Concrete contractor in Long Beach, CA - slabs that drain away from the house
Advanced South Gate Concrete pours driveways, patios, walks, garage floors and other concrete in Long Beach, CA. We're based in South Gate, and we start every job with the base and drainage under the slab.
Homes, duplexes and small shops in Long Beach
Long Beach is a big city, and the houses change a lot from one part of town to the next. We pour for single-family homes, duplexes, small apartment buildings and the occasional shop lot, and most of the calls are about driveways, patios and walks that have sunk or cracked. We're based a short drive north in South Gate, and Long Beach is one of plenty of cities we work in outside it.
Much of the housing here is older, and so is the concrete. When we break out a tired driveway or walk, we usually find it was poured on loose dirt with nothing packed under it, which is why most of the real work on a job here happens below the surface.
What Long Beach asks for before we pour
Permits for work on private property in Long Beach come from the city's Development Permit Center, and the city says most work on a house needs a permit and inspections, repairs and replacements included, though the Building Official can exempt some minor jobs. Whether your driveway or patio needs one is the city's call, and when it does, we pull it and work through the inspections with them, so the pour date follows the permit. The city only issues permits to a contractor with a valid California contractor's license and an active Long Beach business license, so those are the first two things to ask any contractor about. We're fully licensed and insured.
On the job itself, most of your price is in what ends up underneath. That's how much old concrete we break out and haul, how far down we dig to firm subgrade, which is the dirt the slab sits on, and how much base rock we bring in and pack, with size, thickness, steel and any decorative finish after that. The schedule turns on the permit, the weather and curing, the stretch when new concrete is still gaining strength and has to be kept off, and on narrow streets and alley garages, room for the truck to reach the pour can shape how we plan the day. I put your figure in writing at the estimate, the same way we do it in Norwalk and Lynwood.
Services in Long Beach, CA
Concrete driveway building
Long side driveways show every soft spot as a dip or a crack. We dig to firm ground, pack new base and slope it away from the house.
Concrete patio construction
Backyard patios here often get poured right against the house with no fall at all. We set the slope before anything else so rain heads for the yard.
Concrete sidewalk building
Tree roots lift front walks into trip edges on many older blocks. We cut out the raised sections, rebuild the base and pour them back level.
Concrete floor installation
Old garages and backyard rooms often need a new floor over uneven concrete or bare dirt. Our crew handles concrete floor installation from the packed base up.
Concrete steps construction
Front steps on older houses crack and pull away from the porch as the ground settles. We rebuild them on footings with even step heights.
Concrete retaining walls
Planters and low walls along property lines often lean once water builds up behind them. We build concrete retaining walls with drainage behind and a footing under them.
How Long Beach rain tests your slab
The city's flood information says some parts of Long Beach could flood in a major rainstorm, and on a flat lot that water goes wherever the concrete sends it. A slab that falls toward the house, even a little, puts runoff against your foundation and under the door, so I check where the water runs before we set any forms. Then we slope the driveway or patio away from the house, toward the street or a drain, and keep the edges from trapping water.
Summer heat still gets to a slab here. One finished at midday dries too fast on top and turns weak and dusty later, so we pour early and usually give it a broom finish, the light texture that keeps it from getting slick when it's wet.
Get a free on-site estimate for your Long Beach concrete
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time. I come out to your Long Beach address myself, look over the ground, the drainage and what's going to sit on the slab, and write you a free estimate with no obligation.
How a Long Beach job goes
Call or send the form
Call (213) 643-0035 or fill out the form, and we'll set a visit that fits your week. Tell us whether the old slab is sinking, cracking or holding water, so I know what to look for.
I look at your ground
I check the dirt under the old slab, where the water runs and what the new concrete has to carry. Your written estimate spells out the base work, so you can see what you're paying for under the surface.
We prep, pour and finish
If the city says the job needs a permit, we pull it and line up the inspections before anything gets poured. Our own crew digs out, packs the base, sets forms and steel, pours and finishes, and I'm usually there with them.
Walk the job together
I walk the finished job with you and tell you when you can walk on it and when you can drive on it. Keep traffic off while it cures, because that's when it's still gaining strength.
Long Beach concrete questions answered
How do I check that a concrete contractor can work in Long Beach?
Ask for their California contractor's license and their Long Beach business license, because the city only issues permits to contractors who hold both. The state's Contractors State License Board requires a license whenever a job needs a building permit, uses any other workers, or the contracts on the project add up to $1,000 or more in labor and materials, which covers nearly any driveway or patio.
Can I pull my own permit for concrete work on my house in Long Beach?
Yes, if you live in the house or will live there, the city lets you get an owner permit and do construction, alteration or repair on the house and its accessory buildings. The city limits owner permits to certain kinds of dwellings, so ask the permit center whether yours qualifies before you plan around it.
Do I need a permit for a retaining wall in Long Beach?
Not for a wall or planter four feet tall or less, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, under the city's guidance. That exemption doesn't cover walls holding back sloping ground or extra weight on the soil behind them, or walls of any height on ground steeper than one foot of rise for every five feet across. I check which side of that line your wall falls on before we design it.
Does a historic district or coastal zone change a concrete project in Long Beach?
It can, because the city says extra requirements may apply in historic districts and coastal zones under its zoning rules. Tell us your address when you call, and we'll find out what applies to it early, before it can hold up the pour.
What affects the cost of a concrete driveway in Long Beach?
Mostly the work under the surface, then the size and the finish. If the bin for the old concrete has to sit in the street or on the sidewalk, the city requires a Public Works permit, applied for at the Public Works counter in the Development Permit Center at City Hall, while a bin on your own property needs none. If the budget's tight, cut the fancy finish and keep the base, because you can't fix a bad base later without tearing out the slab.
What causes a new concrete driveway to crack, and will mine?
Yours will likely crack a little somewhere, because concrete shrinks as it dries and I'd rather tell you that now than pretend otherwise. The bad cracks usually come from a soft base, water getting under the slab, or control joints, the grooves that tell a slab where to crack, being cut late or skipped. We pack the base, slope the slab and cut the joints on time, so the cracks land in the grooves instead of across the middle.
Call us about your Long Beach concrete
Call (213) 643-0035 any day of the week until 11 PM or send the form, and I'll tell you on site whether the old slab needs to come out or just a section of it.
