Concrete Contractor in Torrance, CA - Slabs Set on a Base That Holds
H&J Gardena Concrete Contractors is a Gardena-based concrete contractor pouring driveways, patios, walks, steps and foundations for Torrance homeowners and small property owners, with drainage and joints planned before the pour.
Concrete work on Torrance houses and lots
We're based in Gardena, so Torrance is just down the road for our crew, the same as Carson. A lot of what we see here is single-story houses from the middle of the last century with the original driveway and front walk still in place, plus small shops and apartment buildings with lots that have taken years of traffic. Permits go through the city's Building and Safety Division. Its draft list of work that can skip a building permit covers things like small sheds, low fences and painting, so rather than guess, we check your address with the city, and when a job needs a permit we pull it and line up the inspections before we pour. The city also requires a business license from anyone who physically works in Torrance. Your price and schedule turn on the size of the job, how much old concrete comes out, how deep the base has to go and whether a permit is involved, and at the estimate I walk it, measure it and put the work in writing.
The ground is the bigger story. The city tightened its foundation rules because of expansive soil, clay that swells when it's wet and shrinks as it dries, and it ties stricter soil checks to nearby faults and the hillside parts of the city too. On a driveway or patio, that usually means the old slab failed from below, so we dig out the loose dirt and pack the base instead of raking it level and pouring over it.
Our concrete services in Torrance
Concrete driveway building
Original driveways on older Torrance houses often crack and sink, so we dig out the soft ground and pack a firm base before the new pour.
Concrete patio construction
On Torrance backyards we set the patio to fall slightly away from the house, so rain runs toward the yard and not your back wall.
Stamped concrete services
Plenty of Torrance owners want more than gray. Stamped concrete gives a patio or front walk the look of stone or brick in a single pour.
Concrete sidewalk building
Tree roots and settling ground lift walkway panels into trip edges. We replace the bad sections and cut control joints, grooves that tell the slab where to crack.
Garage floor concrete
A pitted, oil-stained garage floor is common on houses this age. We break out the old slab and pour a new one with a smooth, easy-to-sweep finish.
Decorative concrete
Color, exposed stone or a scored pattern dresses up a front entry seen from the street, and we still set it to drain away from the house.
Concrete retaining walls
On sloped Torrance lots, we build retaining walls with drainage behind them, because water trapped against a wall is what usually pushes it over.
Concrete floor installation
Room additions and backyard workshops need a level floor, so we pour it over a packed base with rebar, steel that keeps any crack from opening up.
Concrete pool decks
Decks around older backyard pools tend to crack and lift at the edge. We finish the new one with a light broom texture so wet feet can grip.
Concrete steps construction
On a lot of Torrance houses the front steps have pulled away from the porch. We rebuild them with even step heights on a solid footing.
Slab foundation building
For a new garage, backyard unit or room addition, the slab foundation is the part you can't fix later, so we get the base and forms right first.
Foundation installation
When you're building new, the foundation follows plans drawn for your lot. We dig, form and set the steel to those plans, then pour once the inspection clears.
Concrete parking lot building
Torrance has plenty of small shops and apartment buildings with worn lots. We pour parking areas thick enough for daily traffic and slope them to the drains.
Concrete footings
Patio covers, block walls and posts sit on footings, buried concrete pads. We dig them to the depth your plans call for, because a shallow footing moves.
Foundation raising
When a corner of the house has dropped, we lift it back toward level, but I look for why it sank first, or it usually drops again.
Concrete cutting
We saw-cut clean lines in driveways and patios for a new drain or a wider driveway, so only the section you need comes out.
What signs mean your Torrance concrete needs a look?
A lot of Torrance concrete is decades old and sits on ground that moves, so small problems here tend to get bigger once water gets under the slab.
- Cracks that keep getting wider
- Panels sinking or lifting at edges
- Water pooling on the slab
- Slab sloping toward the house
- Chipping or flaking surface
- Steps pulling away from the porch
If you see one of these, call or send the form and I'll come out, look at it with you and tell you plainly what I think is causing it.
Patch the old slab or pour a new one?
In Torrance the answer usually comes down to the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, so I check whether it's still solid before we talk about patching.
When a repair is enough
If the slab is still level and the cracks are thin and not growing, the base is usually fine. We can clean and fill the cracks, cut out one broken section or grind down a trip edge, and the rest of the slab keeps doing its job.
When it's time to replace
If panels have sunk, water runs toward the house or the cracks keep opening, the problem is underneath. Patching the top usually won't hold, so we break it out, fix the base and the drainage, and pour new.
What Torrance ground asks of a new slab
I come out and look at the job myself, and I'm on site with our crew when we pour, so the person who measured your job is there doing it. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
The base before the finish
If the budget's tight, I'd cut a fancy finish before the base, because nobody can fix a base once concrete covers it.
Water sent away from the house
Before we form anything, we check where water runs, so the slab falls toward the yard or street, not your walls.
Joints cut on time
We cut control joints soon after the pour, so if the slab cracks, it cracks in a straight groove we chose.
Time to cure before use
We let new concrete cure, the wait while it gains strength, before anyone drives on it, so the top stays hard.
Fully licensed and insured
The state requires a contractor's license once a job needs a permit, uses hired help or reaches $1,000 in labor and materials.
Get your Torrance concrete job looked at
Call (424) 528-1322 any day between 6 AM and 11 PM, or send the form, and we'll set a time for me to walk the job with you.
Pick your city or just call
If your city is listed, pick it below. If it isn't, call (424) 528-1322 and ask, because we work in Gardena and the cities around it.