Concrete Driveways in Lee's Summit, MO
Concrete driveways for Lee's Summit — from the Lakewood ridges to the US-50 corridor
Concrete Driveways in Lee's Summit
Professional concrete driveway installation and replacement for residential and commercial properties across the Kansas City metro. Ford Concrete serves Lee's Summit, MO and the entire Kansas City metro with more than a decade of experience and a 5-star reputation.
Lee's Summit at a Glance
- Population
- 106,419
- State
- Missouri
- County
- Jackson County
- Schools
- Lee's Summit R-VII School District
Why does the Lee's Summit grade decide your driveway?
A Lee's Summit driveway lasts when it is built for two things at once — the rolling Jackson County grade and the Wymore-Ladoga clay under it. The city sits on a divide of ridges and lakes, from Lakewood to Raintree, so most drives run on a slope. Four-plus inches of 4,000-PSI concrete over a proof-rolled subgrade, graded to shed water downhill, holds where a flat pour would not.
Skip the grade and water finds the low edge, soaks the clay, and the base pumps out from under the slab. On a flat lot that failure is slow; on a Lee's Summit ridge it undermines an edge in a season or two. We read the fall of your lot before we form, the same way our commercial crews set grade on a warehouse pad.
New subdivisions, new fill: the Winterset Valley problem
Lee's Summit has grown faster than almost any city on the Missouri side, and a lot of that new stock — Winterset Valley, Bent Tree, the builds around Longview Farm and Paragon Star — sits on graded fill over the clay. A driveway poured on fill that was never compacted settles with the fill, and no mix strength saves it. The base has to go down in compacted lifts first.
We probe the fill depth, compact it back to a bearing grade, and only then form and pour. That discipline is why a new driveway from us still reads true after the first wet spring, when the yard around it has finally settled. It is the same base we bring to a Raymore new-build lot down I-49.
Why a 1970s Lakewood driveway is failing now
Established Lee's Summit — Lakewood and the older streets off Todd George and Chipman — was built out decades ago, and those original drives have run past their service life on the clay. When a slab that old cracks across the panels, scales at the surface, and rocks under a tire, patching buys a season at most. The ground beneath it has moved too far.
We take the failed slab out, rebuild the clay subgrade instead of pouring over it, and reset the grade to drain. A driveway is only as durable as what it sits on, and on a mature Lee's Summit lot the base is the whole job. For a walk-through of tear-out and rebuild, see our driveway replacement guide.
What drives the price of a Lee's Summit driveway?
There is no honest flat per-foot number in Lee's Summit, because a new-build pour on compacted fill and a full tear-out on an old Lakewood lot are different jobs. Price follows size, thickness, how much old concrete comes out, drainage work on the slope, and finish. A plain broom finish costs less than a stamped border, and a steep lot that needs regrading costs more than a level one.
We measure the lot, probe the base, and hand you a written number — not a guess from the truck window. Call (816) 721-1699 or request a free estimate, and a site visit is usually within 24 hours. See the full scope on our concrete driveway service page before you compare bids.
Permits and right-of-way in Lee's Summit
A same-footprint replacement is usually simple, but a new approach, a widening, or any work in the city right-of-way needs a City of Lee's Summit permit built to grade and sight-distance standards. We pull it and schedule the inspection so the job passes. Missouri stormwater runs through MoDNR, not Kansas's KDHE — which matters once a project disturbs enough ground to trigger a state permit.
Our Lee's Summit services page shows how driveways, patios, and repair line up on one visit. Across the Missouri side we pour the same base on Blue Springs and Grandview driveways down US-50 and I-49.
Ready to pour your Lee's Summit driveway?
From call to concrete — the fastest in KC.
On a Lee's Summit ridge, the grade and the Jackson County clay both have a say in your driveway. Ford builds the base for the slope, drains it right, and hands you a written number — not a guess from the curb. Call (816) 721-1699 for a site visit, usually within 24 hours.
Building Concrete Driveways for Lee's Summit conditions
Read the slope and the clay
We walk your Lee's Summit lot for grade, check the Wymore clay and any settled fill, and design the base and drainage to the fall of the land.
Tear out and haul off
The failed slab comes out and off-site, and soft fill over the clay is dug back to material that will actually compact.
Compact the subgrade
We build the base up in compacted lifts — the step most new-subdivision drives skipped — so the slab has firm ground under it.
Form and set the grade
Forms carry water downhill to the street or a swale, with the apron isolated from the garage slab so the two move independently.
Pour 4,000-PSI concrete
We place a four-plus-inch slab, thickened at the edges and the approach where a Lee's Summit drive takes the most load.
Saw-cut the joints on time
Control joints are cut early and spaced to the slab thickness so the concrete cracks where we plan, not where the clay decides.
Cure and walk it with you
We cure the slab, clean the site, and show you how to protect it through its first Missouri winter.
What failing Concrete Driveways looks like in Lee's Summit
Cracks running across the panels
Cracking through the middle of a panel instead of along a joint means the Jackson County clay moved more than the slab could flex.
Flaking after a hard winter
Surface scaling at the edges after road salt is freeze-thaw damage working down from the top, common on older Lakewood drives.
One side dropping on the slope
A driveway settling on its downhill side points to fill that was never compacted, or clay that shrank away beneath the low edge.
Water tracking to the garage
On a Lee's Summit ridge, a grade that sends runoff back toward the house keeps undermining the base until the slope is corrected.
Panels that see-saw under a tire
Slabs rocking as you drive over them have lost base support, and a patch rarely holds once the clay is moving.
A gap opening at the apron
A widening joint where the driveway meets the garage or the street means the two are pulling apart and the approach needs isolating.
The Ford difference on Lee's Summit Concrete Driveways
Built for the Lee's Summit grade
Most lots here run on a slope over Jackson County clay. We set the grade to drain and compact the subgrade first, because on a ridge the water decides how long a driveway lasts.
New fill, done right
Fast-growing neighborhoods like Winterset Valley sit on graded fill. We compact that fill in lifts before we pour, so a new driveway holds its line through the first wet spring.
Commercial base on a home driveway
The crew that placed 50,000-plus square feet of warehouse floor pours your driveway — same proof-roll, same compaction. See the commercial work.
4.9 stars across the metro
KC-metro homeowners rate Ford 4.9 on Google across 29 reviews, and we get most estimates on the calendar within 24 hours.
The projects behind our name
From your driveway to an Amazon warehouse — the same crew, the same standards, every project.
Taco Bell
New Construction
Overland Park, KS
Domino's Pizza
New Construction
Independence, MO
Freddy's
New Construction
Kansas City
Tidal Wave Car Wash
New Construction
Kansas City
Amazon
New Construction
Riverside, MO
Nortian Food Grade Protein Facility
New Construction
Springfield, MO
Start with a free Lee's Summit estimate
Or call us directly: (816) 721-1699
Concrete Driveways in Lee's Summit — FAQs
How does Lee's Summit's clay affect a concrete driveway?
Why do new Lee's Summit subdivision driveways settle?
What permits are required for a driveway in Lee's Summit?
How long does a driveway take to install in Lee's Summit?
What makes Ford different from other Jackson County contractors?
Can you pour a driveway on a steep Lee's Summit lot?
More Lee's Summit concrete services
Concrete Driveways across the Jackson County area
Get your Lee's Summit project moving
From call to concrete — the fastest in KC.
Get a free, no-obligation estimate for your concrete project. We serve the entire Kansas City metro — call (816) 721-1699 or request your estimate online.