Concrete contractor in Lawndale, CA - driveways and patios that drain right
H&J Gardena Concrete Contractors pours driveways, patios, walks and slabs for Lawndale homes, built on a dug-out, packed base and sloped so the water runs away from your house.
A Gardena concrete crew working in Lawndale
Lawndale is a small, busy city of houses set close together, with apartment buildings and shops mixed in along the main streets. As a concrete contractor based in Gardena, CA, we're close by and do the same work in Hawthorne and Westmont, so the calls here sound familiar. We get driveways that have dropped at the garage, patios that hold water and walks lifted at one crack.
What moves the price here is how much old concrete comes out, how much base work the ground needs and the finish you pick. The schedule mostly turns on curing, the wait while new concrete gains strength, which usually means a day or two before you walk on it and about a week before you park on it. For a driveway or front walk, the city's permit list includes a $75 flatwork permit for front yard hardscape. For anything else we check with the city for your address, and when a job needs a permit we pull it and line up the inspections before we pour. I walk the job, measure it and put the work in writing, so you see your own number. Close-set lots shape the rest of the job, because when the only way to a backyard is a narrow side yard, the tear-out and the new concrete go through by wheelbarrow or pump hose, and that access can move the price as much as the size does.
Concrete work we do in Lawndale
Concrete driveway building
Lawndale driveways are often narrow and run tight to the house, so we dig out the old base, pack new fill and slope the slab toward the street.
Concrete patio construction
Backyards here are small, so a patio often covers most of the yard and has to shed water somewhere other than your back wall.
Stamped concrete services
On a small front yard, stamped concrete gives a walk or patio a stone or brick look, over the same dug-out base as any slab.
Concrete sidewalk building
Lifted, cracked walks are common here. We replace the broken sections and cut control joints, planned grooves that give the slab a place to crack.
Garage floor concrete
Many garages here double as a workshop or storage room. We replace cracked, dusty floors with a flat slab that's easy to sweep.
Decorative concrete
Color and saw-cut patterns let a plain entry or walk match the house. In a small front yard we keep it simple, since busy patterns crowd it.
Concrete retaining walls
Even a low wall along a planter or property line holds back wet soil. We put gravel and a drain behind it so water has a way out.
Concrete floor installation
For a back room, a converted garage or an addition, we pour interior floors level, with a plastic sheet under the slab to keep ground moisture out.
Concrete pool decks
On a small lot the pool deck is often most of the yard, so we slope it off the house and texture it to grip wet feet.
Concrete steps construction
Front steps on older Lawndale homes often pull away from the porch as the soil settles. We tie new steps into the porch and keep each one the same height.
Slab foundation building
Additions and backyard units here usually sit on a new slab. We pack the base and set rebar, steel bars that hold the concrete together, before the pour.
Foundation installation
When a room is added onto an older house, the new foundation has to meet the old one cleanly. We dig and form it to the approved plans.
Concrete parking lot building
Small apartment buildings and storefronts here often have small lots that hold water. We pour parking areas sloped to a drain, with joints laid out around the stalls.
Concrete footings
Block walls between yards here, patio covers and posts all need a footing, the buried concrete that carries the weight. We dig each one for its load.
Foundation raising
When a corner of an older house drops and doors start sticking, we find out why first, because lifting it won't help if the soil keeps moving.
Concrete cutting
On close-set lots here, we often saw-cut out just the bad section, a path for a new drain or a doorway, so the rest of the slab stays put.
What signs mean your Lawndale concrete needs attention?
Most concrete trouble here starts underneath, with a base that settled or water that had nowhere to go, so what you see on top is worth reading.
- Cracks that keep getting wider
- A driveway sinking at the garage
- Water pooling against the house
- A lifted edge you trip on
- Chipped, flaking or dusty surface
- Steps pulling away from the porch
If you're seeing one of these, call (424) 528-1322 or send the form, and I'll come look at what's causing it before we talk about a fix.
Should you repair the slab or replace it?
On Lawndale driveways and patios, I decide by what's under the concrete and how much of it is failing, and I'll tell you at the estimate which way I'd go and why.
A repair is enough
If the cracks are narrow and the slab is still flat and solid underneath, a repair makes sense. We can seal the cracks or saw-cut out one bad section and pour it new, and leave the rest alone.
Time to replace it
When the slab has sunk, slopes toward the house or is cracked all over, the base under it has failed. Patching the top won't change that, so we tear it out, dig down to firm ground, pack a new base and pour a new slab.
What Lawndale lots ask of new concrete
I come out to look at your job myself, and I'm on the job with our crew. You get a plain answer about what your slab needs, even when it's not what you hoped.
The base comes first
If the budget's tight, I'd trim the finish before the base, because a nice top on loose dirt still sinks.
Water routed off the house
We check where water runs on your lot before we set forms, then slope the slab away from the house.
Pours timed around the heat
Midday heat leaves the top weak and dusty, so we pour early and keep the slab damp while it cures.
Joints cut on time
Concrete shrinks as it dries, so we cut joints on time to give it straight lines to crack along, not random ones.
Licensed in California and insured
We're fully licensed and insured, and the state licensing board caps home improvement down payments at $1,000 or 10 percent of the price, whichever is less.
Call about your Lawndale driveway or patio
Call (424) 528-1322 early, because the city allows construction work Monday through Saturday only, and an early call gives us more pour days to pick from.
Not your city? Give us a call
If your city has a page here, pick it for the details. If not, call (424) 528-1322, because these aren't the only cities we work in.