Concrete driveway building in Ventura CA - a slab that sits on solid ground

Most people call when the old driveway has cracked through, sunk in spots or holds a puddle after it rains, and by then a patch usually won't last because the trouble is underneath. The price moves with the size, how much old concrete comes out, how much digging and base rock the ground needs, and the finish you pick. The schedule turns on the weather for pour day, the days the concrete needs to cure and, if your driveway reaches the street, the city's review, which we take care of. You'll get your own figure when I come out and look at it in person.

We start by breaking out the old driveway and hauling it off, then dig past the loose dirt to firm soil, because a base that's only raked level settles with the ground and takes the slab down with it. Before any rock goes in, I check where the water runs and set the grade so the slab falls toward the street or the yard, away from your house. We bring in base rock and pack it in layers, set the forms and lay rebar, the steel that helps hold the slab together if it does crack. On pour day we time the start to the heat and wind, give it a broom finish, a light texture that gives tires and shoes grip when it's wet, and cut control joints while the concrete is still fresh. Control joints are shallow grooves that give the slab a chosen place to crack as it shrinks, instead of a random line across the middle. Then we keep the surface damp or sealed while it cures, because concrete that dries too fast ends up weak and dusty on top. If you're watching the budget, I'd save on the finish and not the base, since nobody sees the base on day one but the whole slab rests on it.

Since our crew and forms are already set up, a lot of folks add a walk or a new concrete patio out back during the same job. If you'd like more than plain gray, stamped concrete can give the whole driveway or just its borders a pattern and color.

If your driveway meets the street, the City of Ventura requires an encroachment permit for that part, because it needs one for any work in the city's right-of-way or easements and names driveway construction and repair among its examples. The city also requires contractors working there to hold a Class A, C-12 or C-34 license, and it issues the permit only with a traffic control plan its traffic engineers have approved. That review carries a fee and a site visit, so it adds time to the schedule. When a job needs a permit, we figure out which city or county office covers your address and take care of the paperwork, including letting the city know three working days before we start so an inspector can call back about inspections. We call 811 three working days before we dig, as the city directs, so buried lines get marked, and we follow the city's stormwater steps to keep runoff and concrete waste out of the storm drains.

Afternoon wind off the ocean can dry a fresh surface fast here, which is why pour timing matters so much near the coast, and we see the same conditions on jobs in Oxnard and Port Hueneme. A lot of older driveways we tear out had very little real base under them, so I plan for extra digging until the ground shows us otherwise.