Steep driveway.. help!

[garagehelp]

I just bought a house and my driveway is really steep. It's flat (kind of) then slopes really bad so when you're going up/down it you have to do it at an angle otherwise it scrapes the underneath of the car. I'm wanting to get it fixed and wondering if anyone has any idea on how much it would cost to flatten this out a bit to where it wouldn't scrape. Thanks in advance.

 

[TAMPAGT07]

It might be cheaper to get a lifted truck....

 

[madosta]

You could call a concrete cutting company and see about grinding the point down.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Mazdaspeed]

It will cost the same as replacing the driveway, they can regrade when they do it.

 

[garagehelp]

Basically, would it be expensive do you think? My boyfriend seems to think that they would have to tear up all the concrete, and re-do the entire driveway... so I am trying to get other opinions He's no concrete expert, but than again neither am I lol.

 

[Gary S]

Much of it would have to be broken out and replaced after the slope is regraded. They can cut it with a concrete saw so they don't have to replace it all, but they will have to go back far enough so that you don't end up with some new ridges.
Call a concrete contractor and get an estimate. It will cost whatever they think they need to do the work, or like already suggested, consider a different car that sits at a more reasonable ride height. Cars don't last long, so this could be a temporary problem.

 

[garagehelp]

Thank you all very much for your suggestions so far. I have a 2008 Impala, so it's not a "lowered" car or anything. Very low mileage so probably won't be in the market for a car anytime soon, but thank you.

 

[Lambo nut]

I just bought a house and my driveway is really steep. It's flat (kind of) then slopes really bad so when you're going up/down it you have to do it at an angle otherwise it scrapes the underneath of the car. I'm wanting to get it fixed and wondering if anyone has any idea on how much it would cost to flatten this out a bit to where it wouldn't scrape. Thanks in advance.

Are you hitting at the street or only at the first jont in the concrete closest to the road, (center of picture)?

Kevin

 

[Ross/Kzoo]

You definitely have to contact a contractor that knows what they're doing or you'll wind up with the same problem in a different spot. And don't ask me how I know.

 

[Kingcreek]

If the joint in the middle is the only problem you could get a concrete saw and cut it back a couple feet each side and have 2 lesser breaks vs 1 belly scraper. Not a lot cheaper than a total redo.

 

[Lambo nut]

If the joint in the middle is the only problem you could get a concrete saw and cut it back a couple feet each side and have 2 lesser breaks vs 1 belly scraper. Not a lot cheaper than a total redo.

That was going to be my suggestion if that were the case. Would be much cheaper if one can do it them self or have friends that can help out. I could do it myself for only the cost of the concrete needed to refill the space and some rebar.

Kevin

 

[1SlowFormula]

My assumption is that her problem is at the transition from the street to the driveway and not the transition part way up as some are assuming. There may be a "cheap" solution, look into driveway curb ramps as they should will help or if your area (county, town, hoa) allow and that would be getting a small metal bridge/ramp that would be similar to the ones I posted above, but may not walk away as easily. The reason for this is you tires won't dip lower into the drainage gully and should prevent scraping, but since you live on what looks like a hill you need to be sure if you get something like those they allow sufficient water flow under them, and another reason why I suggest the metal bridge style ones. The issues with the metal ones are that in area's where it snows some cities get real angry if you mess up their plows when they hit it...

The only other solution would be more expensive and having the driveway torn up and resloped, but that would leave you with much less of a "flat" area in front of the garage...


*** EDIT ***
Before you go spending money, curb ramps range from just under $400-$2000, try and make a curb ramp out of some lumber first to see if that elimiates your scraping...

 

[AMCguy]

From your picture, it looks like you have plenty of frontage. Have you considered a driveway that comes off the street at an angle and then turns? You might be able to go as far as having a plateau a couple of feet above the sidewalk.

 

[pop pop]

1. Lower the house?
2. Raise the street?
3. Measure the distance from front to back where your car's wheels touch the ground. Get a timber (2x6, etc.) a bit longer. On flat ground, measure the lowest point under your car to the ground. Cut two pieces of wood that length and attach to the end edge of the long timber above. Will look like a long, low, upside down U. Move this along your drive in the direction of travel. The amount and places it interferes with the bottom of the timber is where and how much you must lower the surface of the drive.

 

[6768rogues]

That is a poor design that is outwardly apparent. I hope you got a heck of a deal on it and that the rest of the property is not designed to the same standard.

 

[CNGsaves]

+1 that hope you got an awful good deal on house as it appears that whatever grade was left in yard, they just said "Oh well" and put concrete driveway over the top.

You might have option of yanking out driveway and instead put in pavers. This would give you option of "Re-do" if you didn't like the grade/angle on the first attempt.

First things first, you'll need to call Dig-Safe or 811 in your area to mark all buried utilities. I'm guessing that you may have natural gas run going across front of your yard.

Be thankful you don't have the whopper slope on pics below !! These were in a different GJ thread.

 

[mankerlia]

It will cost the same as replacing the driveway.

 

[Chris83]

+1 that hope you got an awful good deal on house as it appears that whatever grade was left in yard, they just said "Oh well" and put concrete driveway over the top.

You might have option of yanking out driveway and instead put in pavers. This would give you option of "Re-do" if you didn't like the grade/angle on the first attempt.

First things first, you'll need to call Dig-Safe or 811 in your area to mark all buried utilities. I'm guessing that you may have natural gas run going across front of your yard.

Be thankful you don't have the whopper slope on pics below !! These were in a different GJ thread.

The mother in law has a driveway like that and winter can make things quite interesting.

 

[Koken]

From your pic, and not knowing what area of the car is making impact, re-pouring the driveway will only transfer the angle of impact to another area of the car. What you may want to try, drive the car up until it starts to make contact and stop. Mark the area on the cement where the rear tires sit. Remove the car and get a 2x6 (or something similar) and mount it (so it doesn't move) parallel to the street where you marked the rear wheels. Then try driving over it to see if it lifts the vehicle enough for it to clear. You may need to adjust the location of the wood a couple of inches to find the sweet spot, and/or increase the width or thickness of the wood. Basically, you are putting in a speed bump. If you find that the car clears without hitting, you can then decide what your budget is and go from there. Anything from screwing the wood down into the concrete, cutting a strip and lay down some pavers, having a concrete contractor put in a speed bump, etc.

When you test to see if the car clears, make sure you do this with at least 3-4 adults in the car so the car sits at your normal ride height.

Good Luck

 

[Lambo nut]

From your pic, and not knowing what area of the car is making impact, re-pouring the driveway will only transfer the angle of impact to another area of the car.

Not if done correctly. The sharp transitions are the problem. "Smooth" them out and the problem goes away.

Kevin

 

[JimVonBaden]

I just bought a house and my driveway is really steep. It's flat (kind of) then slopes really bad so when you're going up/down it you have to do it at an angle otherwise it scrapes the underneath of the car. I'm wanting to get it fixed and wondering if anyone has any idea on how much it would cost to flatten this out a bit to where it wouldn't scrape. Thanks in advance.

Sounds like it is high centering. If this is the case he will need to flatten the driveway. This adds some risk of catching on the nose at the street though, so it would need a gradual angle built in at the bottom.

Jim

 

[Lambo nut]

Sounds like it is high centering. If this is the case he will need to flatten the driveway. This adds some risk of catching on the nose at the street though, so it would need a gradual angle built in at the bottom.

Jim

That is why I asked my first question. Could be scraping the bottom under the front or rear bumper, under the center, or both/all. If only the center then lowering the sharp angle at the first transition in the driveway will solve the problem. Flattening the driveway so it is a more constant angle from street to garage will lower the angle at the street, so IF it is not scraping there now, it won't afterward. Looks like if the drive more followed the contour of the front yard, this would never have been an issue.
Kevin

 

[Topstrap1]

I've had to dig out quite a few driveways exactly like that and even steeper here in our area of Ohio. Back when most of these homes were built cars were higher off the ground. The section of concrete in front of the garage can stay but the second and the wider apron section by the main street needs to be removed. Creating a bit steeper slope off the top section and eliminating the crown will help but we've found that if we've made less slope right off the street then having a slightly steeper slope going up to the section in front of the garage eliminates the front and rear ends from dragging when making the transaction up the driveway.

It isn't always what the homeowner wants but you have certain measurements and slopes to deal with. When asked about extending the drive out a bit or adding a pipe and concreting over they won't allow that due to the chance of damaging a snow plow. Problem has to be solved on your property and not on City property.

Topstrap

 

[brownbagg]

problem not the driveway but the gutter, stick a three inch pipe in the gutter and concrete over, that lessen your attack angle