Concrete contractor in Shasta Lake, CA - built for hot summers and wet winters

It comes down to your site, so I don't give a number until I've seen it, and then you get it in writing. On a sloped lot or where an old slab has to come out, more of the money goes into the ground, and that's the last place I'd cut. If the budget is tight, a plain broom finish, the light brushed texture that gives shoes and tires some grip, costs less than stamped or colored work and holds up fine on a good base.

Most bad cracks start under the slab, when the base was raked flat instead of dug out and packed, or when water gets under it and the dirt settles. Joints cut late or skipped let cracks run wherever they like, so we cut control joints, shallow grooves that tell the concrete where to crack, while it's still fresh, and we slope the slab away from the house. No one can promise concrete won't crack, but the joints give it a place to do it where you won't mind.

Spring and fall are usually easiest, because summer and winter here both push hard. The weather station at Shasta Dam, about three miles away, averages a July high of 97°F and about 63 inches of precipitation a year. In summer we pour early in the morning, since midday heat dries the top too fast and leaves it weak and dusty later, and in winter we wait for a dry stretch so rain doesn't hit the fresh surface.

You can walk on it well before you can drive on it, and I'll tell you both dates on pour day because heat and cold change how fast it cures. Curing is the slow hardening that keeps going after the surface looks dry, and a car on it too early is how you get cracks and tire marks you can't take back. If you can't do without the driveway, we can talk at the estimate about pouring it in sections.

Yes, whenever the job needs a building permit, uses employees, or costs $1,000 or more in labor and materials, which covers most concrete work. A bigger job can't be split into smaller pieces to get under that line. The state also expects a contractor to be licensed before giving you a bid, so ask at the estimate, not after.

Call the city's inspection request line at (530) 275-7430 with the permit number, the permittee's name, the property address, the type of inspection and the date you need it. Requests made before 7:00 AM are done the same day when the city can fit them in. When we're working through the permit on your job, we handle those calls so the pour stays on track.