Concrete curb & gutter cost calculator

How curb & gutter is priced

Unlike a slab, curb and gutter is measured and billed by the linear foot, because it is a continuous formed profile of constant cross-section. Whether the crew slip-forms it with a machine or hand-forms it, the labor and concrete scale with length, which is why a single per-foot price captures the job so well.

What sits inside the per-foot price

The rate you enter should bundle the forming or slip-form pass, the concrete, finishing and stripping. It varies with the profile — a combined curb-and-gutter section uses more concrete than a plain barrier curb — and with access, radius work and the length of the run. Machine slip-forming a long, straight run is efficient and prices low per foot; short, hand-formed sections with tight radii cost more.

Measuring the run

Walk the length with a wheel or tape and follow every curve; curb rarely runs in a single straight line. If your project mixes straight curb with driveway aprons or transitions, price those separately, because their per-foot rate differs.

Estimating the concrete

If you are pouring the curb yourself rather than hiring a slip-form crew, you will want the concrete volume as well as the cost. Curb and gutter has a constant cross-section, so the volume is simply that cross-sectional area times the run length. A common combined curb-and-gutter profile works out to roughly a third to a half of a cubic foot per linear foot, but yours depends on the exact section, so measure it. Once you have the total cubic feet, the concrete calculator converts it to cubic yards and bags, and the ready-mix vs bags tool tells you whether to order a small ready-mix load or bag it. For a hired slip-form job, the crew carries the yardage risk and the per-foot price is all you need.

Base and drainage

Curb and gutter is only as good as what it sits on. A compacted sub-base and correct grade let the gutter carry water where you want it; skimp on prep and the section cracks or ponds. The per-foot price on a good quote already includes that prep — ask, so you are comparing like with like.

Aprons and transitions

Where a driveway meets the street, the curb steps down into a driveway apron, and at intersections it flattens into an accessible ramp. These transitions are formed and finished differently from straight curb, take more time per foot and are usually quoted as separate line items rather than blended into the straight-run rate. If your project includes them, price the straight curb here and add the aprons and ramps from their own quote, so neither figure is distorted.

Removing old curb first

Replacing failed curb means breaking out and hauling away the old section before the new pour, and that demolition is its own cost. Keep it out of the per-foot pour rate and estimate it separately — the concrete removal / demolition cost calculator handles the break-out and haul-away, and adding it to your new-pour total gives the true remove-and-replace figure.

A planning estimate

This is a planning estimate from your own per-foot number, not a bid. Curb-and-gutter pricing depends on the profile, the machine, access and local labor, so gather itemized written quotes from licensed, insured concrete contractors and use this figure to check them.