches, or welded wire mesh. Mesh is cheaper and it's fine for a lot of patios and sidewalks. Rebar holds up better under vehicle weight and on ground that shifts, which makes it the better call for driveways and garage floors around here given the clay. A contractor should be able to tell you which one they're using and why, without you having to ask twice. If they're vague on thickness too, push back. Sidewalks and patios usually run 4 inches thick. Driveways carrying a truck or an RV often go to 5 or 6.

Licensing, permits, and the McKinney and Collin County process

Texas doesn't require a state contractor's license for concrete work, so "licensed" here mostly means general business licensing and liability insurance, which you should ask to see. What does matter is permitting. The City of McKinney typically requires a permit for new driveways, slabs, and structural work, and an inspector will usually want to look at the forms and reinforcement before the pour happens, not after. A contractor who tells you permits aren't necessary, or offers to skip the inspection to save time, is asking you to take on the risk if something's wrong later.

If you're in a neighborhood like Stonebridge Ranch, Craig Ranch, or Tucker Hill, add the HOA to your list. Most of these communities require architectural review for anything visible from the street, including driveway replacement, stamped patterns, and color changes on stamped concrete. That review can add a couple of weeks, so factor it into your timeline before you set a start date.

What a real quote looks like versus what a lowball looks like

A quote that's a single number on a napkin tells you nothing. A real one breaks out square footage, slab thickness, PSI strength of the mix (3,000 to 4,000 PSI is standard for driveways and patios here), the reinforcement method, and where control joints are going. Control joints matter more than people think. Concrete is going to crack somewhere as it cures and shrinks. Cutting joints, usually to a depth of about a quarter of the slab thickness, within 24 to 48 hours of the pour, gives the crack a place to go where you won't see it. Skip that step and the crack finds its own path, usually right across the middle of your new patio.

If one bid comes in a third lower than the others, ask what's being left out. It's almost always the base prep, the reinforcement, or the joint work, and those are the three things that determine whether the slab is still flat and uncracked in ten years.

Timing matters more in North Texas than people expect

Summer pours here happen in July and August heat that regularly tops 100 degrees. Concrete that cures too fast loses strength and can crack on the surface, so a contractor working in summer should be pouring early morning and keeping the slab misted or covered while it cures. On the other end, McKinney gets hard freezes most winters and the occasional ice event, like the one in February 2021. Pouring concrete when a freeze is coming within the first 24 to 48 hours can ruin the surface before it ever sets up. A contractor who's paying attention to the forecast, not just the calendar, is one who's done this a while.

Spring brings the heaviest rain, usually March through May, and a lot of McKinney lots are flat enough that water doesn't move off them fast on its own. Any new slab, whether it's a driveway, a patio, or a foundation extension, needs to be graded to shed water away from the house, generally a slope of about a quarter inch per foot. Get this wrong and you're not fixing a slab problem later, you're fixing a drainage problem that's damaging the slab.

What to walk away from

  • No written contract, or a contract with no thickness, PSI, or joint spacing listed.
  • No mention of a permit on jobs where one is clearly required.
  • Pressure to pay the full amount up front, before any concrete is poured.
  • Vague answers about base compaction, or a claim that clay soil here "doesn't matter."
  • No plan for curing time. A driveway generally needs 7 to 10 days before you drive on it, and full strength takes closer to 28 days. Anyone telling you to park a car on it the next day either doesn't know that or is hoping you won't ask.

Older McKinney streets near downtown often have decades-old concrete and sometimes old tree roots or utility lines close to the surface, which changes how demolition and removal get handled compared to a newer subdivision on Blackland clay that's never been built on. A contractor who asks about the age of your street and what's already in the ground before quoting is doing it right. That's the kind of detail worth more than any brochure. If you want to see how we handle that groundwork on our own jobs, take a look at All Things Concrete Co.