Concrete Contractor in Irvine - Flat, Well-Drained Slabs for Tract Homes

Most construction and repair work the code covers needs a permit from the City of Irvine's Community Development Department, so call them at (949) 724-6313 before you assume a slab is exempt. Even work on the city's list of exceptions still has to meet the building codes and the city, county and state rules, and a patio cover over the new slab needs a permit no matter its size. When your job needs a permit, we pull it and handle the inspections, and if I'm not sure at the estimate, I'll check with the city.

A retaining wall no taller than 4 feet, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, doesn't need a building permit in Irvine unless it's holding up extra load above it, such as a sloped yard, a driveway or a building. That height counts the footing buried in the ground, so a wall that looks about 3 feet tall can be over the line. I measure it out with you, and we pull the permit when the wall needs one.

Yes, for almost any driveway or patio, because the Contractors State License Board requires a license whenever the job needs a building permit, uses employee labor or comes to $1,000 or more in labor and materials. The state also caps the down payment on a home improvement job at $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less, and the city requires every business working in Irvine to hold a city business license. We're licensed and fully insured, and it's fair to ask every bidder about both licenses.

Your price comes from the size of the slab, how much old concrete we break out and haul away, how much base work it needs and the finish you choose, and the written estimate puts a figure on each of those. Access matters too, because a driveway we can reach from the street is easier to pour than a backyard patio we have to pump or wheel concrete to through a side yard. If the budget's tight, cut the decorative finish before the base, because a plain slab on a well-packed base usually holds up longer than a fancy one that settles.

Start with the base, because the cracked driveways we break out usually sat on dirt that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so the slab settled with it. Concrete also shrinks as it hardens, so we cut the control joints on time, add rebar, steel that holds the slab together, where the slab needs it, and slope it so water runs off instead of soaking underneath. No slab is crack-proof, but one built this way usually keeps its cracks in the joints and stays flat.

You can walk on it well before you can drive on it, because concrete keeps curing, slowly gaining strength, for days after the pour, and a car on a young slab can crack it. The wait depends on the mix and the thickness, so I give you the days for your slab at the walk-through. Plan to park on the street until then.