You had a large driveway installed a couple years ago and paid $10 per square foot (sq ft). Now you are wondering if the sidewalk you want installed from the driveway to the back patio will cost the same per sq ft? Unfortunately with concrete the volume you are pouring really does matter. When you compare pricing of sidewalks to patios or driveways the bigger the project the less you pay per sq ft normally.
Looking at the way the project is done tells the story rather quickly. You can compare a 50′ long x 8′ wide driveway to a 50′ long x 3′ wide sidewalk and quickly see that the price per sq ft cannot logically be the same. The same amount of forms are set, the fine grading process is identical and the overall time to complete either is very close. The driveway is 400 sq ft and the sidewalk is 150 sq ft.
The 5.5 yards of concrete for the driveway will cost $175 per yard for a total of $962.50. The sidewalk will take 2.5 yards at $175 per yard plus a $220 partial load fee for a total of $657.50. Concrete costs $2.40 per sq foot for the driveway and $4.38 per sq ft for the sidewalk.
Looking at the math tells you quickly that the sidewalk has to be way more per sq ft just looking at concrete cost. Then you still have to add the labor, misc consumables, rentals, additional materials, overhead and profit to each. So how much can you expect to pay for your regular gray sidewalk. It varies depending on conditions but in the past our customers have paid as much as $25 per sq ft to as little as $19 per sq ft for our most common size of 250 sq ft. If you get around 500 sq ft you can expect to pay between $20-$15 per sq ft.
The main take away from this article in a nutshell is that volume saves you money. If you are planning to do your concrete project in three phases over three years you will end up paying quite a bit more than if you save for 3 years or finance it and get it all done at once.
Thank you for taking a look
Jon Molden
BST Concrete
#concretewithawarranty
