Concrete repair cost depends on the method, and the method depends on what broke the slab. Most repairs run 30 to 60 percent of what a new slab costs. Tearing a slab out and pouring it again runs $8 to $15[1] per square foot. That’s the number every repair gets held up against. Crack work is priced by the foot of crack, and resurfacing by the square foot.
The bigger question is whether your slab can be repaired at all. Most of the ones we look at can. The ones that can’t often look just the same from the driveway.
How much does concrete repair cost by method?
| Repair Method | Price Range | Unit | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crack routing and sealing | Priced per job | measured by the foot of crack | Minor shrinkage cracks, cosmetic control joints |
| Epoxy injection | Priced per job | measured by the foot of crack | Structural cracks on a stabilized, non-moving slab |
| Polyurethane foam injection (void fill) | Priced per job | measured by the sunken area | Settled sections, voids from soil erosion or washout |
| Polymer overlay resurfacing | $4.48 to $10.44 | per square foot | Widespread spalling, scaling, cosmetic wear |
| Full-depth section repair | Priced per job | measured by the area cut out | Localized full-thickness failure, exposed reinforcement |
| Full replacement (for comparison) | $8 to $15[1] | per square foot | Widespread or active damage; see repair-vs-replace below |
Four of these five repairs are priced per job. We don’t pick the method until we’ve seen the slab and found the cause, and the cause sets the work. Overlay resurfacing is a line in our quote tool, so its range above comes straight from it.
Which one fits your slab?
- If a crack came from normal drying and the slab isn’t moving, crack routing and sealing fits. On a cracked slab, the price turns on whether the crack still moves.
- If a structural crack (one that weakens the slab) has stopped moving, epoxy injection glues it back together.
- If the slab sank or there’s a void under it, foam injection comes first.
- If the top is flaking or pitted but the slab is sound, an overlay resurfaces it.
- If the damage goes down to the steel in one spot, that spot needs a full-depth section repair.
- If more than 40 percent of the slab is damaged, it sank more than 1.5 inches, or the cause is still active, price a new slab instead.
Two of the methods are measured by the linear foot of crack, and the rest by the square foot. To fix a crack, we open it, clean it, and fill it along its length. The slab around it doesn’t change that work. A 20-foot crack in a 2,000 square foot driveway costs about the same to fix as a 20-foot crack in a 200 square foot patio or across a front porch.
Should you repair the slab or replace it?
| Signal | Repair Wins | Replacement Wins |
|---|---|---|
| Crack count | Fewer than 3 per 10-foot section | Widespread, active, still growing |
| Settlement | Under 1 inch | Over 1.5 inches |
| Damage extent | Under 40% of slab area | Over 40% of slab area |
| Reinforcement | Intact, not exposed | Corroded or exposed in multiple spots |
| Root cause | Identified and stable (dormant) | Ongoing (ongoing soil movement, drainage failure) |
| Repair cost vs. replacement cost | Repair under 60% of a new pour | Repair approaches or exceeds 60% |
The table has six signals, and the last one breaks the tie. The other five all feed into it. Repair usually runs 30 to 60 percent of a new slab, which leaves real room to save. But as a repair quote climbs toward the top of that band, you’re buying most of a new slab. And you’re keeping all of the old slab’s problems.
The root-cause row is the one that flips answers. A dormant cause is one that has stopped, so the damage is done, and a surface fix can last for good. An active cause means the slab is still moving. Anything you put on top of it is on a timer.
The cheap repair that hides the real problem
Patching a crack doesn't fix what caused it. Maybe the slab is still sinking, the soil under it is moving, or water still drains the wrong way. Then the patch opens back up within a few months, not a few years. Before you agree to any repair, ask what caused the damage. If the answer is 'we're not sure,' or the bid skips straight to the fix, keep asking before you pay.
What drives a repair price?
Extent and depth come first. Spalling is when chips and chunks break off the top of the slab. If it stops in the top quarter inch, an overlay can cover it at $4.48 to $10.44 a square foot. Damage that reaches the steel inside the slab (the reinforcement) is a bigger job. It turns into a full-depth section repair, where we break out old concrete and pour new.
Cause comes second, and it matters more than anything you can see. Concrete shrinks a little as it dries, and that can crack it. Soil moving under the slab can crack it too, and in a photo the two cracks can look the same. The first one needs a fill. The second one needs the drainage or the empty space under the slab fixed first. Skip that, and the fill fails right on schedule.
Area affected sets the scale, though not the way most people expect. Crack work stays priced by the foot of crack, no matter how big the slab is. Overlay and section work grow with the area.
A finish on top changes the job. A slab that will be polished or coated needs a tighter repair than a warehouse floor that just needs to stop shedding dust and chips. The repair material also has to work with whatever goes on top of it.
Access moves the price the way it does on any concrete job. A slab that a saw and a mixer can reach costs less than one behind a finished wall or down a set of stairs. The last piece is the drive cost, which is our trip to your site. It gets its own line on the quote, figured from your address.
What does each repair method involve?
Crack routing and sealing starts with a saw. We cut the crack into a clean V, blow it out, and fill it with a sealant that can flex. The sealant usually lasts 5 to 10 years before it needs to be redone. It lasts longer once the slab stops moving.
Epoxy injection pushes epoxy into a crack under pressure and glues the two sides back into one piece. That brings back the slab’s strength across the crack. It only makes sense on a crack that has stopped moving. If you inject a crack that is still shifting, the next crack just opens somewhere else.
Polyurethane foam injection is how we fill a void under a concrete slab. The foam fills the empty pocket under a sunken section and lifts the slab back to level. It fixes sinking, not looks. On a sunken slab it’s usually step one. There’s no point fixing a surface that’s about to move again. Concrete leveling cost covers that side in detail.
Polymer overlay resurfacing runs $4.48 to $10.44 per square foot. It puts a new top layer over wide spalling, scaling (thin flakes peeling off the top), or plain wear. That might be a pitted patio or a worn basement floor. It only works if the slab under it is sound, so check that before you buy it. See concrete overlay cost when the slab is solid and you just want a fresh look.
Full-depth section repair saws around the failed section, takes it out, and pours it again. Steel dowel bars tie the new concrete into the slab around it. It costs the most of any method on the list, since it includes tear-out, forms, and new concrete. It’s really a small replacement.
Regional pricing: labor moves, material barely does
Supplies cost about the same from place to place. Repair materials stay within 10 to 20 percent of the national average almost everywhere. That’s because sealants, epoxies, and overlay mixes come from just a few plants, and shipping sets most of the price. Labor is what moves. What crews get paid explains most of the gap between two matching quotes in different places.
Climate changes which repairs you need, not the rate. Places with hard freezes and road salt see more spalling and scaling. Places with clay that swells when it’s wet (expansive clay) see more cracks and settling. It’s the same price list, with different rows getting used.
What is included in a repair bid?
A repair bid covers the on-site assessment, which is our trip out to find the cause. It also covers the fix, the materials, and the normal drive cost for jobs in our area.
It does not cover these:
- Drainage fixes or firming up the soil beyond the repair itself
- Matching or refinishing past the repaired area
- Moving stored items and equipment off the work area
- A structural engineer’s review on slabs with major settling
Those are real jobs with real costs. Tucking them inside a repair line would only hide them.
Color and texture need their own word. A repair blends in, but it won’t vanish. If your slab has 15 years of weather on it, a patch will show. Anyone who says it won’t is making a promise your floor can’t keep.
How do you get an accurate slab repair estimate?
Start with photos. Send them through the quote tool with a short note on what you’re seeing, and you’ll get a ballpark and a read on which method fits.
Next comes the on-site assessment, and it’s free. Repair price depends on the method and the cause, and a photo can’t show the cause. The visit turns a range into a real number. It also settles repair against replacement before anyone quotes either one. Call (888) 852-3528 if you’d rather talk it through.
Why do two repair bids look nothing alike?
Finding the cause is the part a low bid skips. It’s also the part that decides whether the repair holds. Four things control a repair: a solid base under the slab, the right mix or product for the job, the right way to put it down, and enough time to cure. Fill a crack over an empty pocket in the soil, and the fill fails when the pocket gives way. Good sealant won’t save it. Epoxy pushed into a moving crack moves the problem instead of solving it. An overlay troweled onto a slab that is still sinking will show every bit of that movement within a season. None of those failures show up on the bid. All of them show up on the second bill. We often find cracks that someone already patched once, and the second repair is never priced as a bargain.
When does replacement win the math?
A new slab wins when a repair stops saving you money.
Repair runs 30 to 60 percent of a new pour, and that’s real savings when the slab is stable. Push toward the top of that band on a slab that keeps moving, and the math flips fast. A pricey repair that fails again in a year costs more than a new slab at $8 to $15[1] per square foot. The new slab starts over on a firm base, so it’s the last money you spend on it. The repair isn’t.
The warning lines are the ones in the table above. Damage covers more than 40 percent of the slab, or it has sunk more than 1.5 inches. The steel is rusted or showing in several spots, or a drainage problem is still there. Hit those and we’ll tell you so. Concrete slab cost has full replacement prices by slab type and size when a new slab is the honest answer.
Related pages
- Concrete repair and resurfacing: repair methods, process, and project examples.
- Concrete leveling: settlement and void-fill work.
- Concrete overlays: cosmetic resurfacing systems.
- Concrete leveling cost: pricing when the slab sits low instead of broken.
- Concrete slab cost: replacement pricing when repair is not the right call.
The cheapest repair is the one that fixes the cause first, then the crack.
Get your repair price online
Answer a few questions about the damage to get a ballpark price. Or ask us to come look for free. We'll tell you straight whether to fix it or replace it. You don't owe us a thing.
Where these market figures come from
Every price on this page that is not ours is listed here. Our own rates carry no number: they link straight into the quote tool.
- Slab tear-out, haul-off, and full re-pour: $8 to $15 per SF. Bel Covo market survey, retrieved 2026-08-12. Demolition, haul-off, and a new pour, the alternative repair and overlay work is priced against, carried over from figures already published across our cost pages; pending third-party re-verification.
