My Barrhaven walkway cracked across the middle; repair or replace?

A single crack across the middle of a walkway can go either way, and a contractor needs to see it in person before that call is made. What matters is the width and depth of the crack, whether the two sections are still level with each other or one has risen or dropped, and whether the slab shows other signs of distress such as scaling or multiple cracks nearby.

If the sections are still flush and the crack is narrow, a repair may be a reasonable option. If one section has heaved or settled relative to the other, or if the slab is scaling or showing additional cracking, replacement is worth considering. The National Research Council's Canadian Building Digest 116 notes that surface scaling is most severe on horizontal surfaces subjected to both freeze-thaw cycling and de-icing salts, and Canadian Building Digest 182 notes that clays, silts and very fine sands support frost heave while coarse-grained soils do not. Those are possibilities to have a contractor look at, not a diagnosis.

On the rules side, a few things apply regardless of which direction you go. The City of Ottawa's Hardscaping Contractor Licence has been required since March 1, 2026 for any business that installs or alters concrete walkways on private property. The Licensing By-law also excludes "minor repairs or minor alterations", which it does not define, so ask the City whether your job counts. The City's March 2026 news release says to ask to see a copy of the licence and to check the City's published list of licensed contractors. The City requires licensed contractors to carry commercial general liability insurance of not less than $2,000,000 and automobile liability of not less than $2,000,000, and to provide a written contract. Ottawa Concrete Pros does not check or verify anyone's licence or insurance; that check is yours to make.

If the walkway crosses into the City right of way, the Access By-law 2026-139 (enacted April 8, 2026) applies. Section 20(3) exempts resurfacing from a permit provided there are no changes to the location or dimensions of the access or the site grading. A residential pedestrian access that meets the width and clearance conditions in section 18 of that by-law can be built without a permit. If the work involves any digging, whoever digs is the excavator under the Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act, 2012, and a locate request must go through Ontario Dig Authority before any ground is broken.

For a quote, ask the contractor to put in writing: the concrete compressive strength (the 2024 Ontario Building Code sets 32 MPa as the standard for exterior flatwork), the base preparation, what happens to the old material, and whether cold-weather protection is included if the pour falls when the air temperature is below 5 °C. The City's Trail Waste Facility accepts clean concrete without rebar as fill at $144 per tonne above 250 kg, with a $36 minimum, so ask whether disposal is included in the price or quoted separately.

We found no published Ottawa price for crack repair or partial walkway replacement on its own. For a full replacement, plain broom-finish concrete runs about $9 to $15 per square foot, and small jobs often hit a minimum charge of about $5,500, according to Ottawa price pages.

The most useful question to put to a contractor before signing: ask them to show you, in writing, exactly what base work they plan to do and why, given the condition of the ground under the slab.