Concrete Driveway Building in Sunnyvale CA - a slab sized for what you park

Most people call us when their driveway is cracked through, sinking at one end, chipping on top or holding puddles near the garage, and patching no longer keeps up. The price of a new one moves mostly with its size, how thick it needs to be for what you park, whether it needs rebar, whether an old driveway comes out first, the conditions on the site and the finish you choose. The schedule turns mostly on the removal and on whether the city needs to review the work. After I visit, you get the scope and the price in writing, so you can see exactly what you're paying for.

When I come out, I start by asking what you'll park on the driveway, because a family car and a heavy truck call for a different slab and different steel inside it. If an old driveway has to come out first, I include the removal in the estimate so the price you see is complete. On the job, our crew breaks out and hauls away the old concrete, then digs down to firm ground and packs the subgrade, the soil and gravel the slab rests on, because a base that is only raked level will settle and take the slab with it. Before we set the forms, we check where the water runs and slope the slab so it drains away from your house and garage. We place the wire mesh or rebar, the steel that holds the slab together under weight, and we plan the pour for the cooler part of the day, since concrete placed in midday heat can end up with a weak, dusty top. We finish with a broom and cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the slab a planned place to crack, soon after the pour so any cracks follow those lines instead of wandering across the driveway. Then we pull the forms and clean up.

A new driveway is often a good time to look at the rest of the yard, and I can quote a concrete patio out back during the same visit. If you'd like more than plain gray concrete, our stamped concrete services add a pattern and color to the driveway itself or to a border along its edges.

Sunnyvale's One-Stop Permit Center at City Hall reviews building plans for the city, and applications, document uploads, inspection scheduling and payments all go through the city's online permit system. The city says each project has different requirements and asks first-time applicants to call the Permit Center, where staff explain the process, the documents needed and whether the project will need plan review. When a job needs a permit, we handle the application and the inspections with the city and keep you informed, and when it isn't clear, we check with the Permit Center before we start.

Most driveways we replace here run from the street to an attached garage, and the trouble is usually underneath, a thin base or a slope that sends water back toward the house, which is the same work we do on jobs in Cupertino and Mountain View. If you'd rather have rain soak into the ground than run off, a Santa Clara Valley stormwater handbook lists pervious pavement, which lets water pass through it, as well suited to driveways, though it costs more to install than ordinary paving, and I'm glad to talk it through at the estimate.