Concrete driveways in Palm Bay, built on compacted sand and pitched to the swale
A driveway here runs from a slab-on-grade block home, across a quarter-acre GDC lot, over a roadside swale and out to a street the city may be about to rebuild. We recompact the base, reinforce the slab, pitch it so the water goes where Public Works wants it, and pour the apron to the city's culvert spec — for a price that's in writing before the truck is ordered.
Almost every driveway in Palm Bay runs the same route: from the garage of a slab-on-grade concrete-block home, across a quarter-acre lot that General Development Corporation platted as Port Malabar, over the roadside swale on a culvert pipe, and out to the street. The original 1960s, '70s and '80s pours in the northeast units — Port Malabar, the Emerson and Eldron sections, Lockmar — are on their third or fourth owner and showing it: settled at the apron, cracked where a laurel-oak root came through, spalled where the sprinklers have hit them every morning for forty years. The 2000s builds in Bayside Lakes and the boom-era houses going up right now on Jupiter, San Filippo and the Compound were often poured fast on sand that was never compacted, with a downspout aimed at the corner. And on hundreds of streets the GO Roads program has raised or lowered the road grade, so the old apron no longer meets the pavement.
Our driveway is the whole system, not just the top four inches. We cut and haul the old slab, dig out any organic muck or loose fill, bring the sand base up in compacted lifts to a grade that stays above the wet-season water table, set forms to a fall of about a quarter inch per foot away from the garage, lay fiber-reinforced 3,000 psi concrete at four inches — five to six at the apron and wherever a boat or RV will sit — over welded wire or rebar, cut control joints on a grid no wider than ten feet so the slab cracks where we told it to, and broom-finish it for grip in the rain. If the driveway is new, wider than the old one, or touches the swale or the right-of-way, we pull the Public Works Driveway and Lot Drainage permit and call for the pre-pour and final inspections. Then we seal it.
What's included
Old slab out, base rebuilt
Tear-out and haul-off, muck and loose fill removed, clean sand compacted in lifts — the part that decides whether the slab moves.
Pitched to the swale
About a quarter inch of fall per foot away from the house and toward the road, so water leaves the slab instead of pooling at the garage or the swale edge.
Fiber + steel, 4 to 6 inches
Fiber in the mix, welded wire or rebar in the slab, four inches on the lot and five to six at the apron and under boat and RV wheels.
Control joints on a grid
Saw-cut or tooled joints no wider than ten feet apart, plus an expansion joint against the garage slab and any city sidewalk.
The swale apron done right
Pipe, mitered ends and apron to the city spec, permitted and inspected by Public Works, so the swale keeps draining and the apron stays up.
Permit, cleanup, sealing
City permit where one applies, forms pulled, sand and debris off the street, and a penetrating sealer after the cure.
Concrete driveways cost in Palm Bay, FL
| Job | Typical price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| New 2-car driveway, 4" broom finish (500–650 sq ft) | $4,800 – $8,200 | On-lot slab, base compacted |
| Replacement (tear-out + haul-off + new), 2-car | $6,200 – $10,500 | Tear-out $2.25 – $4.25 / sq ft |
| Widening or boat-side extension (150–300 sq ft) | $1,700 – $3,700 | Common in the NE and SW units |
| Apron across the swale with culvert pipe and mitered ends | $2,400 – $5,200 | Public Works permit |
| Third-car or RV pad, 5–6" reinforced | $3,000 – $6,200 | Rebar, thicker slab |
| Stamped or colored driveway (600 sq ft) | $9,500 – $15,000 | See stamped concrete |
| Long run on a Compound or acreage lot (per extra 100 sq ft) | $800 – $1,350 | Pump or dirt-road access may be needed |
These are 2026 Brevard County ranges so you can budget. Your written price is itemized — demolition and haul-off, base, thickness and steel, finish, joints, sealing, permit — and good for 30 days.
Recent work
Questions we get about concrete driveways
How long does a driveway replacement take?
Three to five working days for a typical two-car driveway: a day to cut and haul the old slab and rebuild the base, a day for forms and steel and the Public Works pre-pour inspection where a permit applies, the pour at first light on the third day, and a week before you park on it. Foot traffic is fine after 24 to 48 hours; cars after seven days; the boat after fourteen.
Do I need a permit to replace my driveway in Palm Bay?
Palm Bay Code § 176.020 requires a permit to build, remove, alter or repair a curb, culvert, sidewalk or driveway in a city road or easement — which means the apron and the culvert at the swale. Public Works issues it as a Driveway and Lot Drainage permit through the iMS portal, furnishes the pipe and grade spec, and inspects before the pour and after. The part of the driveway on your own lot is generally not a building permit item, but we confirm with Public Works at (321) 952-3437 before every job rather than guess, and when a permit applies we pull it and it's on the invoice.
My street was just paved under GO Roads and my driveway doesn't meet it anymore. What now?
Very common. When a street is reclaimed or rebuilt, the road grade and the swale profile change, and an apron that met the old pavement can end up a lip or a step below the new one. The fix is usually a new apron poured to the new grade, sometimes a new culvert if the swale was regraded — and it needs the Public Works permit because it's in the right-of-way. Our guide walks through it.
Can you just pour over the old driveway?
Not if you want it to last. An overlay on a cracked, moving slab cracks in the same places within a year or two, and a two-inch cap sits above the garage floor and the sidewalk. The right fix is to take it out, fix the base, and pour new — and on a driveway that's simply worn on top but sound underneath, a resurfacing overlay is an honest option we'll tell you about.
Do you widen driveways for a second car or a boat?
Yes — it's one of the most common jobs on the quarter-acre GDC lots, where the original single-width driveway leaves the second car on the grass. We tie the extension to the existing slab with dowels, match the finish, keep the new edge inside the setback, and if the widened apron changes the swale crossing, that part is permitted through Public Works.
What about an HOA in Bayside Lakes or a newer SW subdivision?
Most associations want to approve the footprint, the finish and any color, and some limit driveway width or require a specific apron detail. We give you a drawing and a spec for the architectural review and we've done enough of them to know what the committee asks for.