Concrete Contractor in Fullerton, CA - Driveways and Patios Built on a Packed Base
Elite Hacienda Heights Concrete pours driveways, patios, steps, walls and slabs for homeowners in Fullerton, CA. We tear out what's sunk or cracked, dig out and pack the ground underneath, and pour concrete built around how you'll use it.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Older driveways and backyards in Fullerton
Most of what I see in Fullerton is houses with yards, and a lot of them are older homes still sitting on the driveway and back patio they were built with. When I walk those jobs, the story is usually the same. The slab has cracked across the middle, one corner has dropped, and water pools by the garage or runs back toward the house because the ground under it settled years ago. Mixed in are newer houses where people want a wider driveway or a patio off the back door, and sloped yards where the ground needs a low wall to hold it before anybody pours on top.
We get a lot of the same calls in Whittier, but in Fullerton the old slab usually tells me the dirt under it was never packed right. So most jobs here start below the concrete, digging out what settled before we pour anything new.
What working in Fullerton actually involves
Permits here come from the Building Division at the City of Fullerton, and the city doesn't allow any construction until the permit is issued. It reviews the application and plans first and issues the permit once the plans are approved and the fees are paid, so on a job that needs one, that review sets the start date more than our calendar does. Before you hire anybody, ask for a state contractor license and a Fullerton business registration certificate, because the city requires every business working here to register before it starts and says it may want proof of the state license first.
We're licensed and fully insured, and before anything gets poured we check with the city for your address and handle the permit as part of the job when it needs one. Fullerton is a regular drive for us from Hacienda Heights, the same as La Puente and plenty of other cities nearby. What moves your price most is the size of the slab, how much old concrete we break out and haul away, how much base we rebuild and the finish you pick, and I'll put your own number in writing once I've walked the job.
Get a written estimate for your Fullerton concrete job
We reply within one business day and set a time for me to come out to your Fullerton property and look at the job myself. The estimate is free and done on site, and there's no obligation to go ahead with it.
Call (626) 413-5388Services in Fullerton, CA
Concrete driveway building
Older Fullerton driveways often crack across the middle and sink by the garage. We break them out, rebuild the base and pour with joints planned in.
Concrete patio construction
Back patios here have often settled toward the house, so rain pools by the door. We rebuild the base and slope the new slab away from the house.
Concrete retaining walls
Sloped backyards in Fullerton often need the hill held back before there's room for a patio or path. We pour walls on footings with drainage behind them.
Concrete floor installation
Sheds and workshops on older Fullerton lots often sit on a floor that's cracked or out of level. Our concrete floor installation starts with a packed base.
Concrete steps construction
Front steps on older houses chip and pull away from the porch as the ground shifts. We form new ones with even rises and steel inside.
Concrete footings
Additions, covered patios and garden walls on Fullerton lots all start with footings, the concrete under the load. We dig and pour them to match the plans.
How it goes when you call us about a Fullerton job
Call or send the form
Tell us what's going on, whether it's a cracked driveway, a sunken patio or a slope that needs holding back. We get back to you and set a time for me to come out.
I come out and measure
I measure, ask how the space gets used and look at what's in the way, like tree roots, a slope or how thick the old slab is. It helps if you're home, because your answers change the job, and the written estimate shows what's driving the price before you decide.
We settle the permit question
We check with the city before anything gets poured and pull the permit when the job needs one. The city says small projects that need no more than 30 minutes of plan review can typically be reviewed over the counter, while bigger or trickier ones can get a more detailed review that pushes the start back.
Our crew pours, I check
Our own crew forms, pours and finishes, and I'm on site checking the work before we call it done. Curing, the wait while the concrete gets its strength, usually means staying off it about a day for foot traffic and about a week before you park on it.
Common questions
Does my concrete patio or retaining wall need a permit in Fullerton?
Generally yes, because the city's list of work that generally needs a permit names patios and retaining walls, along with pools, decks and fences over 6 feet. A driveway isn't named on that list, which doesn't settle it either way, so that's one we ask the city about for your address before we start.
Which building codes apply to a concrete project in Fullerton?
Projects submitted now go under the current California building codes with the changes Fullerton made for its own ground, weather and terrain. If your application went in before those codes took effect, it can stay under the older codes it was filed under, as long as the permit is issued before that application expires. For structural work like footings and retaining walls, the city's criteria use seismic design categories D, E or F, the earthquake standard the design has to meet, read for each site from USGS maps.
How long does plan review take for a small project in Fullerton?
Small projects that need no more than 30 minutes of plan review can typically be reviewed over the counter, and the city says residential patio covers and free-standing block walls that don't hold back soil normally go that way. The city can still ask for a more detailed review depending on how big or complicated the project is, or what's already on the property, and I'll tell you which way I expect yours to go once I've seen it.
Who applies for the permit on a concrete job in Fullerton, me or the contractor?
Either one can, because the city takes applications from property owners, licensed contractors and authorized agents. A contractor has to provide a workers' comp insurance certificate, and an owner doing their own work signs the owner-builder verification state law requires or shows a certificate of insurance. On our jobs, that paperwork is ours.
What affects the cost of a concrete driveway or patio in Fullerton?
Size, how much old concrete we break out and haul off, and how much base we rebuild underneath move the price most. Thickness matters too, about 4 inches for cars and more where something heavier parks, along with steel, the finish and how hard it is to get the concrete to the spot, since a broom finish, the brushed texture that keeps it from getting slick, costs less than stamped. The base is where people want to save because nobody sees it on day one, and it's the one place I won't cut, because a nice finish on soft dirt sinks and cracks just like your old slab did.
What causes concrete driveways and patios in Fullerton to crack and sink?
Most of it comes from below, a base that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so the slab settles right along with the dirt. Water running toward the house, a pour in the midday heat that leaves a weak, dusty top, and control joints cut late or skipped all make it worse. Concrete still cracks some, so we pack the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, pour early in the day and cut control joints, shallow grooves that give a crack a straight place to go, so when it does crack it usually does it in the joint.
Tell us about your Fullerton concrete job
Call (626) 413-5388 or use the form, and if you're not sure the old slab is worth saving, I'll tell you straight, even when the answer is that it can wait.