Concrete contractor in Goleta, CA - driveways and patios that drain right and stay flat

The City of Goleta's Building and Safety Division handles building permits for addresses inside city limits. Whether your project needs one depends on the work, so we check with the office that covers your address. When a permit is needed, we handle the application and set up the inspections.

Yes, the city lists sidewalk, curb, gutter and driveway apron repair among the work in the public right of way that needs an encroachment permit from Public Works before it starts. Trimming or removing a tree in the parkway strip needs one too, and if a job means digging into the street itself, the city limits excavation on streets in very good shape or recently repaved. We sort this out at the estimate, and when a permit is needed we handle the application.

It does if the dumpster or roll-off box sits in the street or another part of the public right of way, and the encroachment permit has to be issued before it's delivered. Some haulers get that permit themselves and some ask you to apply, so check with the hauler. A big load of dirt or broken concrete hauled within city limits also takes a separate haul permit.

A Goleta driveway is priced from what I find at the house, mainly its size, how much old concrete has to be broken out and hauled off, how much digging and base work the ground needs, and the finish. A broom finish, the light texture dragged across the top for grip, costs less than stamped or colored concrete. If the budget is tight, I'd cut the finish before the base, because the base is buried on day one and you can't fix it later without tearing the slab out.

Ask for a California contractor license, since the Contractors State License Board licenses construction work statewide, and a City of Goleta business license, which every contractor working inside city limits has to get from the city's Finance Department. The board also says a contractor can't ask for or take a down payment over $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less, on any home improvement job. We're licensed and fully insured, and you're welcome to ask us for both.

You can usually walk on a new slab within a few days, but driving waits longer, because concrete keeps gaining strength through curing well after the top looks dry. We go over the wait for your slab before the pour so you can plan where to park in the meantime. Parking on it early is the quickest way to break an edge.