Concrete Contractor in San Mateo, CA - Driveways and Patios Built on a Solid Base
Elite Redwood City Concrete is a concrete contractor based in Redwood City, CA, pouring driveways, patios, walkways, retaining walls and foundations for homes in San Mateo, from hillside streets to the flat blocks near the bay.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Replies within 1 business day.
San Mateo homes and the ground under them
San Mateo is a short drive up the Peninsula from us, and it's a city of neighborhoods more than one big subdivision. Near downtown and on the older blocks you get bungalows and mid-century houses with narrow driveways, worn front walks and steps that have shifted over the years. West of the freeway the streets climb, and the driveways get short and steep. Toward the bay the lots flatten out, the houses tend to run newer, and the calls lean toward wider driveways and backyard patios. It's much the same mix we pour in Belmont and San Carlos next door.
That mix decides how the job goes. On the hills, the work is about holding the slab and the yard against the slope and getting water off before it reaches the garage. On the flat lots toward the bay, water doesn't run off on its own, so the slope has to be built into the slab.
Concrete work we do on San Mateo properties
Narrow driveways on older lots and steep ones on the hills both crack when the base is weak, so we dig out, pack fresh base and pour new.
A backyard patio here usually replaces worn pavers or a cracked slab, and we slope it away from the house so rain doesn't pool by the door.
Stamped concrete gives a front walk or patio the look of stone or brick, which suits the older houses here without the loose pavers that heave and shift.
Front walks here get lifted by tree roots. We tear out the trip hazards and pour a level path with a broom finish that grips when wet.
Older garages here often have a cracked, stained floor that's dropped near the door. We break it out, fix the base under it and pour a new slab.
Colored concrete, or a finish that shows the stone in the mix, lets the entry of an older San Mateo house look like it belongs there.
Hillside yards here often need a wall to hold back a slope. We build them with steel inside and a drain behind, so water doesn't push them over.
Additions, workshops and converted garages need a floor that stays flat and dry, so we get the base, vapor barrier and steel right before any concrete shows up.
Older pool decks here crack and lift. We pour new ones with a finish that grips wet feet and a slope that sends water away from the pool.
Hillside houses and raised older homes here have front steps that tip or crumble. We rebuild them with even step heights, steel inside and a firm footing.
Additions, garages and backyard units on flat lots near the bay usually sit on a slab foundation. We dig, compact and place steel to the plans, then pour.
Sloped lots and larger additions need a foundation built to the engineer's plans. We dig, form, set the steel and pour to match.
Apartment buildings, offices and shops here need lots that drain and carry daily traffic, so we build them on a deeper base with steel where cars turn.
Decks, walls, posts and additions all rest on footings, the concrete under the load. On sloped San Mateo lots, we dig them deep enough to reach firm ground.
Older houses here can settle unevenly, which shows up as sticking doors and cracks over windows. We find out why it moved, then lift and support it.
Remodels here often mean cutting a doorway, a trench for new pipe or a section of old driveway. We saw clean lines so what stays isn't cracked.
Get a free on-site concrete estimate in San Mateo
Send the form and you'll hear back from me within one business day. I'll come out, look the job over and write up a free estimate, with no obligation to go ahead.
(650) 587-4028- Based in
- Redwood City, CA 94063
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–10 PM
What San Mateo's rules and streets mean for your job
Building permits here come from the city's Building Inspection Division, which requires one to build, alter, repair or tear down a structure, houses and garages included. If your job needs one, I'll say so at the estimate and we handle the paperwork and inspections, and since the permit comes before the pour, it sets the start date. Before you hire anyone, ask to see their California contractor's license, and ask whether they've paid San Mateo's annual business tax, sometimes called a business license, which the city requires before any work starts here.
From there, the price turns on the size and thickness of the slab, how much old concrete comes out, how much base the ground needs and how the concrete gets to the forms, which on a steep drive or a narrow, parked-up street can mean pumping it or wheeling it in. On permitted work, the green building rules the city enforces call for a waste form before the permit is issued and want most of the tear-out recycled, so where the old slab goes is part of the job. The schedule turns on the permit, dry weather and curing, the days new concrete needs before you can use it, and the estimate I write up after seeing your job gives you your own number. It's the same crew and the same way of working we take down to Sunnyvale.
Settled slabs and sloped lots across San Mateo
Much of the concrete on San Mateo's older streets went in decades ago over dirt that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so it settled with the ground, and that's where the sinking driveway, the walk that tips toward the house and the puddle by the garage come from. Tree roots finish the job on a lot of front walks. When we replace it, we dig down to firm soil, build and pack a new subgrade, the layer the slab sits on, and slope the surface so water runs away from the house, not toward it.
Sloped lots raise the stakes for walls and foundations. The city's building codes assume the ground carries a set maximum load, and a design that needs more than that requires a soils report, so on that kind of work we build to the engineer's plans. That's a design number for plans, not a test of your yard.
How a concrete job runs when you call us in San Mateo
From your first call to the last walk-through, here's what happens and what you need to do, which isn't much.
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Call or send the form
Call (650) 587-4028 or send the form with a few lines about the job, and you'll hear back from me to set a time to come out.
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I look the job over
I come out myself, check the old slab, where the water runs and how a truck gets in, ask a lot of questions and write up an estimate so you know the cost before anything starts. If your job needs a permit, we get it before the pour, and the city says simple alteration projects can often be approved while you wait.
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Our crew does the work
Our own crew digs out, packs the base, sets the forms and steel, then pours and finishes, and I check the work as it goes. You don't need to be home, but keep people, pets and cars off the fresh concrete until we say it's ready.
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We walk it with you
When it's done, we walk the job with you and tell you when it's ready to walk on and when it's ready to drive on. The work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
Questions about concrete work in San Mateo
Does a new concrete driveway or patio need a permit in San Mateo?
Check before you assume either way, because the city requires a building permit to build, alter or repair a structure. Its list of work that needs no permit covers things like painting, low fences and small sheds. If yours does need one, that's ours to handle, as covered above.
Who do I call at the City of San Mateo with a permit question?
Call a permit technician at (650) 522-7172, the number the city's building permits page gives for questions about a particular project. You can also just ask me at the estimate, since sorting out the permit is part of my visit.
Does a concrete contractor need a California license to work in San Mateo?
Yes, for almost any driveway or patio, because the state requires a license when a job needs a building permit, uses any extra workers, or totals $1,000 or more in labor and materials. The state licensing board issues those licenses. We're licensed and fully insured.
How much does a concrete driveway cost in San Mateo?
The cost is set mostly by the driveway's size, the finish you pick and how much digging and base the ground needs, so the number comes from seeing yours. Stamped or colored concrete costs more than a plain broom finish, and a sloped or soft lot takes more base. If the budget's tight, cut the finish, not the base, because the base is buried on day one and it's the part that decides whether the slab sinks later.
How long before I can drive on a new concrete driveway in San Mateo?
Usually a few days before you walk on it and a good while longer before you park on it, because concrete keeps gaining strength well after it looks hard. Cool, damp weather slows it down, so we'll give you the dates for your pour when we finish, and you'll want to plan on street parking until then.
How do I keep a new concrete driveway from cracking like the old one?
You can't stop concrete from cracking, but you can decide where it cracks and keep the pieces from moving. We cut control joints, straight grooves that give the slab a clean line to crack along, and put in rebar, the steel bars that hold it together if a crack opens. We also pour early in the day, not in midday heat, so the top doesn't come out weak and dusty.
Tell us about your San Mateo concrete job
Call (650) 587-4028 or send the form, and I'll tell you straight whether the old slab really needs replacing, because I'd rather tell you no than sell you concrete you don't need.
Redwood City, CA