Front walks, connecting paths between buildings, and replacement of the sections that have lifted, sunk or broken up. Boerne and Kendall County.
Two different jobs, really. Putting in a walk that wasn't there, and dealing with one that's gone bad. They price very differently, so it's worth being clear about which you need.
Front walks from the drive to the door, side paths, garden and gate paths, and runs between a house and a shop or casita.
Cut out the failed sections, fix what caused it, and pour back so the new work matches the old in width, finish and joint spacing.
Where one panel has risen above its neighbour, grinding the lip down is often cheaper and faster than replacement — and it takes the liability off the table the same day.
Knowing the cause matters, because replacing a panel without fixing what lifted it buys you a few years at most.
The single most common cause in Boerne. Oak roots run shallow and wide, and a walk poured over them will lift as they thicken. Replacing the panel without cutting and barriering the root just resets the clock.
Walks are often the last thing on a build and get the least base prep. Four inches of concrete on uncompacted fill will crack and settle, particularly along the edge where water runs off.
Hill Country lots shed water fast. If a walk sits in the path of roof runoff or a downhill sheet flow, the soil beside it washes out and the edge drops. Fixing the drainage is part of fixing the walk.
A hard February freeze finds every weak spot left by a hot, fast summer cure. Surface spalling and popouts usually trace back to how the slab was finished and cured, not to the freeze itself.
Short version: if the concrete itself is sound and the problem is height, grinding or jacking is usually the cheaper fix. If the concrete is broken, spalling, or cracked through, replacement is the only honest answer.
We'll tell you which at the estimate, including when the answer is that you don't need us yet. A hairline crack in an otherwise flat walk isn't a reason to spend money.
| Symptom | Usual answer |
|---|---|
| One panel lifted at a joint | Grind the lip |
| Panel sunk but intact | Slab jacking |
| Cracked through in several places | Replace the section |
| Surface flaking and pitted | Replace, or resurface if the slab is sound |
| Root visibly under the slab | Replace, cut root, install barrier |
Most walks do not need to come out all at once. The trick is knowing where to stop cutting.
A replacement that ends halfway across a panel leaves a seam that cracks again inside a year. We saw-cut back to the nearest existing control joint, so the new work starts and stops where the old concrete was already built to move.
This is the step a cheap bid leaves out. Whatever moved the old panel — a washed-out edge, a root, uncompacted fill — is still under there. Taking the concrete off and pouring back onto the same ground buys you a few years at most.
Same width, same joint spacing, same broom direction. Color is the one thing nobody can match on day one. Fresh concrete reads lighter beside a walk that has weathered ten summers, and it takes a season or two to close up.
Past about a third of the walk, piecemeal replacement stops adding up. Getting the crew out, forming and finishing cost much the same for four panels as for twelve, and a full run reads as one walk instead of a repair history.
None of this is exotic. It is the same short list every time, and skipping any one line of it is why walks fail early.
Thickness is the part people ask about first and it matters least. Four inches is right for a walk people stroll on. Where a vehicle crosses it, at a drive apron or a gate a truck backs through, it wants five or six inches and steel rather than fiber.
What actually decides whether a walk lasts is underneath it. Compacted base, cut to grade, with the fall worked out before the forms go in. On Hill Country lots that often means a clay pocket or breaking into limestone, and both change the number on the quote, so we would rather find them at the estimate than on pour day.
Then joints, cut on time. A walk with no control joints cracks wherever it likes. A walk with joints at the right spacing cracks underneath them, where nobody has to look at it.
| Element | Typical |
|---|---|
| Thickness, foot traffic | 4 inches |
| Thickness, vehicle crossing | 5 to 6 inches |
| Compacted base | 4 to 6 inches |
| Control joint spacing | Roughly the width of the walk |
| Cross slope for drainage | About 1/4 inch per foot |
| Finish | Light broom, across the direction of travel |
Often, yes. If the concrete itself is sound and the problem is height, grinding the lip down removes the trip hazard the same day and costs a fraction of replacement. If the panel is cracked through or spalling, replacement is the honest answer.
Live oak roots, more than anything else. They run shallow and wide, and a walk poured over one will lift as it thickens. Replacing the panel without cutting the root and installing a barrier just resets the clock.
In most Texas cities the adjoining property owner is responsible for maintaining it, including trip hazards. Rules vary, so check with the City of Boerne for your specific property before assuming either way.
Three feet is the practical minimum, four feet lets two people walk side by side, and five feet is what you want for a main approach to a front door. Commercial and accessible routes have their own requirements.
That is spalling, and it usually traces back to how the slab was finished and cured rather than to the freeze that revealed it. Concrete worked too wet or finished too early in the heat loses its surface a few winters later.
Foot traffic the next day in normal weather. Keep vehicles and anything heavy off it for a week. Concrete carries on gaining strength for about a month, and if the weather that week changes any of it we will tell you at the pour.
Width, joint spacing and broom direction, yes. Color is the one thing nobody can match on day one, because the old walk has weathered and the new pour has not. It closes up over a season or two.
Boerne and the surrounding Kendall County communities. For property managers with several sites, we'll walk all of them in one visit.
Tell us roughly how many feet, or how many bad panels. Or call (830) 357-7152.
We answer estimate requests the same day during the week. Nothing gets shared with anyone else.
