Stamped concrete services in Monrovia CA - a pattern you can keep up with

Most calls start with an old slab that's cracked, sunk or just plain gray, from owners who want the replacement to look better than what they had, often as part of a new patio. The price moves with the size of the area, whether old concrete has to be broken out and hauled away, and how detailed the pattern and color get. The schedule turns on the weather, on whether the city needs a permit, and on the cure time before you can seal and use it. For your own number, I come out, measure the job and write down what the price covers, removal and hauling included.

I start by walking the area with you and checking where water runs now, because a slab that tips toward the house sends it right where you don't want it. Then we help you pick a pattern and color that match how much upkeep you're willing to do. Our crew breaks out the old concrete, then digs down and packs the subgrade, the dirt and gravel the slab sits on, and sets forms with enough slope to carry water away. Rebar, the steel rods that hold the pieces together if a crack opens, goes in where the slab needs it. We pour, finish and color the surface, then stamp the pattern while the concrete is still soft enough to take it. Next come control joints, cuts we make on purpose so the concrete cracks there instead of wherever it likes, and where we can, we tuck them into the pattern lines so they're harder to spot. The slab cures, which is the wait that lets it gain strength before use, and the sealer goes on once it's ready. If the budget's tight, I'll simplify the pattern before I'll cut corners on the base, because nobody sees the base on day one and it's the reason a slab stays put instead of settling with the dirt.

Stamped work often sits next to other concrete at your house. Our crew also pours concrete sidewalks, so a new front walk can carry the same border as the patio, and if the slab in the garage is the one that's failing, we handle garage floor concrete too.

Before we set a date in Monrovia, we check what the city needs for your address. Any part of a driveway that reaches into the street needs a construction permit from the city, and that street work calls for a contractor with a general engineering license, though the city accepts other license classes for some jobs, so we sort out who pulls that permit and have it in hand before we start. On your own lot, the city's list of work that doesn't need a permit includes driveways no more than 30 inches above the ground beside them. For a patio, a walk or anything else, we ask the city before we book, and the city's Building & Safety staff will meet with you to decide whether your job needs plan review.

We're based in Monrovia and work across the San Gabriel Valley, and we see the same calls on jobs in Pasadena and Arcadia, older driveways and patios that cracked or settled. Summer afternoons here get hot, so we pour early in the day, because concrete that dries too fast in the heat can end up with a weak, dusty top.