Concrete resurfacing or replacing?
Last updated: By ConcreteFinder Research Team
Resurfacing is roughly half the price of replacing, which is exactly why it gets sold to people whose slab cannot take it. An overlay is bonded to what is already there. If the slab underneath is still moving, the new surface moves with it and cracks in the same places, usually inside one winter. Tick what is actually wrong with your slab below and the tool applies the published criteria rather than a sales pitch.
Resurface it, or tear it out?
600 sq ft, 0 of 5 questions answered
This slab is a resurfacing candidate
- Resurfacing with a concrete overlay ($7 to $10 per sq ft, Toronto Concrete Repairs)
- $4,200 to $6,000
- Replacing: tearout and disposal of the old slab ($3 to $5 per sq ft, Nice Guy Concrete)
- $1,800 to $3,000
- Replacing: the new broom-finish slab ($9 to $15 per sq ft, Nice Guy Concrete)
- $5,400 to $9,000
- Replacing it, all in
- $7,200 to $12,000
- Resurfacing saves, on these rates
- 42 to 50 percent
Nothing ticked, so on the published criteria this slab is sound enough to take an overlay: cracking under a quarter inch, spalling and pitting, or a surface that is simply worn and faded. Get a contractor to confirm in person before committing, since a settled slab does not always look settled from standing height.
Excludes 13 percent HST. Resurfacing prices assume the slab needs cleaning and crack preparation but no structural repair; if a contractor finds voids under the slab, lifting it is a separate job again. Replacement prices are for a plain broom finish, so a decorative finish costs more.
The criteria, quoted rather than reworded
Artisan Coat, which does this work across Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan and Oakville, publishes both halves of the test in its homeowner's guide. A slab is a good candidate for resurfacing when it has:
- Hairline to medium cracks, under a quarter inch wide, even if there are several
- Surface spalling, pitting or flaking from age and freeze-thaw
- Faded, stained or worn-looking concrete that is structurally fine
And it has to be replaced instead when any of these is true:
- Has the slab visibly settled, with one section noticeably lower than another?
- Are any cracks wider than half an inch, or is one side of a crack higher than the other?
- Have tree roots lifted or broken sections of the slab?
- Is water draining under the slab rather than off it?
- Is the slab broken into multiple separated pieces?
The tool applies exactly that and nothing more. There is no scoring and no weighting behind it: one condition in the second list is enough, because each of them means the slab is still moving or that water is getting under it, and neither is something a bonded overlay survives.
Where the money actually goes
Replacement is two costs, not one, and pricing them separately is the only way the comparison is honest. Nice Guy Concrete puts tearing out and disposing of old concrete at $3 to $5 per square foot and a new plain broom-finish slab at $9 to $15, so a replacement is $12 to $20 per square foot before anything decorative. Resurfacing skips the first half entirely, which is where most of the saving lives.
Artisan Coat publishes resurfacing by project rather than by the foot, and those bands are worth having next to the arithmetic: $2,500 to $6,000 for a front porch, $3,500 to $7,000 with the front steps, $3,500 to $14,000 for a patio or backyard pad, $7,000 to $18,000 for a pool deck and $4,500 to $12,000 for a standard two-car driveway. For comparison it puts replacing a porch outright at $8,000 to $18,000.
If the slab has settled rather than simply worn, lifting it is a third option that sits between the two. ConcreteFinder tracks 83 concrete repair and levelling companies across the Greater Toronto Area, and the repair cost guide prices slab lifting, crack injection and parging line by line.
Frequently asked questions
How much does concrete resurfacing cost in Toronto?
Toronto Concrete Repairs states a concrete overlay typically costs between $7 and $10 per square foot. Artisan Coat publishes it by project instead: $2,500 to $6,000 for a front porch, $4,500 to $12,000 for a standard two-car driveway, and $7,000 to $18,000 for a pool deck.
How much cheaper is resurfacing than replacing?
Artisan Coat states resurfacing costs about 40 to 60 percent less than tearing out and replacing concrete. Working it out from the rates on this page gives 42 to 50 percent less: $7 to $10 per square foot to resurface against $12 to $20 to tear out and repour.
When can concrete be resurfaced?
Artisan Coat's criteria are hairline to medium cracks under a quarter inch wide even if there are several, surface spalling, pitting or flaking from age and freeze-thaw, and concrete that is faded, stained or worn-looking but structurally fine.
When does concrete have to be replaced instead?
When the slab has visibly settled with one section noticeably lower than another, when cracks are wider than half an inch or have vertical displacement, when tree roots have lifted or broken sections, when drainage is sending water under the slab, or when the slab is broken into multiple separated pieces.
Why does a moving slab rule out an overlay?
Because an overlay is bonded to what is underneath it rather than being a slab in its own right. A crack that is still working, or a section that is still settling, comes straight back through the new surface, usually within a season of freeze-thaw. The money spent resurfacing is then lost as well as the original problem.
Does resurfacing cover a stamped or decorative finish?
It can. Project Landscaping puts driveway resurfacing across all materials at $4 to $25 per square foot in Ontario, with plain concrete at $9 to $18, so a decorative overlay sits well above the $7 to $10 a plain overlay costs.
Sources
Every rate and every criterion above was re-read from its source on 2026-08-25. Canadian dollars, before 13 percent HST. Dataset July 2026.
- Toronto Concrete Repairs - Concrete Overlays, Toronto and GTA
- Artisan Coat - How Much Does Concrete Resurfacing Cost in Toronto (2026)
- Artisan Coat - GTA Homeowner's Guide to Concrete Resurfacing (decision criteria)
- Project Landscaping - Cost of Driveway Resurfacing in Ontario
- Nice Guy Concrete - 2026 Concrete Driveway Cost Ontario (tearout and new slab)
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