Concrete contractor in Anaheim, CA - slabs built for winter rain and sloped lots
Mainstay Santa Ana Concrete is a concrete contractor based in Santa Ana that builds driveways, patios, walkways, steps and retaining walls for homes across Anaheim, plus parking lots and slabs for property owners.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
Anaheim houses, from downtown to the hills
Anaheim is a big city, and the concrete work changes as you cross it. The older neighborhoods around downtown have smaller lots, narrow driveways and walks that have been patched more than once, while the tracts farther out tend to have wide two-car driveways, backyard patios and plenty of pool decks. In east Anaheim, homes sit on sloped lots where a patio or driveway often needs a wall below it to hold the ground. We're based in Santa Ana, a short drive south, and do the same kind of work in Fullerton to the north and in Orange next door.
Most calls we get here are about flatwork, the driveways, patios and walks that lie flat on the ground, and they usually start with a slab that's cracked, sunk at one end or holding water by the garage. On the flatter lots the fix usually comes down to digging out and repacking what's under the slab, and on the hillside lots it's as much about where the slope and the water want to go.
Our services in Anaheim, CA
- Concrete driveway building
Older Anaheim driveways often crack or sink by the garage. We break out the old slab, pack a new base and pour it sloped away from the house.
- Concrete retaining walls
Hillside lots in east Anaheim often need a wall holding the ground under a patio or drive. We build concrete retaining walls on a solid footing with drainage behind them.
- Concrete patio construction
Anaheim backyards get used year-round, so a cracked, uneven patio gets old fast. We pour new patios on a packed base, sloped to carry rain away from the house.
- Concrete pool decks
Anaheim pool decks take sun, splash water and bare feet. We pour them with a textured finish for grip and joints placed so cracks follow lines we chose.
- Concrete steps construction
Front steps on older Anaheim homes often crack, settle or pull away from the porch. We form new steps on a solid footing, with each one the same height.
- Concrete parking lot building
Shops and apartment buildings across Anaheim often have worn lots where water pools. We build concrete parking lots with drainage planned before the pour and slabs sized for traffic.
What Anaheim's winter rain asks of a slab
Anaheim gets about 13.5 inches of rain in a typical year, and nearly two-thirds of it falls in December, January and February, with almost none in summer. That means a driveway poured in July can look fine for months, until the first big storms show whether it was sloped away from the house and whether the subgrade, the packed ground and gravel the slab sits on, was dug out and compacted or just raked level. Water that runs toward the house or sits on a slab soaks the base, and a soft base is how a slab sinks and cracks, so before we pour, we check where the water runs on your lot and set the forms so the slab falls away from the house.
Summer brings the other problem, because concrete poured in midday heat dries too fast on top and can turn weak and dusty later, so in the warm months we start our pours early. What you pay mostly turns on the size of the job, whether an old slab comes out and how much base work it needs, and the schedule turns on that same prep plus curing, the wait while new concrete gains strength before you walk or drive on it, and any permit review. I'll give you your own figure when I come out for the estimate.
Get an estimate for your Anaheim concrete job
We reply to every call and message within one business day to set a time. I come out to your Anaheim property myself, walk the job with you and write up the estimate on site, and it's free with no obligation. If you go ahead, our own crew does the work, with a lead hand running the site and me checking in along the way.
Driveways, patios and walls
What Anaheim homeowners ask us
How do I find out if my concrete project needs a permit in Anaheim?
Ask the city's Building Division, which handles plan review and inspections, because the city says most improvements need a permit before construction starts and only cosmetic work needs none. An older city handout gives examples like re-roofs, window change-outs and stucco work but doesn't name driveways or patios, so check your own project with the division before we break ground. As the licensed contractor, we can pull the permit for you when the job needs one and plan the work around the city's reviews and inspections.
Does a retaining wall need a permit in Anaheim?
An older city handout lists retaining walls up to 4 feet tall, measured from the bottom of the footing, among work that doesn't need a permit, unless the wall is holding back extra weight like a driveway or a slope above it. Since that handout is older and your wall may not fit it, confirm with the Building Division, and the handout also says to check zoning with a city Planner at 714-765-5139. When a wall does need plans, the city says a qualified person has to draw them, usually a California licensed architect or engineer, because city staff doesn't prepare plans.
Does a concrete contractor need a state license in California?
Yes, in most cases, because the state Contractors State License Board requires a license whenever a project needs a building permit, uses any additional workers or runs $1,000 or more in labor and materials across its contracts. The city also says any business doing work in Anaheim needs an Anaheim business license, including businesses based outside the city. We're fully licensed and insured, and you're welcome to ask about any of it when I come out.
Which building codes apply to a concrete project in Anaheim?
Projects submitted to the city now fall under the 2025 California Building Codes along with Anaheim's own amendments, which address local terrain, weather and geology. A project submitted before January 1, 2026 stays under the 2022 codes, which only matters if your permit was filed earlier. We build to whichever code your permit falls under, and the city's plan review and inspections check the work against it.
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Anaheim?
An Anaheim driveway's price is set by its size, the tear-out and the base work, then by choices like thickness, rebar and finish, and I give you the figure after measuring it on site. Rebar, the steel bars set inside the slab to hold it together if it cracks, adds cost, and so does stamped or colored concrete over a plain broom finish, the light ridged texture that keeps it from getting slick. If the budget's tight, I'd rather you keep the base work and go with a broom finish, because you can change a surface later but you can't fix a bad base without tearing out the slab.
What causes a new concrete driveway to crack?
Most cracking comes from a base that wasn't dug out and packed, water running under the slab, and control joints, the grooves cut in so the slab cracks along a line we chose, that were cut late or skipped. Concrete can still crack some even when it's done right, and I'd rather you hear that from me at the estimate, but with a packed base, drainage away from the house and joints cut on time, the cracks it gets usually stay in those grooves. Here in Anaheim, the winter storms are usually when a weak base shows itself, and some slabs need resealing over the years too.