Concrete contractor in East Los Angeles - driveways and patios that drain right
Advanced South Gate Concrete is a concrete contractor based in South Gate that pours driveways, patios, walks, steps and slabs for homes and small properties in East Los Angeles, with the base dug out and packed before we pour.
Homes on small lots across East Los Angeles
East Los Angeles is mostly houses on small lots set close together, with driveways that run tight along the side of the house and front walks that meet the public sidewalk. Most of our calls here are for the everyday concrete around a home: a driveway that's cracked clean through, a patio that's sunk at one corner, steps pulling away from the porch. We see the same houses and the same calls next door in Huntington Park and the cities around it.
Lots here leave little room to work, so before anything gets broken out we plan where the truck parks, where the old concrete goes and how we reach the back yard. It takes more planning than an open lot, and it's part of doing the job right here.
What's different about working in East Los Angeles
East Los Angeles isn't a city of its own. It's an unincorporated area run by the County of Los Angeles, so concrete permits here come from LA County Public Works and its East Los Angeles Building and Safety office, not a city hall, and on a permitted job the start date waits on the county as much as on us. When you're checking out a contractor, the state license is the one to look up, since the County Business License covers only businesses located in the unincorporated areas whose work is on the county's list, and we're based in South Gate.
When your job needs a permit, we pull it with the county and work through the inspections with them, so you're not the one stuck on hold. Your price moves mostly with the size of the slab, whether old concrete has to be broken out and hauled away, how much soft ground comes out before the new base goes in and the finish you choose, and the schedule turns on the permit and our crew's calendar. I write your number on site after I've seen the ground, and we do the same work back home in South Gate and as far out as Inglewood.
Services in East Los Angeles, CA
Concrete driveway building
Driveways here carry a car every day on tight lots, so sinking and cracks show fast. We dig out the soft base, pack it and pour fresh.
Concrete patio construction
Back patios on small lots often sit right against the house and hold water. We set the slope to carry water away from the walls before we pour.
Concrete sidewalk building
Front walks get lifted by roots and sink where the base washed out. We pull the broken sections, rebuild the base and pour a broomed surface for grip.
Concrete steps construction
Concrete steps to the porch often pull away as the ground under them settles. We tear them out, set a solid base and rebuild them with even steps.
Concrete retaining walls
Where a yard steps up or down, the dirt pushes on whatever holds it. We build concrete walls on real footings with drainage behind them.
Decorative concrete
Plenty of owners here want more than plain gray out front. Our decorative concrete work adds color and pattern over the same packed base.
What East Los Angeles lots ask of your concrete
A lot of the cracked and sunken concrete we break out here was poured on dirt that was raked flat and never packed, so it settled right along with the dirt. We dig down to firm subgrade, the ground the slab actually rests on, pack a base over it and set the slope so water runs away from your house instead of toward it. That work is buried the day we pour, which is why it's the first thing people want to cut from the budget. I won't cut it, because a nice finish on a bad base just gives you a nicer-looking crack later.
Along Whittier Boulevard and the other busy streets, the concrete behind shops and small buildings takes delivery trucks and steady foot traffic, so we build those slabs thicker and pay the same attention to where the water drains.
Get a concrete estimate for your East Los Angeles home
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day. I come out to your place in East Los Angeles myself, look at the ground, the drainage and what's going to sit on the concrete, and write a free estimate on site, with no obligation.
How we work in East Los Angeles
Call or send the form
Call (213) 643-0035 or send the form, and we set a day for me to come out. It helps if you're home for the visit, since you know where the water goes.
I come out and look
I check the ground, where water runs and what will sit on the slab, then write your estimate on site. You see what moves your number before you decide anything.
We permit, prep and pour
When the job needs a permit we pull it, and when it's applied for, the East Los Angeles office says whether plan check, a review of the plans, is required, which adds time before we start. Then our crew preps, forms, pours and finishes, and I'm usually on site with them.
Walk the job together
I walk the finished job with you and tell you how long to stay off it while it cures, the wait while it hardens enough to use. Feet come first, and a car waits longer.
East Los Angeles concrete questions answered
Do I need a permit for a concrete patio in East Los Angeles?
Plan on one, since the county lists patios and retaining walls among its building permit items. For a driveway or a walk, the county's list doesn't say either way, so I ask the East Los Angeles office before we price it, and when a permit's needed, we pull it.
How long do I have to get the first inspection on an LA County permit in East Los Angeles?
The county wants the first inspection requested within 12 months of getting the permit, and follow-up inspections every 6 months to keep the permit active. We schedule the inspections as the work reaches each one, so that clock is ours to watch, not yours.
Does a concrete contractor in East Los Angeles need a California license?
Yes, for most concrete jobs. The state licensing board requires a license when a project needs a building permit, uses any additional workers or comes to $1,000 or more in labor and materials, and a contractor has to be licensed before giving you a bid at all. You can look any contractor up on the Contractors State License Board site, and we're fully licensed and insured.
How much does a concrete driveway cost in East Los Angeles?
A driveway here is priced on what I find on site, mainly what's under the old one and how close a truck can get. Beyond the size and the tear-out, the cost goes up with a thicker slab, with rebar, steel bars set inside to hold the slab together if it cracks, and with a decorative finish, and again when a narrow side yard means we pump or wheel the concrete in. I'll give you your own number on site.
What causes a new concrete driveway to crack?
Concrete shrinks as it dries and the ground moves under it, so nearly every slab cracks a little somewhere, and I'd rather tell you that up front. Control joints, the grooves we cut across the slab, give it a place to crack in a straight line, and when they're cut late or skipped, cracks show up wherever they like. Sinking is a different problem, and that one comes from the base.
Does concrete work in East Los Angeles have to meet code if it doesn't need a permit?
Yes. The county says work that's exempt from a permit still has to follow its building code, other laws and any approvals other agencies require. Skipping the permit doesn't mean skipping the rules, and we build to the same code either way.
Call about your East Los Angeles concrete
We're open seven days a week until 11 at night, so call (213) 643-0035 or use the form whenever you get a minute.
