A real price needs someone standing on the site. This page shows what published cost data says concrete runs in this area, how those numbers turn into a budget for a real project, and what makes one quote higher than another. These are market ranges, not our price list. Your written estimate is free, and it's the only number that counts.
There's no published cost data specific to West Lafayette, Indiana, so the local figures here are for Lafayette, IN, right across the river and the same market. Where only national figures exist, the table says so.
Published price ranges
| Project | Typical range | Area |
|---|---|---|
| Driveway, unreinforced | $6 to $10 / sq ft | Lafayette, IN |
| Driveway, reinforced | $7 to $11 / sq ft | Lafayette, IN |
| Tear-out of an old driveway or slab | $1.20 to $1.90 / sq ft | Lafayette, IN |
| Patio, unreinforced | $6 to $10 / sq ft | Lafayette, IN |
| Patio, reinforced | $7 to $11 / sq ft | Lafayette, IN |
| Stamped patio, unreinforced | $8 to $14 / sq ft | Lafayette, IN |
| Stamped patio, reinforced | $9 to $16 / sq ft | Lafayette, IN |
| Slab or pad | $6 to $10 / sq ft unreinforced, $7 to $11 reinforced | Lafayette, IN |
| Ready-mix concrete, 3,000 to 5,000 psi | $129 to $155 / cu yd | Lafayette, IN |
| Ready-mix delivery | $120 to $260 / truck | Lafayette, IN |
| Patio, steps or walks, whole project | $2,100 to $5,574 (average $3,837) | Lafayette, IN |
| Sidewalk | $7 to $17 / sq ft | National |
| Sidewalk, remove and replace | $10 to $25+ / sq ft | National |
| Stamped driveway | $12 to $18 / sq ft | National |
| Concrete removal with disposal | $3 to $8 / sq ft | National |
| Two-car garage floor, whole project | $2,400 to $6,900 | National |
Typical installed ranges, not quotes. Lafayette-area figures from HomeBlue cost data (2022 to 2025); national figures from HomeGuide and Angi. Your written estimate is the real number.
Worked examples
The Lafayette ranges, turned into budgets for common projects. Each line is just the area times the low and high end of the range.
| Project | Area | Math | Budget range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Replace a two-car driveway, 20 x 24 ft | 480 sq ft | 480 x $6 to $11, plus 480 x $1.20 to $1.90 tear-out | $3,456 to $6,192 |
| Back patio, 12 x 16 ft | 192 sq ft | 192 x $6 to $11 | $1,152 to $2,112 |
| Stamped patio, 14 x 20 ft | 280 sq ft | 280 x $8 to $16 | $2,240 to $4,480 |
| Front walk, 4 x 40 ft | 160 sq ft | 160 x $7 to $17 (national) | $1,120 to $2,720 |
| Pole barn floor, 30 x 40 ft | 1,200 sq ft | 1,200 x $6 to $11 | $7,200 to $13,200 |
What moves the price
- Tear-out. Breaking out and hauling off an old slab adds about $1.20 to $1.90 a square foot in published Lafayette figures. Thick or heavily reinforced concrete takes longer to break up.
- Access. If a mixer truck can back up to the forms and pour off the chute, that's the cheapest way in. Backyards behind fences, steep lots and soft ground can mean a pump or wheeling concrete in by buggy, which adds time and equipment.
- Thickness. A 5-inch slab takes 25 percent more concrete than a 4-inch one, and a 6-inch slab takes 50 percent more. Worth it where heavy loads sit, wasted money on a garden path.
- Reinforcement. In the Lafayette figures, reinforced driveways, patios and slabs run about $1 a square foot more than unreinforced at both ends of the range.
- Finish. A broom finish is the baseline. Stamping and color move a patio from about $6 to $11 a square foot up to about $8 to $16.
- Grading and base. Lots that need cutting down, building up or a thicker stone base because of wet ground cost more to prepare. On the slow-draining soils common around here, this is money well spent.
- The apron and the city. In West Lafayette, work in the right-of-way, including the driveway apron and the public sidewalk, needs a right-of-way permit from City Engineering. The application asks for a drawing, a traffic plan and a certificate of insurance, and review can take up to 10 working days.
- Small loads and delivery. Delivery runs $120 to $260 per truck, and plants often add a short-load charge when a truck goes out mostly empty. That's why small jobs cost more per square foot than big ones.
- Season. Fresh concrete has to be protected from freezing until it gains early strength, so late-fall and winter pours can need blankets, heated mix or both. Spring and summer pours avoid that cost.
How to compare two estimates
Indiana law requires home improvement contracts over $150 to be in writing, and a good estimate should be specific enough to compare line by line. Check each one for:
| Item | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Thickness | Stated in inches, and thicker where heavy vehicles park. |
| Base | How deep, what material, and whether it's compacted. |
| Mix | Strength in psi and whether it's air-entrained, which it should be for outdoor slabs here. |
| Reinforcement | Mesh or rebar, and how it's held at mid-depth. |
| Joints | Spacing and depth. For a 4-inch slab, about every 10 feet, cut at least a quarter of the way through. |
| Finish | Broom, stamped, colored, and whether sealer is included. |
| Tear-out and haul-off | Included, extra, or missing. |
| Permits and bond | Who pulls the right-of-way permit, and whether the contractor's bond is on file with the city, which West Lafayette requires before permitted work. |
| Grading and cleanup | Backfill along the edges, seed or straw, and debris removal. |
If one quote is far lower than the others, the difference is almost always in the first three rows.
Budgeting for the small stuff
A few items rarely show up in published ranges but often show up on a project. Downspout extensions or a short drain line to move roof water away from new concrete. Topsoil and seed along edges that were dug out for forms. Sealer on stamped or colored work. A second trip if a big job is split into two pours so you can keep using half the driveway. None of these is large on its own, but asking about them up front keeps the final bill matching the estimate.
Getting your number
The fastest way to a real price is a site visit. We measure, check grade, drainage and access for the truck, look at what's coming out, and write it all down with the specs listed. Call (765) 508-4206 or use the form at the top of this page. For more on specific projects, see driveways, patios, garage and barn slabs and removal and replacement, or check the service area.
Driveways
Patios
Stamped and colored