The choice comes down to one question: is the slab failing, or is the ground failing? A good slab on bad ground can sometimes be lifted. A broken slab cannot be saved by anything poured on top. The situations below use the numbers from the question and plain arithmetic.
The dollar figures on this page are national ranges that HomeGuide published for 2026. They are not quotes from New Orleans Concrete Solutions. What you pay in New Orleans depends on local labor and material prices, how a truck reaches the pour, and what the soil under the slab needs. Last checked October 2026.
My driveway is 20 years old. One section sank by the garage and I was quoted $9,000 to replace all of it. Do I have to?
Probably not all of it. If the other sections are flat and uncracked, the $9,000 is buying new concrete to replace concrete that still works. Ask for two more prices: lifting the sunk section, and replacing only that section with a joint at each end. Nationally, leveling runs $700 to $5,000 for a typical job. On New Orleans soil the section by the garage often sinks because the house is on piles and the driveway is not. A proper joint there lets the two move apart without breaking.
Repair for $7,000 or replace for $14,000, and I plan to sell in two or three years?
If the $7,000 repair leaves a driveway that is level, safe and decent to look at for those years, it is the sensible spend. The extra $7,000 for new concrete would mostly benefit the next owner. The repair is the wrong call when it will not last until the sale, or when it looks like a patchwork. A buyer's inspector will note a failing driveway either way, so ask the contractor straight out what the repair will look like in three years.
There are a few long cracks and I am selling the house. Repair, replace or leave it?
If you are selling the house and the cracks are narrow and flat, clean and seal them and leave the slab. Buyers in New Orleans see cracked concrete on every block and price in only the bad cases. Replace a section if one side of a crack is higher than the other, because that is a trip hazard and will be written up. Full replacement before a sale seldom pays for itself.
One contractor says tear it out. Another says pour a new layer over it. Who is right?
The one who says tear it out is right more often here. A new layer over a cracked, settling slab cracks in the same lines, and the added weight pushes soft ground down faster. A new layer can work on a thick, steady slab with drainage that still runs the right way and enough height at the doors and the street. Ask the second contractor what he will do about the old cracks and what his warranty says about them.
My driveway is 30 years old with root cracks and I am on a tight budget. Can I grind and patch?
Yes, on a tight budget, grinding the raised edges and sealing the cracks is a reasonable way to buy time. It makes the surface safer for a few years at a small part of the price of replacement. Be clear about what it is. The roots keep growing, so the lips come back. Put the money you save toward replacing the worst panels later, and have someone who knows trees look at the roots before any are cut.
I have many small cracks but no sinking. Is sealing or resurfacing enough?
Sealing or resurfacing is enough when the cracks are hairline, the slab is level and it sounds solid when tapped. Fine cracks that look like a map are usually only in the surface. Sealing keeps water out for $1 to $3 per square foot nationally. Resurfacing at $3 to $7 per square foot gives a fresh face. Skip both if any crack is wide enough to take a coin or keeps growing. That slab is moving.
A simple test before you decide
- Level: lay a straight board across each crack. A step means movement.
- Sound: tap with a hammer. A hollow note means a void below.
- Water: watch it in a hard rain. Ponding or flow toward the house changes the answer.
- Count: more than a third of the area bad usually means replace.
The real number for your address comes from a free visit and a written quote. Call (504) 732-1542, or text a photo of the area and we will tell you what we see.