Concrete contractor in Carpinteria, CA - slabs that drain right and stay flat

Usually not, if the new driveway goes in the same spot at the same size, which an older city brochure lists among work that needs no building permit. If you're widening it or otherwise changing how much is paved, you may need a permit from the city's Community Development Department, which handles permits for addresses inside the city limits. We check with the office that covers your address before we start, and when your job needs a permit we handle the application and set up the inspections.

A retaining wall four feet or shorter, measured from the bottom of its footing to the top of the wall, is on an older city brochure's list of work that needs no building permit. That changes if the wall carries a surcharge, extra load like a driveway or a slope above it, or holds back certain liquids. Since the brochure is older, your own wall is worth checking with the city's Building and Safety staff, and we do that check as part of the job.

A contractor needs a California license from the Contractors State License Board when the job needs a building permit, uses any extra workers, or costs $1,000 or more in labor and materials. A larger job can't be broken into smaller pieces to get under that $1,000 line. As a general rule, the city also requires a business license for business done inside the city limits, and every city license expires on June 30 each year. We're licensed and fully insured.

I can't give you a fair number until I've seen it, because the price comes down to the size, how much old concrete has to be broken out and hauled away, and how much digging and packing the ground needs. The finish matters too, since a broom finish, the light texture that gives tires and shoes grip, costs less than stamped or colored work. If the budget's tight, I'd keep the base and go plain on top, because the base is buried the day we pour and it's the part you can't redo later.

Usually several days, longer than you'll stay off it on foot, because the slab keeps curing and gaining strength well after it looks dry. Driving on it early can crack the edges or leave marks, so I'll go over the wait for your slab before the pour and you can plan where to park in the meantime.

Concrete shrinks as it dries, so some cracking is normal, and the real goal is to control where it happens. We cut control joints, shallow grooves across the slab, early enough that the crack follows the groove instead of wandering across the middle. Most of the cracks that look bad come from a base that settled on swelling ground like we covered above, or from a pour in midday heat, which can leave a weak, dusty top, so we plan pours for the cooler part of the day.