Solid concrete to drive, walk and build on in Anaheim, CA

It depends on the size, how much old concrete and dirt has to come out, how thick the slab needs to be and the finish you pick. Access matters too, because a narrow side yard adds labor. I give you a clear price for your driveway at a free estimate at your property.

Spend it on the base, because it's the one part you can't fix later without tearing the slab out. The subgrade, the packed ground the slab sits on, is hidden on day one, so it's the first thing people want to cut. A plain slab on a good base usually holds up better than a fancy one on raked dirt, and I'll tell you where to trim if the budget's tight.

You can usually walk on it well before you can drive on it, because concrete keeps gaining strength for days after the pour. That wait is called curing, and putting a car on it too soon is how edges chip and slabs crack early. I'll tell you the wait for your job when we pour, based on the mix and the weather.

Yes, for most concrete jobs a contractor needs a state license. The California Contractors State License Board licenses anyone who builds or alters a structure, and a license applies when the job needs a building permit, uses extra workers or costs $1,000 or more in labor and materials. We're licensed and insured.

Often, yes, since the city says most improvements need a permit before construction starts, and only cosmetic work goes without one. Check your own project with the city's Building Division, which handles plan review and inspections. If yours needs a permit, we pull it and handle the paperwork, and if plans have to come from an architect or engineer, we tell you early and build to them.

Yes, our promise is your satisfaction, guaranteed. I'd rather be straight with you up front about what concrete does and doesn't do than promise something the material can't deliver, so you know what to expect before we pour.

Concrete can still crack, but a solid base and well-placed joints keep cracks small and where we want them. We cut control joints, grooves that give the slab a planned place to crack, on time instead of days late, and set steel where the job calls for it. Most bad cracking we tear out started with a base that was raked level instead of dug out and packed.

Most of the year works here, because Anaheim gets most of its rain in December, January and February and very little in summer. Winter just means watching the forecast so rain doesn't mark a fresh surface. In summer heat we'd rather pour early in the day, since a midday pour can leave a weak, dusty top.