Concrete Contractor in Redwood City, CA - Driveways and Slabs Built on a Solid Base
Elite Redwood City Concrete is a concrete contractor based in Redwood City. We pour driveways, patios, walls and foundations for homes here, and we're known for getting the ground and the base right first.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Replies within 1 business day.
Redwood City houses and the ground under them
Redwood City is home base for us, and most of our calls come from homeowners here and in the cities around it. A lot of the houses have been standing for decades, and so has the concrete around them. That's why we see so many driveways poured over raked dirt, walks lifted by tree roots and patios that tip toward the back door. Mixed in with them are newer houses, apartment buildings, and shops and offices that need parking, walks and steps.
We see a lot of the same houses next door in San Carlos and North Fair Oaks. On an older lot, what's under the old slab usually decides the job, because a driveway that cracked from settling will settle again unless we dig out the soft ground and pack a real base.
Concrete work we do around Redwood City
Older Redwood City driveways often crack and sink where the base was never packed, so we tear out, dig down to firm ground, build the base and pour.
Backyards here are often small, so a patio has to drain away from the house and fit the space. We set the slope before we set the forms.
For a walk or patio that should look like stone or brick, stamped concrete gives you the pattern in one pour, over a packed base.
Walks lifted by tree roots or settled into a trip edge are common on older lots here. We replace the bad sections and deal with what pushed them up.
Many older Redwood City garages have a cracked or stained slab. We can pour a new one with a slight fall toward the door so water runs out.
Color, a border or a different texture can dress up a driveway or entry. The finish is the fun part, but it sits on the same base work.
On sloped lots here, a concrete wall holds back the soil for a flat yard or drive, with drainage behind it so water doesn't push it over.
Workshops, sheds and home additions need a flat, dry slab inside. We lay a moisture sheet and steel down before the pour, since neither goes in later.
A pool deck has to shed water away from the pool and the house, and give wet feet some grip. We slope it and finish it for both.
Front steps on older houses here tend to settle and pull away from the porch. We rebuild them with even risers and steel tying them to solid footings.
For a new garage, backyard unit or addition on a Redwood City lot, a slab foundation starts with digging out, packing the ground and setting the steel.
When an older house needs a new perimeter foundation, we dig the trenches, set the forms and steel, and pour to the depth the plans call for.
Small lots for shops, offices and apartment buildings take heavier loads than a home driveway, so we build a thicker base and slab and plan the drainage first.
Decks, fences, porches and posts all sit on footings, the concrete feet under them. We dig them to firm ground so the thing on top stays put.
Sticking doors and sloping floors in an older Redwood City house can mean the foundation has settled. We raise it back up and give it firmer support underneath.
A saw cuts a clean trench for a new drain line or a neat edge where old concrete meets new, without cracking the rest of the slab.
Get a free estimate for your Redwood City concrete job
Send the form and I'll get back to you within one business day to set up a visit. I come out, look the job over and write a free estimate on site, with no obligation.
(650) 587-4028- Based in
- Redwood City, CA 94063
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–10 PM
Working in Redwood City: permits, licenses and price
Building permits in Redwood City go through the city's Building Division, which handles applications and inspections, so on a job that needs one, the permit and the inspection dates set part of the schedule. If yours needs a permit, I'll say so at the estimate, and we handle the paperwork and the inspections. The city also requires contractors to get a Redwood City business license before doing any work here, and its Revenue Services office handles those, so it's a fair question to ask any contractor, us included. We're licensed and fully insured.
Price comes down to what has to come out, how deep we dig for the base, how much steel goes in, the finish you choose and how close a concrete truck can get, which matters on tight lots and narrow side yards. Timing turns on the permit, the size of the job and the wait while the concrete cures, and your estimate is where you get your own number. We do the same work up the road in San Mateo and down toward Menlo Park.
Old driveways and slabs here, and why they fail
Most of the concrete we tear out here didn't fail on top. It sat on subgrade, the dirt the slab rests on, that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so when the dirt settled, the slab cracked and sank with it. On older houses that's the usual story, and the fix is the boring part nobody sees once it's poured, digging down to firm ground and building a packed base before any concrete shows up.
Water is the other culprit. A slab that falls toward the house sends rain at the foundation, so before we set forms I check where the water runs and slope the new concrete away.
How a concrete job runs when you call us in Redwood City
Here's how a job goes from your first call to the last walk-through, and who you'll deal with at each step.
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Call us or send the form
Call (650) 587-4028 or use the form, and I'm the one who gets back to you. We pick a time for me to come see the job.
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I come out and look
I walk the job myself, check where water runs and what's under the old concrete, and ask a lot of questions. Then I write up your estimate, so you know the price before anybody picks up a shovel.
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Our crew pours the job
Our own crew digs out, packs the base, sets the steel and pours, and I check the work as it goes. We stay inside the city's weekday construction hours of 7 AM to 8 PM, because contractor work on weekends and holidays needs the city's written approval, requested 30 days before the job starts.
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We walk it with you
When it's done, we walk the finished job with you and go over curing, the wait while concrete gains strength before it can take weight. I'll tell you when it's ready for feet and when it's ready for the car.
Questions about concrete work in Redwood City
Do I need a permit to replace a concrete driveway in Redwood City?
You might, and the Building Division is the place to ask. Redwood City's building FAQ says a permit is required for any work not on the building code's list of exempt work, and the examples it gives, like fences 7 feet and under, painting and flooring, don't include concrete. Don't count on skipping one until you've checked, and I'll give you my read at the estimate.
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Redwood City?
There's no one number, because the price turns on the size, the tear-out, the base work your ground needs and the finish. A plain broom finish, the light texture that gives shoes and tires some grip, costs less than stamped or colored work. If the budget's tight, I'd cut the fancy finish before I'd cut the base, because you can redo a surface but a bad base means redoing the whole slab.
What causes concrete driveways to crack and sink in Redwood City?
Usually it's what's under them, a base that was raked flat instead of dug out and packed, so the slab settled with the dirt. Control joints cut late or skipped, those are the grooves that tell the slab where to crack, and a pour in the midday heat make it worse. We pack the base, add rebar, the steel bars that hold the pieces together, and cut joints on time, because concrete cracks and the trick is choosing where.
How long does a building permit stay valid in Redwood City?
A Redwood City building permit is good for 365 days from the day it's issued. Each passed field inspection extends it another 365 days from that inspection, so a job that keeps moving and passing inspections stays open.
How do I handle a dumpster for a concrete tear-out in Redwood City?
Keep it off the street, because the city's building FAQ says dumpsters, PODs and similar bins can't go on the street at any time. Anything not on wheels stays on your property, like a driveway or yard, and the city's Engineering Permits page covers encroachment and bin permits. On a tear-out the driveway is often the thing coming out, so we plan where the broken concrete goes before we start.
Does old concrete have to be recycled in Redwood City?
On a permitted job, yes, the city's building FAQ says at least 65 percent of construction debris has to be recycled. Proof goes to the Building Department within 90 days of the permit's final inspection. Broken concrete is one of the easier things to recycle, so we haul it to a recycler and keep the paperwork with the rest of the permit file.
Get your Redwood City concrete looked at
A cracked or sinking slab rarely gets better on its own, so call (650) 587-4028 or send the form and I'll come take a look.
Redwood City, CA