Concrete contractor in Eastern Goleta Valley - slabs that drain and stay flat

Santa Barbara County issues them, because Eastern Goleta Valley is unincorporated and falls under the county, not a city. County Planning & Development issues permits for work that builds, alters, enlarges or rebuilds a structure, and its permitting office takes questions on which permit a project needs. We check with the county for your address, and when your job needs a permit we handle the application and set up the inspections.

A retaining wall up to 4 feet tall, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, is on the county's undated list of work that needs no building permit. That only holds if the wall isn't carrying extra load, like a driveway or slope above it, and isn't holding back stored liquids. A taller wall or one carrying that load falls outside the exemption, and other county permits can still apply, so I confirm with the county before we dig.

California's Contractors State License Board says a license applies when a project needs a building permit, uses employee labor, or its contracts total $1,000 or more in labor and materials. A larger job can't be broken into smaller contracts to stay under that line. We're licensed and fully insured.

It's priced from your lot, so I give you a number after I've walked it instead of quoting a rate over the phone. The biggest swings come from tearing out the old slab, how much digging and packed base the ground needs, the size and thickness, and any wall or steps a slope calls for. A stamped or colored surface costs more than a plain broom finish, the light brushed texture that gives shoes and tires grip. On a big job, the county's older permit form says a Stormwater Control Plan goes in with the application once new or replaced hard surface tops 2,500 square feet, which adds planning.

The pour is usually the quick part. What keeps you off the driveway is the curing we talked about above, plus any permit and inspection the county needs before we start. You can walk on a new slab well before you can drive on it, and I'll tell you when each is safe for your job, since the thickness and that week's conditions both play into it.

Old slabs usually crack because the base was raked level instead of dug out and packed, water got underneath, or the joints were cut late or skipped. Some hairline cracking is normal because concrete shrinks as it hardens, so we cut control joints, shallow grooves that give those cracks a planned line to follow. We also pour early in the day so the top doesn't dry too fast and turn weak and dusty. I won't promise a slab that never cracks, but a good base and well-placed joints do most of the work of keeping it flat.