Jennifer Jung 
A concrete driveway or patio is a decision a homeowner lives with for decades, which makes choosing the contractor harder than choosing the material. The pour itself takes a day. The consequences of who did the pouring, how the base was prepared, and whether the crew understood Central Ohio’s freeze-thaw winters that have lasted for twenty years or more.
A search for concrete contractors near Columbus returns dozens of names, and telling the careful operators apart from the ones who will be hard to reach when a crack appears is the real task. Industry cost data shows that properly installed and maintained stamped concrete can last up to 25 years, and other material guides put well-built plain concrete driveways well beyond that.
The difference between a surface that reaches that lifespan and one that fails early is almost entirely the contractor. This guide, updated July 2026, compares four concrete companies serving the Columbus and Central Ohio market on pricing, services, credentials, and the honest trade-offs of each.
What Separates a Good Concrete Contractor
Before the individual companies, it helps to fix the criteria that actually predict a lasting result. Price matters, but it is rarely the deciding factor between two competent crews, and the cheapest bid often signals thinner base preparation or a rushed pour. Three things carry more weight.
- The first is who does the work, since a company using its own long-tenured employees has more control over quality than one dispatching subcontractors it has never supervised.
- The second is base and reinforcement practice, because in a freeze-thaw climate the gravel base, slab thickness, and steel reinforcement determine whether the surface survives its first hard winter.
- The third is verifiable reputation, meaning reviews, accreditation, and years in business that a homeowner can check rather than take on faith.
The four contractors below are measured against these standards.
1. Maxima Concrete
Maxima Concrete is a family-owned general and concrete contractor based in the Columbus metro, owned by Flavio Pinheiro. It combines residential and commercial work with a specialty that sets it apart in this group, and its BuildZoom contractor profile assigns it a score of 98, ranking in the top 16% of more than 52,000 licensed Ohio contractors.
Services and design styles
The service list is broad, covering driveways, walkways, steps, ramps, curbs, patios, and porches. Decorative options include stamped, colored, and exposed aggregate finishes that pair well with a range of home styles, from the clean lines of a modern build to the warmer stone-look textures suited to craftsman and farmhouse exteriors. The company also installs pavers, natural stone, and in-ground pools, giving it more material range than a concrete-only shop.
Pricing
Public pricing is not posted, so a firm figure requires an estimate. As a benchmark, national cost data puts stamped concrete at roughly $8 to $19 per square foot depending on pattern and color complexity, with plain broom-finish flatwork running lower and multi-color or intricate designs higher. Mixed-material work such as pavers or natural stone typically prices above standard concrete.
Service area
Coverage spans the Columbus metro and surrounding counties, including Franklin, Delaware, Union, Licking, and Fairfield, reaching suburbs such as Dublin, Powell, Westerville, Upper Arlington, and Gahanna. That footprint covers most of the eastern and northern Columbus market.
Use cases and alternatives
The standout use case is Americans with Disabilities Act compliance work, which most residential contractors do not handle to specification, making Maxima a fit for commercial ramps, curbs, and accessible access routes alongside residential driveways and patios. For homeowners weighing concrete against pavers or natural stone, the company installs all three, so it can advise on the trade-off between concrete’s lower cost and pavers’ easier spot repair within a single estimate.
Credentials
Maxima has been Better Business Bureau accredited since 2018 and holds an active Columbus general contractor license. Its BuildZoom score of 98 places it in the top 16% of more than 52,000 licensed Ohio contractors, and building-permit records show at least ten permitted projects over a recent three-year window.
Pros
- BBB accredited since 2018 with a BuildZoom score in the top 16% statewide
- ADA compliance expertise uncommon among residential contractors
- Broad material range including pavers, natural stone, and pools
Cons
- The generalist span, from ADA ramps to swimming pools, means concrete is one of several focuses rather than the sole trade.
2. Coughlin Concrete
A second-generation, father-son operation founded in 2004, Coughlin Concrete serves West Central Ohio from Bellefontaine, covering Logan, Union, and Delaware counties, including Marysville, Delaware, Powell, and Plain City. It is a residential concrete and hardscaping specialist rather than a general contractor.
Services and design styles
The focus is outdoor living and residential flatwork, handled by certified finishers.
- Concrete patios and stamped or decorative concrete designed to resemble brick, slate, flagstone, and wood
- Driveways, sidewalks, and steps built for Central Ohio conditions
- Hardscapes including retaining walls, seating walls, pergolas, fire pits, and fireplaces
On design, the stamped catalog is built to match finishes to the house, with patterns and colors chosen to blend with existing stone, tile, or natural elements. That flexibility lets a slate-look patio suit a craftsman home or a clean broom finish complement a modern build, and the in-house hardscaping means the patio, seating wall, and fire pit can be styled as one cohesive space.
Pricing
Pricing is estimate-based and sits within regional norms, with stamped work in the $8 to $19 per square foot range, national data reports and plain flatwork lower. The company emphasizes structural reinforcement on every job, which affects where a quote lands relative to a bare-minimum pour. Bundling concrete and hardscaping under one crew can reduce the coordination cost of hiring separate trades for a backyard project.
Service area
Coverage centers on West Central Ohio from a Bellefontaine base, spanning Logan, Union, and Delaware counties. Named service communities include Marysville, Delaware, Powell, Plain City, Lewis Center, Ostrander, and Richwood, placing the northern and western Columbus suburbs squarely within reach.
Use cases and alternatives
The sweet spot is a homeowner planning a full outdoor-living build rather than a single slab, since the same crew pours the patio and constructs the fire pit, pergola, and retaining walls around it. For the concrete-versus-alternatives question, its decorative stamped work is positioned as a lower-cost way to achieve the look of brick, slate, or flagstone without paying natural-stone or paver prices, while delivering concrete’s longer maintenance intervals.
Credentials
The company brings more than 40 years of combined experience, with founder Mike Coughlin holding over 25 years in the trade and his son Michael contributing a civil engineering degree from the University of Dayton, an unusually strong technical credential for a residential concrete crew. Published customer testimonials describe multi-element projects completed to repeat-client satisfaction, and the business maintains an active presence on Facebook alongside its project portfolio.
Pros
- Civil engineering degree on the team, rare among residential concrete contractors
- Combined concrete and hardscaping capability for full outdoor-living projects
- More than 20 years in business under continuous father-son ownership
Cons
- The service area centers on West Central Ohio and Logan County, so homeowners in the eastern Columbus suburbs such as Gahanna, Westerville, or New Albany sit at the edge of or beyond its core coverage.
3. Royal Concrete
Royal Concrete is a residential and commercial contractor based in Columbus proper, led by CEO Jonathan Cortes. Founded around 2019, it is the newest company in this comparison but has scaled its reputation quickly across the metro.
Services and design styles
The company installs driveways, patios, walkways, garage and pool-deck slabs, stamped concrete, and custom features such as fire pits and seating walls, plus paver and hardscape options. On design, its stamped and exposed-aggregate finishes are used to match neighborhood character, with reviewers describing exposed-aggregate driveways chosen to complement older homes and stamped patterns matched to a home’s existing palette. That makes it adaptable across modern, traditional, and older-home styles.
Pricing
Royal positions itself on competitive pricing within the standard regional ranges, which for stamped concrete means roughly $8 to $19 per square foot and lower for plain flatwork, subject to an estimate. Reviews reference large jobs, including a monolithic garage slab pour and a project running more than 70 truckloads of concrete, indicating the company quotes and handles higher-volume residential work as well as small patios.
Service area
Coverage extends across the full Columbus footprint, including Dublin, Westerville, Bexley, Hilliard, Upper Arlington, Worthington, Gahanna, and New Albany, giving it the broadest reach into the eastern and central metro of the four contractors here.
Use cases and alternatives
It fits homeowners across the metro who want a large residential pour, a garage or pool-deck slab, or a stamped patio, and its capacity for high-volume jobs suits bigger driveway replacements. For the material decision, Royal offers both concrete and paver solutions, framing pavers as the low-maintenance, high-curb-appeal option and concrete flatwork as the more cost-effective durable surface, so a homeowner can compare the two from one contractor.
Credentials
Royal Concrete announced in December 2025 that it had surpassed 300 five-star reviews across the Columbus market, a substantial volume for a company roughly five years old. Coverage of that milestone appeared in a syndicated press release, and the team cites more than two decades of combined industry experience behind its five years of operation.
Pros
- More than 300 verified five-star reviews despite roughly five years in business
- Full Columbus-metro coverage including the eastern and northern suburbs
- Demonstrated capacity for large monolithic slab pours
Cons
- At about five years old, the company has the shortest operating history here, so its work has not yet been tested across the decades-long lifespan concrete is expected to reach.
4. Arlington Concrete
Arlington Concrete is a family-owned, father-and-sons operation based in Powell that has served Columbus homeowners for more than 30 years, the longest track record in this comparison. It is a dedicated residential flatwork specialist that pours every job with its own crew.
Services and design styles
The company handles broom-finish and exposed-aggregate driveways, stamped concrete patios, walkways, and concrete sports courts for basketball, tennis, and volleyball. On design, it offers stamped patterns that mimic brick, stone, or wood, and pairs broom-finish or exposed-aggregate textures to the practical, slip-resistant look many traditional and suburban homes favor, positioning decorative concrete as a lower-maintenance route to a high-end appearance.
Pricing
Pricing tracks the regional market within the standard $8 to $19 per square foot band for stamped work, and the company publishes cost guidance through its blog, including driveway-replacement cost articles specific to Columbus. No fixed rate card is posted, so a firm number requires an estimate, but the published guidance gives homeowners a starting reference.
Service area
Operating from Powell with additional Reynoldsburg and Columbus addresses, Arlington serves all of Columbus, including Upper Arlington, Dublin, Powell, Gahanna, Bexley, Galena, and Plain City. Its testimonial base is concentrated in Powell and the northern suburbs.
Use cases and alternatives
It is the natural pick for a homeowner replacing a deteriorated asphalt driveway with concrete, a recurring theme in its reviews, and for backyard sports courts, a niche few competitors emphasize. On alternatives, the company’s own content directly compares pavers and stamped concrete for patios and weighs asphalt against concrete for driveways, and its no-subcontractor, freeze-thaw-oriented installation is pitched as the reason a well-poured concrete surface outlasts a cheaper asphalt one.
Credentials
Arlington Concrete carries more than 30 years of operating history and states that it pays its employees above industry averages to retain long-tenured craftsmen. It reports established relationships with regional homebuilders including Regent Homes and Compass Homes, and maintains a documented five-star Google rating alongside a detailed body of homeowner testimonials concentrated in Powell and the northern suburbs.
Pros
- More than 30 years in business, the longest tenure in this group
- No subcontractors, with every job poured by in-house employees
- Builder relationships and a deep testimonial record in the northern suburbs
Cons
- The company is a residential specialist by design, so homeowners needing commercial-grade or ADA-specification work will look elsewhere.
Concrete Versus Pavers, Asphalt, and Stone
Choosing a contractor runs alongside choosing a material, and the two decisions inform each other. Concrete’s case rests on cost and longevity together. National cost data from Angi and HomeAdvisor puts professionally installed and maintained stamped concrete at a lifespan of up to 25 years, while natural stone and paver driveways frequently exceed $20 per square foot, well above stamped concrete’s typical $8 to $19 range.
Each alternative carries a distinct trade-off.
- Pavers offer easy spot repair and a premium look but cost more up front and can shift or weed at the joints over time.
- Asphalt is cheaper initially but needs periodic resealing and has a shorter service life.
- Gravel is the least expensive and the least durable, requiring regular replenishment.
In Central Ohio’s freeze-thaw climate, the deciding factor across all of them is installation quality, since a well-poured concrete slab with a proper base outlasts a poorly installed premium surface. That returns the decision to the contractor, which is why vetting the crew matters more than the material label.
Comparison Overview
| Contractor | In Business | Key Strength | Best For | Limitation |
| Maxima Concrete | 14+ years | BBB accredited, top-16% BuildZoom score | ADA and mixed-material projects | Thin public review record |
| Coughlin Concrete | Since 2004 | Engineering-backed father-son crew | Full outdoor-living builds in West Central OH | Coverage centered west of Columbus |
| Royal Concrete | ~5 years | 300+ five-star reviews, metro-wide | Large slabs and eastern suburbs | Shortest track record |
| Arlington Concrete | 30+ years | Longest tenure, no subcontractors | Driveways in northern suburbs | Residential-only, driveway-weighted |
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a concrete driveway or patio cost in Columbus?
Pricing follows national ranges, with plain concrete generally cheaper than decorative work and stamped concrete running roughly $8 to $19 per square foot depending on pattern and color complexity. A two-car stamped driveway commonly lands in the several-thousand-dollar range before site preparation. Local factors such as excavation, grading, and removal of an old surface move the final figure, so compare itemized estimates rather than headline per-foot numbers.
How long does concrete last in Central Ohio’s climate?
Well-installed and maintained concrete can last 25 years or more, with plain driveways often exceeding that. The freeze-thaw cycle is the main stressor, so the base preparation, slab thickness, and reinforcement a contractor uses matter more than the brand of concrete. Sealing decorative surfaces every few years extends their life meaningfully.
Should I choose a specialist or a general contractor for concrete?
For a residential driveway or patio, a dedicated concrete specialist usually offers deeper finishing expertise, while a general or mixed-material contractor is useful when a job combines concrete with pools, ADA work, or extensive hardscaping. Match the contractor’s core focus to your project’s center of gravity rather than assuming broader is better.
Does the contractor use its own crew or subcontractors?
This is worth asking directly. A company pouring with its own long-tenured employees has more control over quality and accountability than one dispatching subcontractors, and several Columbus contractors treat an in-house-only policy as a key differentiator. Consistent crews also mean the same people who quoted the job are the ones who finish it.
What should I verify before hiring a concrete contractor near me?
Confirm active licensing, look for third-party signals such as BBB accreditation or a strong contractor score, and read recent reviews for patterns rather than single ratings. Ask how the base will be prepared and reinforced for freeze-thaw conditions, and get the scope in writing. A contractor who can start tomorrow is not automatically a concern, but availability should never be the main reason you hire.
Conclusion
The best concrete contractor near Columbus depends on the shape of your project. A homeowner planning a full stamped-and-hardscaped backyard weighs different factors than one replacing a plain driveway or needing ADA-compliant commercial work.
Among these four, the right fit follows from what you are building, whether that is a mixed-material and ADA specialist, an engineering-backed outdoor-living crew, a fast-growing metro-wide operator, or the longest-tenured residential specialist in the group. In every case, the durability concrete promises depends less on the material than on the crew that pours it.
Key takeaways
- Installation quality, not the material label, determines whether concrete reaches its 25-year-plus lifespan in a freeze-thaw climate
- Who does the pouring matters, with in-house crews offering more accountability than subcontracted labor
- Match the contractor’s core focus, whether residential flatwork, hardscaping, or ADA work, to your project’s main requirement
Next steps
- Request itemized estimates from at least two contractors and compare base preparation, not just the per-square-foot price
- Ask each contractor how they reinforce and cure for Central Ohio winters, and get the answer in the written scope
