Straight answers about concrete.

Almost certainly a little, and that is normal. Concrete shrinks as it cures. Control joints give that shrinkage a straight, planned place to crack, inside a groove where you will barely see it.

A groove cut or tooled into the slab, about a quarter of its depth. It makes a weak line on purpose, so the slab cracks there instead of across the middle. On a 4 in slab we space them no more than 10 ft apart.

Cracks that cross a panel instead of following a joint, open wider than about 1/8 in, or have one side higher than the other. Those are covered by our two-year workmanship warranty, and we come look.

No. They hold the pieces together and keep a crack tight and level if one forms. Joints control where cracks happen; steel controls what happens after.

Feet after 24 to 48 hours, cars after 7 days, heavy trucks after 28 days. Below about 50°F add two or three days to each. Your dates go on the cure card.

Not usually. We spray a curing compound that holds the water in. On a very hot, windy day we may ask you to mist it; we will tell you if so.

We watch the forecast and move the date rather than pour into rain. Rain on fresh concrete washes cement off the top and leaves a weak surface that flakes later. Once it is finished and sprayed, a shower is fine.

Concrete dries unevenly for a few weeks, so darker patches are normal. It evens out over the first month or two.

Stamped and colored work, yes. Broom finish, it is optional but smart in a salt climate. A penetrating sealer keeps water and salt from soaking in.

First coat after at least 28 days of curing. Then every 3 to 5 years for penetrating sealer on broom and aggregate, every 2 to 3 years for the acrylic on stamped work. Always a dry day above 50°F.

Penetrating sealer does not change the texture. The glossy acrylic on stamped work can be slick when wet, so we mix in an anti-slip grit.

Only when nights stay above freezing and the ground is not frozen. Late in the season we use blankets and a warmer mix. Outdoor flatwork stops around mid-November most years.

Not the first winter. Use sand for traction and shovel early. After the first winter, use calcium-magnesium acetate or calcium chloride sparingly, and never fertilizer-based ammonium deicers, which attack concrete.

Scaling is the top layer flaking off after water freezes inside it. A proper air-entrained mix and finish prevent most of it, and flaking from our finish is covered. Damage from deicer used the first winter is not.

It holds millions of tiny air bubbles that give freezing water room to expand. Non-air-entrained concrete outdoors in Michigan flakes, often within a couple of winters.

National averages leave out base prep, steel and tear-out, or mix in warm-climate prices. Ours include the gravel base, steel, joints and cure compound, and list tear-out separately so you can compare bids line by line.

Yes, $2,400. A truck, a crew day and the forms cost the same for a small pad as for a big one, so most pours under about 250 sq ft land there.

10% to hold a pour date. The balance is due when the job is done and you have walked it with us.

In spring we often book four to six weeks out. In late season we pour until nights get too cold, then book the spring calendar over the winter.

No. We only pour and finish concrete. We will happily point you to good people for those.