Concrete driveway building in Santa Clara CA - a solid slab poured on a packed base

Most calls start with a driveway that's cracked across, sunk near the garage or holding a puddle every time it rains. The price moves with the size of the slab, how much old concrete and soft dirt has to come out, how much base we bring in, whether the work reaches the sidewalk or the approach, and the finish you pick. The schedule turns on dry weather and, when the street side is involved, on the city, so we look into permits while I put the estimate together. Your estimate writes out what's included, so you can see exactly what you're paying for.

I come out first to measure and see where the water runs, because a slab that falls toward the house sends every storm at your foundation. We break out the old driveway, dig down past the soft dirt and pack the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, since a base that's only raked level settles with the dirt and takes the concrete down with it. Joints decide where a driveway cracks, so before we set the forms I mark out the control joints with you. Those are cuts that give the slab a planned place to crack, and I'd rather you know where they'll be than find out from a crack. Then we set the forms with the fall away from the house, place rebar, the steel that holds the slab together, where the job calls for it, and have every bit of prep done before the truck shows up. We pour early instead of in midday heat, which dries the top too fast and leaves it weak and dusty later, then give it a broom finish, a light brushed texture so tires and shoes grip, cut the joints on time and clean up.

The one place I won't let a budget cut land is the base, because nobody sees it on day one and everybody sees it when the slab sinks. If you need to save, go with a plain finish now, since the base is the part you can't redo later without tearing the driveway out. When the budget does stretch, stamped concrete on a border or the apron dresses up the edges, and if the backyard needs work too, we can pour your concrete patio while the crew is already set up.

If your new driveway changes the approach, the part that crosses the sidewalk to meet the street, you'll need an Encroachment Permit from the city's Engineering Division, which issues them for all construction in the public right-of-way. The city also requires a Traffic Control Plan whenever work affects the road, sidewalk or bike lane, to keep people walking, riding and driving past safe, and a Minor Encroachment Permit to put a bin on the street, which it asks 3 to 7 days to process. That's why we sort out the city side with you early, before we set a pour date. For work that stays on your side of the sidewalk, I still check with the city office for your address, and when we're the ones pulling the permit, we handle the paperwork and the inspections.

Parts of Santa Clara sit on the valley's low basin ground, where the soil has clay at the surface and below it and drains slowly. A statewide guide from California's geotechnical engineers says swelling soil can make driveways lift, tilt or move sideways, so on clay we dig out the soft layer, pack the base well and slope the slab so water runs off instead of soaking in at the edges. If the ground looks like it'll move more than a good base can handle, we bring in an engineer and work from their plans. We're based in Santa Clara, and we build driveways the same way on jobs in Sunnyvale and Campbell.