Concrete contractor in Hawthorne, CA - driveways and patios that drain right
H&J Gardena Concrete Contractors builds driveways, patios, walks, steps and slabs in Hawthorne, CA, with the base dug out and packed and the water sent away from your house.
Pouring concrete in Hawthorne, CA
Hawthorne borders Gardena, where we're based, so our crew is a short drive from your street. Most of our calls here come from homeowners with older single-story houses on tight lots and from owners of duplexes and small apartment buildings. It's the same mix we see next door in Lawndale and Inglewood.
Your price mostly depends on the size of the job, how much old concrete has to be broken out and hauled off, how much base work the ground needs and the finish you pick. The schedule depends first on whether the city requires a permit and inspections for your job. After the pour there's curing, the wait while new concrete gains strength before you walk or drive on it. At the estimate I walk the job, measure it and put the work in writing, so you'll see exactly what your job takes. On many of these lots the driveway runs in a narrow strip beside the house to a garage in back. A lot of the old concrete we tear out was poured on dirt that was raked flat instead of dug out and packed. That subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, is why so many of them sank. With so little room beside the house, a slab that's set the wrong way sends water straight at your foundation.
What we pour in Hawthorne
Concrete driveway building
Narrow driveways beside older Hawthorne houses take a lot of turning and parking, so we dig out the soft base and pack it before the pour.
Concrete patio construction
Backyards here are small, so a patio usually takes up much of the yard. We slope it so rain runs to the edge, not toward your back door.
Stamped concrete services
On a small Hawthorne front yard, a stamped walk or patio does a lot of the work, with a stone or brick pattern pressed in while it's soft.
Concrete sidewalk building
Front walks and side paths on older lots are often heaved or broken. We replace them with control joints, cuts that tell the slab where to crack.
Garage floor concrete
Detached garages at the back of the lot often have old, cracked floors, so we break them out, rebuild the base and pour a new one.
Decorative concrete
Colored concrete, exposed stone and sawcut patterns dress up a plain entry. That matters when your house sits close to the street, the way many do here.
Concrete retaining walls
Where a yard sits higher than the alley or the next lot, a retaining wall holds the soil back. What drains behind it matters more than the face.
Concrete floor installation
For room additions, back units and workshops going up on these lots, we pour interior floors flat and level so the finished flooring goes down right.
Concrete pool decks
Backyard pools here often sit close to the house, so we slope the deck away from both and give it a finish that isn't slick when wet.
Concrete steps construction
Older front stoops often settle away from the house and leave a gap at the door. We rebuild them on footings set into firm ground.
Slab foundation building
A back house or addition on a Hawthorne lot needs a slab foundation poured to the plans, with the steel placed and checked before the pour.
Foundation installation
When an older house needs new foundation under part of it, we dig, form and pour it to the plans, with the steel tied where they show it.
Concrete parking lot building
Apartment buildings and small shops here often have tight parking areas, and we pour them to carry water to the street or a drain, not the doorways.
Concrete footings
Patio covers and block walls along Hawthorne property lines need footings, the concrete under them that carries the weight, dug down to firm ground.
Foundation raising
If a corner of an older house has dropped and doors stick or floors slope, we look at what's under it first, then lift and support it.
Concrete cutting
Tight lots leave little room for big machines, so we sawcut old slabs into pieces we can haul out, and we cut openings for drains or new doorways.
What signs mean your Hawthorne concrete needs a look?
A lot of the concrete here is decades old and sits on dirt that was never packed. These signs usually point to a base or drainage problem, not just a worn top.
- Cracks that keep getting wider
- One slab sitting lower than another
- Water pooling after rain or watering
- Water running toward the house
- Chipping or a dusty surface
- Gaps between the slab and house
If you see one of these, call us or send the form. I'll come out, find what's causing it and tell you plainly what it needs.
Can my old slab be fixed, or does it need replacing?
On most Hawthorne jobs, it comes down to what's under the slab. A sound base can take a repair, but if the base has sunk, you're usually better off starting over.
When a repair is enough
If the slab is mostly level and the cracks are thin and not spreading, the base is probably doing its job. We can cut out a bad section, replace a single panel or reset a step without tearing out the whole thing.
When to replace it
If panels have sunk, water pools or runs back at the house, or the cracks keep opening, a patch just hides a bad base. We break it out, dig out the soft dirt, pack a new base and pour a slab that drains away.
What Hawthorne lots ask of new concrete
I come out and look at your job myself, and I'm on site with our crew when we pour. Call (424) 528-1322 to set up a time.
Base work comes before finish
If the budget's tight, I'd go plainer on the finish before cutting base work, because the base keeps the slab level.
Water sent away from you
We check where water runs on your lot before we set forms, so the slab falls away from the house.
Early pours, joints on time
On hot days we pour early and cut the joints on time, so the top stays hard and cracks land where we chose.
Permits checked with the city
We check with Hawthorne's Building and Safety department. If your job needs a permit, we pull it and book the inspections.
Licensed, insured, straight answers
We're fully licensed and insured, and at the estimate I'll tell you what your job needs, including what you'd rather not hear.
Get your Hawthorne concrete job looked at
We answer the phone from 6 AM to 11 PM, seven days a week, so you can call (424) 528-1322 after work and set up a time to walk the job.
Don't see your city? Call us
Look for your city here. If it isn't on the list, call (424) 528-1322 and ask, because we work across the cities around Gardena.