Cement vs Concrete: What Is the Difference?
Cement is an ingredient. Concrete is what you get when that cement is mixed with water, sand and gravel or crushed stone, and the American Cement Association puts cement at typically 10 to 15 percent of the mix by volume. So a "cement driveway" is a concrete driveway, one where the cement is the smaller part.
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Cement is an ingredient. Concrete is what you get when that cement is mixed with water, sand and gravel or crushed stone, and the American Cement Association puts cement at typically 10 to 15 percent of the mix by volume. So a "cement driveway" is a concrete driveway, one where the cement is the smaller part.
By the crew at Ace Concrete Construction, Taylors, SC
Lots of people in the Greenville area search for a "cement driveway" or a "cement patio," and any concrete contractor knows what they mean. The difference is still worth five minutes, mostly because it explains why a new slab needs time before you park on it.
What is cement?
Cement is a fine gray powder, and the kind used in concrete is portland cement. Per the American Cement Association, it starts as limestone, clay and sand pulled from a quarry, which get ground, blended and run through a kiln where a flame takes the material to about 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit. What comes out is called clinker. A ball mill grinds the clinker with gypsum into the finished powder, about 150 billion grains per pound by their count.
Mixed with water it turns into a paste, and the paste is what sets.
What goes into concrete?
Cement, water, sand and stone. The cement and water make a paste that coats every piece of sand and stone, and once it hardens the whole thing is one solid mass. Sand and stone take up most of the volume, which is the reason the mix you get delivered is mostly rock. The ACA calls portland cement the basic ingredient of concrete, and a driveway and a commercial pad start from that same short list, in different amounts and thicknesses.
Exposed aggregate shows you the inside of that mix. The paste on the surface is taken off before it sets, so the stone sits right at the top, like the driveway in this photo from one of our jobs. Stamped and colored finishes are a different route to a decorative surface, and our decorative concrete page shows the ones we pour.
Why people say cement driveway
Mostly habit, and nobody on a job site is going to correct you. When you collect quotes you're pricing concrete either way, and what separates one quote from another is usually the base under the slab and how it's reinforced. For what it's worth, our crews are all in-house.
Where the steel goes
Rebar isn't part of the mix. It goes into the forms before the truck shows up, set on supports so the concrete flows around it and the steel ends up inside the slab instead of lying on the dirt under it.
Whether a particular slab calls for steel, and how much, depends on the job, so ask about it when you get a quote. Our concrete slab page covers the slabs we pour for garages, shops and buildings.
How does concrete harden?
Concrete hardens because the cement reacts with the water, a chemical reaction, and not because the water evaporates. The ACA's wording is that as the cement reacts with the water it binds the aggregates into a rock-like mass. The same source says concrete keeps gaining strength over time, with most of it developing in the first few weeks after placement.
A slab that looks hard the next morning is still gaining strength for weeks, so the crew will tell you when it's ready to walk on and when it can take a car. Pour-day weather matters for the same reason, and we wrote about why fall is a good window to pour in the Upstate. If you're still choosing a surface, our guide to concrete vs asphalt driveways is the next read.
Questions Upstate homeowners ask
Is a cement driveway in Greenville the same thing as a concrete driveway?
Yes. What gets called a cement driveway is a concrete driveway. Cement is one ingredient, typically 10 to 15 percent of the mix by volume according to the American Cement Association, and water, sand and stone make up the rest.
Why can't I drive on a new concrete driveway in the Upstate right away?
Concrete gets its strength from the cement reacting with the water, and most of that strength develops over the first few weeks after the pour. Your contractor should tell you when the slab is ready for foot traffic and when it's ready for a vehicle.
Is an exposed aggregate driveway in the Upstate still concrete?
Yes. It's ordinary concrete where the paste on the surface is removed before it sets, so the sand and stone that were inside the mix show on top instead of a smooth or broomed finish.
If you're planning a new driveway, our concrete driveway page has the details, and you can request a free estimate from there.
What do jobs like these look like when we pour them?
These are garage and building slabs our crews poured.
Pouring garage and building slabs in Greenville and the Upstate, on video
A building slab from forms to finish: perimeter set, reinforcement placed, concrete placed and screeded, then floated and finished flat.
Concrete reviews from Greenville and the Upstate
Ace concrete was excellent. They did a wonderful job. Very great experience with the workers and was very surprised that the owner showed up at the job and he actually did smoothing of…Google review
Ace installed a small patio on a sloping area requiring a poured concrete wall on one side. They removed the existing patio block structure and installed the concrete patio in one day. The results were fantastic…Google review
Ace knocked it out the park for me on a large concrete driveway pour in Taylors, SC. From the initial estimate with Jason to the onsite coordination with Tyler, Ace was extremely…Google review
Great job, the pad for our generator is perfect I highly recommendGoogle review
I needed a 24' x 40' concrete floor for a metal building. After getting several quotes I decided to go with Ace Concrete Construction. I had met with Will Murphy and immediately felt like…Google review
Great work team was finished in a day and all the areas look great.Google review
Concrete guides for Greenville and Upstate homeowners
More guides from our crew on concrete work in Greenville and the Upstate.
Cracked, Lifted, or Crumbling: When to Repair a Concrete Sidewalk in Greenville and When to Replace It
Cracked, lifted, or crumbling concrete walkway or steps in Greenville? How to tell a repair from a replacement, why Upstate walks fail early, and the honest fix. Free estimates.
September 9, 2026Old Garage Floor Cracking or Flaking? When to Replace a Garage Slab in Greenville
Is your old garage floor cracking, flaking, or settling? How to tell a resurface from a full garage slab replacement in Greenville, why they fail, and what a proper pour includes. Free estimates.
September 8, 2026Freeze-Thaw in the Upstate: What January and February Do to Concrete That Was Poured Wrong
How Upstate SC freeze-thaw cracks and spalls concrete each winter, why a badly poured slab fails first, and what protects a driveway or patio. Free estimates.
Licensed concrete contractor in Greenville: who we are
Concrete service areas around Greenville
We work from our shop at 4706 Locust Hill Rd in Taylors, SC across Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson and Laurens counties, and from an office in Asheville, NC.
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