Concrete contractor in Buena Park, CA - slabs that fit the home around them

Structural work in Buena Park needs a building permit from the city, with a few minor exceptions, so foundation and footing work generally falls under it. The city's list doesn't spell out driveways or patios, so before we set a date I check with the Building Division at City Hall, where minor permits are usually issued over the counter. When one's needed, we handle the application, build the review time into the schedule and tell you up front. Work has to start within 180 days of the permit or it lapses, and anything the inspector needs to see stays uncovered until it's approved, so we plan the pour around that visit.

In Buena Park, any block wall 4 feet or taller needs a building permit, and so does a shorter retaining wall that holds back an added load, such as a driveway or a slope above it. The city measures a retaining wall from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, which surprises people, and its Planning Division reviews fence and wall plans as well. We work out which rule fits your wall before anyone digs.

Yes, the city requires a Buena Park business license from anyone doing business here, contractors included. The city's application form lists the contractor rate as $64.00 plus $4.00 for each additional person on the job, and you can check current rates with the city. To get a permit, a contractor also has to be properly licensed and, with employees, show proof of workers' comp insurance, and we're fully licensed and insured.

Your price comes down to the size and thickness of the slab, how much old concrete has to come out and how much base work the ground underneath needs, so I give you a number after I've seen it. A stamped or colored finish, or a side yard the truck can't reach, pushes it up, while a plain broom finish, the light texture that keeps shoes and tires from slipping, keeps it down. Call or use the form and I'll come out to measure.

You can usually walk on new concrete within a few days, but cars have to wait longer, because curing, the slow hardening after the pour, keeps building strength well after the top looks dry. I give you the dates for your slab on pour day and we block off the driveway so nobody forgets, and if it's your only driveway we work out where the car stays in the meantime.

Look up your address on the city's liquefaction zone map, which shows the zones in and around Buena Park using California Geological Survey data. Liquefaction is ground losing its strength during an earthquake, so it matters for foundations, footings and other ground work. When we're planning that kind of job, I pull the map up with you before we settle the plan.