Concrete Contractor in Costa Mesa - Driveways and Patios Built on Solid Ground
AJ Anaheim Concrete Contractors pours driveways, patios, walks and footings for Costa Mesa homeowners and small property owners. We're a concrete contractor based in Anaheim, CA, and we dig out and pack the ground before any concrete goes down.
Concrete work for Costa Mesa homes
Costa Mesa is a short drive south of us in Anaheim, and most of the calls we get there are about driveways and patios on older single-story houses where the concrete has cracked, lifted over a tree root or dropped near the garage. There's also a good share of small rentals, apartment buildings and shops, and those owners usually want a walk, a lot or a set of steps replaced without shutting the place down for long. We do the same work next door in Irvine and Santa Ana, so Costa Mesa jobs fit right into our week.
On these older lots, the ground under the old slab usually decides the job. A lot of that concrete went down on dirt that was raked flat and never packed, so before anything new goes in, we dig out to firm soil and pack a proper base.
What we pour in Costa Mesa
Concrete driveway building
Most driveway calls here are tear-outs of cracked, uneven slabs on older houses, and we replace the base under them, not just the top.
Concrete patio construction
Backyards here are often compact, so we plan the patio's slope away from the house first and size it to fit the yard you actually have.
Stamped concrete services
Stamped concrete gives a plain backyard slab the look of stone or brick. We press the pattern while it's still workable, so timing on pour day matters.
Concrete sidewalk building
When a front walk has lifted at a joint and someone keeps catching a toe on it, we cut out the bad sections and pour new ones level.
Garage floor concrete
Garage floors on older houses here are often cracked or sloped wrong, so we break out the old slab and pour one that drains toward the door.
Decorative concrete
For a front entry or a courtyard people see from the street, we add color, exposed stone or a sanded finish to plain concrete.
Concrete retaining walls
Where a yard steps up to the neighbor's lot, a concrete wall holds the dirt back. We build to an engineer's plans when the job needs them.
Concrete floor installation
Room additions, workshops and converted garages need an interior floor that's flat and dry, so we lay a vapor barrier and pack the base before pouring.
Concrete pool decks
Pool decks around older backyard pools tend to crack and lift along the pool's edge. We give the new deck a textured surface so wet feet keep their grip.
Concrete steps construction
Front steps on older houses here often settle away from the porch and leave a gap, so we form and pour new ones as one solid piece.
Slab foundation building
For an addition or a backyard unit, the slab carries the walls, so we build to the engineer's plans and check the forms before we pour.
Foundation installation
Small property owners in Costa Mesa call us for foundations under garages, rentals and additions. We dig, set the steel and pour to the plans you bring us.
Concrete parking lot building
For a small apartment building or a shop with a few spaces, we replace the worn-out lot in sections so tenants and customers still have somewhere to park.
Concrete footings
Patio covers and block walls here sit on footings, the buried concrete that carries them, and we dig those to the size the plans call for.
Foundation raising
On an older house here, a sticking door or a crack running up from a corner can mean part of it settled, so I check what's underneath first.
Concrete cutting
On Costa Mesa remodels we saw-cut openings for drains, plumbing and doorways, and cut damaged driveway sections so new concrete meets old along a straight line.
Ask about your driveway or patio
Call (657) 347-3028 or send the form, and I'll come out, look at the ground and tell you what the job needs.
Why Costa Mesa homeowners call us
I'm the one who comes out, looks at your job and gives you the price, and I'm on the crew when we build and pour, so nothing gets lost between the estimate and the work.
A straight answer fast
If your old slab can be saved or the job isn't worth doing, I'll tell you that at the estimate.
Licensed and insured
We're licensed and insured, and I'm glad to show you both before you sign anything.
Forms checked before the pour
I check the forms for height and slope before the truck comes, because once concrete's in, there's no moving them.
Joints cut on time
We cut control joints, shallow grooves that tell the slab where to crack, early enough that a crack follows the line.
Pours timed for the heat
On hot days we pour early, because concrete finished in midday heat can end up weak and dusty on top.
Costa Mesa concrete questions
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Costa Mesa?
Your price comes from the size of the slab, how much old concrete has to come out, how much base work the ground needs and how close the truck can get, and I give it to you after I walk and measure the job. Extra thickness, rebar, the steel bars that help hold a slab together, and finishes like stamping or color add to it, while a plain broom finish, the light texture that keeps it from getting slick, keeps it down. If the budget's tight, cut the finish before the base, because a bad base can't be fixed later without tearing everything out.
Do I need a permit for a concrete driveway or patio in Costa Mesa?
The city's Building Safety Division decides which jobs need a building permit, so ask them before you pour, and if yours needs one, we pull it and handle the paperwork with their office. Costa Mesa takes permit applications and plans online through its TESSA system and won't accept paper forms, and its quick Insta-Permits cover jobs like re-roofs, water heaters and re-pipes, not concrete. When a job needs plans from an engineer, like some retaining walls, we tell you early and build to them.
Does my concrete job in Costa Mesa need a licensed contractor?
California's Contractors State License Board requires a license when the job needs a building permit, uses hired workers, or the labor and materials come to $1,000 or more, on one contract or several. The board doesn't let a bigger job be split into smaller contracts to get under that line, and a contractor is supposed to hold the license before bidding at all.
What happens if a contractor works without a license in California?
A first offense is usually a misdemeanor that can bring up to six months in jail, a $500 fine or both, and the state can add an administrative fine of $200 to $15,000. Those penalties land on the contractor, but you're the one left with the work, so ask for the license before you sign, ours included.
How long does a new concrete driveway take before I can drive on it?
You'll wait longer to drive on it than to walk on it, because curing, the time concrete needs to harden after the pour, has to go further before it can carry a car. The schedule also moves with the tear-out, the base work and the weather on pour day, and I'll tell you how long to stay off your slab before we pour.
What causes concrete driveways and patios in Costa Mesa to crack and sink?
Most cracking and sinking starts in the subgrade, the soil the slab sits on, when it was raked level instead of dug out and packed. Water finishes the job when a slab falls toward the house or has nowhere to drain, so I check where the water runs before we set forms. New concrete still cracks a little as it dries, which is why the control joints we cut matter.
Not on the list? Call us anyway
Pick another city below for its own page, or call (657) 347-3028 if yours isn't listed, because we work across Anaheim and the cities around it.
Get a quote from AJ Anaheim Concrete Contractors
Call (657) 347-3028 or use the form, and email photos of the cracks or low spots to estimates@concreteanaheimca.com so I know what I'm walking into.