Concrete Contractor in East Los Angeles - Solid Slabs for Lived-In Homes

LA County Public Works issues building permits for East Los Angeles, since it's an unincorporated part of the county. The department has an East Los Angeles Building and Safety Office, and when you apply, the office tells you whether your project needs a Plan Check, a review of the plans, and what it takes to get it approved. After the permit is issued, the county expects the first inspection and follow-up inspections on its schedule to keep the permit active.

Plan on a permit for a patio, because the county's permit list names patios and retaining walls among its smaller building permit items, along with grading work. The list doesn't name driveways, so the answer for yours comes from the East Los Angeles office, and that's who we check with before we set a date. When a permit's needed, we handle the application, build the review time into the schedule and tell you up front, and work that doesn't need a permit still has to meet the county's building code.

Yes, for nearly any home concrete job, because the state's Contractors State License Board requires a license when a project needs a building permit, uses any additional workers or totals $1,000 or more in labor and materials. A contractor has to be licensed before they even hand you a bid. We're fully licensed and insured.

The price comes down mostly to the size of the slab, how much old concrete has to come out and how much work the ground under it needs. A tight side yard where we wheel concrete in adds labor, and a stamped or decorative finish costs more than a plain broom finish, the light texture that gives shoes and tires some grip. I'll walk your driveway with you and go over each of those before you decide anything.

You'll be walking on a new driveway well before you can park on it, because concrete keeps gaining strength for days while it cures, and a car on it too early can crack the edges. We'll tell you on pour day when it's ready for feet and when it's ready for the car. Before that, the schedule depends on the tear-out and, if one's needed, the county's permit review.

Most sinking starts underneath, when a slab was poured over dirt that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so it settles right along with the dirt. Cracks in odd places usually mean the control joints were cut late or skipped, and a slab pitched toward the house or poured in the heat of the day brings its own trouble with water and a weak, dusty top. Concrete can still crack, but when we dig out the old base, pack a new one, check where the water runs and cut joints on time, your new slab has a far better shot at staying flat than the old one did.