Concrete contractor in Citrus, CA - driveways and slabs built on solid ground

Many of the Citrus homes we're called to still have their original driveways, patios and walks, and the trouble usually starts underneath. When a slab was poured on dirt that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, the ground settles over the years and takes the concrete with it, so you end up with a driveway that dips at the garage, cracks that keep widening or a patio that sends water toward the house. Pouring a new top over that same ground only resets the clock. We dig down to firm soil, pack a proper subgrade, which is simply what the slab sits on, and check where the water will run before we set a single form.

Mature trees are the other thing we plan around here, because roots lift walks and break the edges of driveways. I'd much rather tell you at the estimate whether a root needs attention, or whether the slab needs rebar, the steel that holds it together if it does crack, than have it heave the new concrete later.

Where the County is the permitting body for your address, permits start with Los Angeles County Public Works, and its Building and Safety Division takes applications online through its EPIC-LA portal. When I come out, I'll tell you whether I expect your job to need a permit, and if it does, we handle the application and the inspections, so the pour is scheduled around the County's review rather than ahead of it. Before you hire anyone, please ask for their state contractor license and whether a County Business License applies to their work, both of which I explain in the questions below. We're licensed and insured.

The price here moves with how much old concrete has to come out, how deep we have to dig to reach firm ground and the finish you choose, from a plain broom finish, brushed so it isn't slick when wet, to stamped or colored work. If the budget is tight, I'll always suggest keeping the base and choosing the plainer finish, because a fancy surface on poor ground cracks just the same. The schedule turns on the permit if there is one and on curing, the days the concrete needs to harden before you use it, and your written estimate spells out both for your job. We do the same work in San Dimas, Glendora and the other cities around Citrus, so it's a short trip for our crew.

On our jobs in Citrus, we mostly see single-family homes with a driveway up to the garage, a patio out back and a front walk to the door, much like the streets we work in nearby Azusa and Covina. Homeowners here usually call us when a slab has started to sink, crack or hold water, or when they're adding a patio or a room and want it done properly the first time.

Because so many of these homes are older, the job usually begins with breaking out tired concrete and seeing what's underneath, and that ground decides how deep we dig and how the new slab is built.