Cracked, lifted or puddling walk out front? We dig it out, rebuild the base and pour a new sidewalk that's flat, grippy and sheds water.
Concrete sidewalk building in Azusa means breaking out the old walk or clearing a new path, building a packed base, then forming, pouring and finishing new concrete so you end up with a walk that's level, drains away from the house and stays put.
Usually the call starts with a walk that's cracked, heaved up by a tree or holding a puddle by the front door. The price turns on how long and wide the walk is, whether there's old concrete to break out and haul off, what the roots are doing and the finish you pick. The schedule turns on the tear-out, the weather and the curing wait before you can use it. I come out, measure and write the estimate myself, so you get a number for your walk instead of a guess.
We're fully licensed and insured. That means you're not the one on the hook if someone on our crew gets hurt or a neighbor's fence gets bumped while we're working on your walk. It's the first thing worth asking any concrete contractor, and the answer should be a quick yes.
Most walks run past lawns, sprinklers and flower beds, and some come with a dog that wants to help. We protect what's around the work, keep the mess inside the job and leave the place clean when we pack up, so the only new thing in your yard is the walk.
Concrete cracks a little, and I'll tell you that at the estimate instead of after the pour. We work to keep those cracks small and in the joints we cut, not wandering across the middle of the walk. The work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
I learned concrete on new construction crews and have run this business since 2013. I come out to look at your walk and write the estimate myself, our own crew does the work, and I'm on site to run it. Call (626) 540-1248 or use the form to set a time.
Send the walk's rough length and width, a few photos and a note about any trees nearby, or call (626) 540-1248. We get back to you within one business day, then I come out to look at the job and write your estimate on site. It's free, and there's no obligation.
In Azusa, a walk at ground level usually falls outside the building permit, because the city's building permit list exempts walks not more than 30 inches above grade. That covers the building permit only. The city's Public Works Engineering Division handles encroachment and grading permits, so a walk that meets the public sidewalk or reshapes the ground may need a word with that office. Before work starts, we check with the office that covers your address, and when a permit is needed, we pull it and handle the paperwork.
Most of our calls come from homeowners in Azusa and the cities around it who want an old walk replaced without the whole yard torn up. We see a lot of front walks lifted by a tree somebody planted small, and side walks that slope the wrong way and hold water against the house. We're based in Azusa and do the same work in Glendora, Covina and the cities around them, out to Pasadena and Pomona.
A residential concrete sidewalk in the Los Angeles area usually costs about $5.50 to $11 per square foot installed. The low end is a plain walk on easy ground, and the high end comes with tear-out, root work, tight access or a fancier finish. I'll measure yours on site and give you a written number.
Concrete shrinks and moves, and today's methods only reduce cracking, so a completely crack-free walk isn't realistic even when it's built right. What a crew controls is timing, because finishing, cutting joints and curing at the wrong moment can lead to cracks, a surface that wears poorly, high and low spots and puddles. Judge a contractor by how well the work keeps cracks small and where they planned them.
Give the roots less reason to go there. Roots grow under pavement where they find air, water and room, then lift or crack it as they thicken, and a small tree's roots grow right along with it. Tree guidance says a root barrier beside the walk works when it sits at least 18 inches deep with its top above the soil and mulch, and a washed coarse gravel base also keeps roots out, though only in well-drained soil.
A contractor with California's C-8 Concrete Contractor license can, since that classification covers forming, pouring, placing and finishing flat concrete like a sidewalk. The state does let someone without a license take on small jobs under its minor work exemption, which went from $500 to $1,000. That only applies when the work needs no permit and they employ no one on the project.
Yes, concrete poured in hot weather generally lasts about as well as concrete poured at normal temperatures. That holds when the concrete has good strength and the curing keeps the surface from drying out, so on a hot day the curing is the part we watch closest. A walk that dries too fast up top ends up weak and dusty, and nobody wants to sweep their sidewalk off their shoes.
