Concrete Contractor in Santa Clara - Driveways and Patios Built on a Solid Base
Benchmark Sunnyvale Concrete Company is a concrete contractor building driveways, patios, walks, garage floors, footings and slabs for homeowners in Santa Clara, CA. Our own crew does the work, and I come out to every job myself.
Santa Clara as we see it on our jobs
Santa Clara sits right beside Sunnyvale, where we're based, and the calls we get here usually come from its single-family streets. Those streets are lined with ranch houses and two-story homes from the postwar decades on flat lots, each with a driveway running straight out to the street. Mixed in among them are newer homes on rebuilt lots, apartment buildings and a good deal of office and campus space, so the city is busier than its quiet residential blocks suggest.
On houses this age, the original concrete has usually been down for decades, and the driveway or patio has often settled at the edges or cracked where the ground underneath moved. That's why most of our work here starts below the old slab, not on top of it.
Permits, licenses and what sets the price in Santa Clara
Building permits in Santa Clara come from the city's building division, which issues them through its Permit Center. A job that needs one can't start until it's issued, so on those jobs the city's timing sets our start date. When a job needs a permit, we handle the application and the inspections and keep you informed, and if it isn't clear whether yours does, I check with the permit office before we start. Two things are worth asking any contractor you hire here about. One is a California contractor license from the state licensing board, and the other is a Santa Clara business license, which the city requires even of businesses based outside its limits, like ours. We're licensed and insured, and I'm glad to answer both questions before you sign anything.
The price of a job here turns mostly on how large and thick the slab is, how much old concrete we break out and haul away, and how deep we have to dig out and pack the base. It also depends on whether the slab needs rebar, the steel bars that hold it together if it cracks, and on the finish you choose. If a bin for the old concrete has to sit in the street because your driveway is torn out, the city issues a minor encroachment permit for that, and I plan for it at the estimate. The schedule depends on the permit if there is one, on the weather, and on curing, the days fresh concrete needs to gain strength before you can walk on it and the longer wait before you can drive on it. Your written estimate gives the scope and price for your own job. We plan the same way on jobs in Palo Alto and the other cities around us, but each city has its own offices and rules, so we settle Santa Clara's before we pour.
What Santa Clara's ground and older homes mean for your concrete
Water is the first thing I look at on a Santa Clara lot. The city says less than 10% of Santa Clara lies in the mapped flood zone, but it also says many properties inside or outside that zone can still flood, because 35% of the city is protected by levees. On flat ground like this, a driveway or patio that tips even slightly toward the house sends rain toward the foundation, and a slab with nowhere to drain holds puddles that work into its joints. So before we set forms, we check where the water runs off your lot and slope the new concrete away from the house, toward a place the water can go.
Older driveways, patios and front walks and sidewalks here usually fail from underneath, because the base was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so it settled along with the dirt. When we replace one, we dig down to firm subgrade, the ground the slab rests on, and pack a new base in layers. We also cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the slab a straight place to crack, while the concrete is still fresh. If the budget is tight, I'd rather you choose a plain broom finish, the light texture that keeps it from getting slick, than cut back on the base, because the base decides whether the new slab cracks like the old one.
Get a written estimate for your Santa Clara driveway, patio or slab
We reply to calls and messages within one business day, and the estimate is free, done on site and comes with no pressure and no obligation. I come out to your Santa Clara property myself, look over the ground and the old concrete, and hear what you have in mind. After that visit, you get the scope and the price in writing.
(669) 215-2122How a concrete job in Santa Clara goes, from call to walk-through
Call us or send the form
Call (669) 215-2122 or use the form, and we set a time for me to come out to your Santa Clara property. It helps to have a rough idea of where you'd like the new concrete and what it will be used for.
Walk the site with me
I look over the old concrete, the ground and where the water runs, and I hear what you have in mind. If you've seen ponding or flooding on the lot, please tell me then, because it shapes how we slope the slab.
Review your written estimate
After the visit, you get the scope and the price in writing, so you can see exactly what the job includes. Take the time you need to decide.
We handle the city's part
Once you decide to go ahead, we file any permit the job needs with the city, which takes applications electronically, and we book the inspections. Where it isn't clear whether a permit applies, I check with the permit office before we schedule the work.
Pour, cure and walk through
Our own crew does the work, from digging out the base to finishing and cleaning up, and I'm on site to oversee it. Before we leave, we walk the finished job with you and go over how long to stay off the new concrete.
Driveways, patios and walks
Concrete questions from Santa Clara homeowners
Do I need a permit to replace a concrete driveway or patio in Santa Clara?
The city's permit list doesn't name driveways or patios, so when it isn't clear for your job, I check with the Permit Center before we start. The city requires a building permit before anyone builds, alters, repairs or demolishes a building or structure, and its building permit information lists the kinds of work that need one. If your job does need a permit, we handle it.
Does a concrete retaining wall need a permit in Santa Clara?
Yes, the city requires a building permit for a retaining wall more than 4 feet tall, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall. Because that measurement includes the buried footing, a wall that looks shorter from the yard can still need a permit, so I measure it that way at the estimate. For any wall under that height, we check with the city before we build.
Does my concrete contractor need a state license in California?
Yes, in most cases, because the Contractors State License Board licenses anyone who builds or alters a structure in California. A license is required when the job needs a building permit, uses any additional workers, or totals $1,000 or more in labor and materials across one or more contracts. Before you sign, ask any contractor for their license.
How long does a building permit stay valid in Santa Clara?
A Santa Clara building permit stays valid for 365 days from the day it's issued or from the last inspection the job passed. If it expires before the work is finished, work can start again only after a new permit is issued, so we schedule permitted jobs to keep the inspections moving.
How do I know if my Santa Clara project needs a soil report?
For single-family projects, the city requires a geotechnical report, a soil engineer's study of the ground, for any new house. It also requires one on hillside sites, on expansive or questionable soil, in earthquake fault, liquefaction or landslide zones, or wherever the Building Official asks for one. When a report is part of a foundation or footing job, we build the concrete to what it calls for.
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Santa Clara?
Your price comes from the size of the driveway and what has to happen underneath it, and I give you that figure in writing after I've seen the lot. In Santa Clara, the costs that most often add up are breaking out and hauling an old settled driveway, digging out a base that failed, extra grading so water drains away on a flat lot, and a decorative finish instead of a plain broom finish.
Tell us about your Santa Clara project
Call (669) 215-2122 or send us a few lines about the job before you plan your landscaping, so we can set the slope and drainage of the new concrete to fit it.