Driveway aprons and drive approaches

What the apron is

The apron, also called the drive approach, is the section of driveway between the street and your sidewalk or property line. It's where your driveway meets the curb and gutter. In most DFW cities it sits in the public right-of-way, which is why the city has its own spec for it and wants to see a permit before anyone touches it.

On a lot of older houses, the apron is the worst part of the driveway. It takes the turning loads from every car, it gets run over by trash trucks and delivery vans and it sits right where water collects along the gutter. It's common to see a decent driveway with a broken, sunken apron at the end.

Why aprons are built heavier

Our standard driveway is 4 inches of 3,500 PSI concrete. The apron is a different build because it takes harder use and because the city sets the spec. Here's how we build aprons:

• 6 inches thick.
• 3,500 or 4,000 PSI ready-mix, depending on what the city calls for.
• Rebar set on chairs so it sits in the middle of the slab.
• Dowels drilled into the gutter so the apron and the street stay level with each other.
• A permit pulled before we start.

The apron section of our concrete guide goes into the reasons behind each of these.

Who pays for it

This surprises a lot of people. Even though the apron usually sits on city right-of-way, the homeowner pays to replace it in the DFW cities we researched. The city sets the rules and inspects the work, but the bill is yours.

That's worth knowing when you compare quotes. A driveway quote that stops at the sidewalk and leaves the apron off can look cheaper than one that includes it. If the apron is in bad shape, it will need to be done eventually, and it's cheaper to do it in the same pour. You can send any quote to bid check and we'll tell you if the apron is missing.

Permits and bonded contractors

We pull the permit. City fees are billed at cost, usually somewhere between $0 and about $300 depending on the city.

Texas doesn't license concrete contractors at the state level. Cities handle it their own way, and many require the contractor working in the right-of-way to be registered or bonded with the city before they'll issue the permit. When you hire someone for apron work, it's fair to ask whether they're set up with your city.

We also call 811 before we dig, so public utility lines get marked. Private lines like sprinklers or landscape lighting won't be marked, so we'll ask you to point those out.

Inspections

Cities that permit apron work usually want to inspect it. Depending on the city, that can mean an inspection of the forms and steel before the pour, a final inspection after, or both. The inspection schedule is part of why an apron job can't always go as fast as the rest of a driveway. We plan the pour date around it.

Finish rules come up at inspection too. Some cities want a plain broom finish on the apron even if the rest of the driveway is stamped or colored. Flower Mound and University Park both do. We check before we price your job so there's no surprise. Our stamped and decorative page covers how people work around that.

Curb cuts and wider approaches

If you're widening a driveway, moving it or adding a second one, the curb may need to be cut and reshaped. A new or wider curb cut almost always needs city approval, and some cities limit how wide an approach can be. Those limits vary, so we look up your city's rules before we lay out the job.

If you're adding width, see our driveway extensions page for how we tie new concrete to the old drive.

Shared aprons

Some houses share an apron with the house next door, with two driveways meeting in one approach at the street. Replacing your half means cutting a clean line down the middle and tying your new section to the neighbor's old one with dowels.

It often makes sense to talk to your neighbor first. If their half is also in rough shape, doing the whole approach at once gives you one even slab, and you can split the work however you agree to. We can price your half, their half or the whole thing so you both have the numbers. Who pays for what between neighbors is up to the two of you.

City rules across DFW

Every city in the metroplex handles aprons a little differently: permit fees, inspection steps, finish rules and contractor registration. For more on how the rules differ by city, see our DFW driveway replacement page.

Send a photo of the driveway from the street with the curb in view, and start your estimate. We usually have a written, itemized number back within one business day.

Questions people ask