Concrete driveway building in Santa Ana CA - a slab sized for what you park on it
Cracked, sinking or pooling water on your old driveway? We dig out, pack the base and pour a new slab sized for your vehicles.
What does building a new concrete driveway in Santa Ana involve?
Concrete driveway building in Santa Ana starts with digging out the old driveway or bare ground and packing a firm base. Then our crew forms, pours and finishes a new concrete slab that carries your vehicles and sheds water away from the house. Part of the time you're without the driveway is the cure after the pour, the wait while the concrete hardens enough to take a car.
Most people call us when the old driveway has cracked through, sunk at one corner or holds water after it rains, and usually the trouble started underneath, with a base that was raked level instead of dug out and packed. The price moves with the size, how thick the slab has to be for what you park, whether an old driveway comes out, any steel in the slab and the finish, from plain concrete to stamped concrete. The schedule turns on the tear-out, the weather on pour day and the cure, and when I come out I'll walk you through both and give you a number for your own driveway.
How we build a concrete driveway
Before I size anything, I ask what you'll be parking on the driveway, trucks or an RV included, because a slab that's fine for two sedans can crack under a heavy truck. Then our crew breaks out the old driveway if there is one, digs down to the subgrade, the soil the slab sits on, and packs a firm base so the new concrete doesn't settle with the dirt. We check where the water runs and set the forms so the slab falls away from your house instead of toward it, and we add rebar, steel bars that hold the concrete together if it cracks, when the job calls for it. On hot days we plan an early pour so the concrete gets a better start. After the pour we give it a broom finish, a light texture that keeps tires and shoes from slipping when it's wet. We also cut control joints, straight grooves that give the slab a planned place to crack, before it has a chance to crack where nobody chose. We keep the site tidy while we work and clean up when we're done. If the budget gets tight, I'll tell you to cut back on the finish before the base, because the base is buried on day one and it's the part that decides whether this driveway ends up like your old one.
A driveway is flatwork, the trade's word for flat slabs like driveways, patios and walks, so the same crew and the same base work cover the rest of the yard. Plenty of people add a concrete patio out back while the trucks are already here. If you want more than a broom finish out front, stamped concrete gives the driveway a stone or brick look over the same packed base.
Why Santa Ana homeowners call Mainstay Santa Ana Concrete for a driveway
I write your estimate myself
I come out to look at your driveway and write the estimate, and our own crew does the work, with a lead hand running the site and me checking in along the way. That way the person who priced your job keeps an eye on it while it's built.
In Santa Ana since 2017
I opened this business in Santa Ana in 2017, after starting on the sales side writing up concrete jobs and then moving onto a crew to learn the work by doing it. That's why I'll tell you up front that concrete can crack some, needs time to cure and may need resealing later, so none of it catches you off guard.
Licensed and insured, easy to check
We're fully licensed and insured, and you can look up any contractor's license with the California Contractors State Licensing Board before you sign. The city asks a contractor for proof of licensing before it issues a permit, so it's worth checking every bid you get.
We pull the city permit
When your driveway needs a permit from the city, we can pull it for you as the licensed contractor. We plan the forming and the pour around the city's reviews and inspections, so an inspection stop doesn't hold up pour day.
On a driveway, the part that matters most is the base you won't see once it's poured. When you're ready, send us your driveway details or call (657) 643-0084, and tell us roughly how big it is, what you'll park on it and whether an old driveway comes out.
Get your driveway estimate written on site
We reply to every call and message within one business day. I'll set a time to come out, look at the driveway, measure it and write up a free estimate, with no obligation to go ahead. It helps if you tell us the rough size, the vehicles it will carry and whether an old driveway comes out.
Examples of concrete driveway work
Concrete driveway questions homeowners ask us
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Orange County?
A new concrete driveway in Orange County usually costs about $7 to $14 per square foot, and that doesn't include tearing out an old one. Removal adds to the cost per square foot, and a reinforced slab runs a little more than one without steel. Your own number comes from the estimate, once I've measured and seen what's coming out.
How thick should a concrete driveway be for a truck or an RV?
One Orange County cost guide puts a standard driveway at four to five inches thick, which it calls typically enough for ordinary cars. For heavy vehicles like trucks and RVs, the same guide points to a thicker slab, around six to eight inches. That's the reason I ask what you park before we size yours.
Do I need a permit to build a driveway in Santa Ana?
Santa Ana's list of work exempt from a building permit includes driveways that sit no more than 30 inches above the ground next to them, aren't built over a basement and aren't part of an accessible route, a path built for wheelchair access. Work at the street is different, because curb, gutter and sidewalk work in the public right of way needs an encroachment permit from the city's Public Works, and the city requires a licensed contractor to do it. I'll go over what your driveway needs at the estimate.
How much can a contractor ask for up front on a driveway in California?
In California, the down payment on a home driveway can't be more than $1,000 or 10 percent of the total contract price, whichever is less, because the state counts the job as home improvement. After that, payments follow work that's been done or materials that have been delivered, so a bid asking for a big share before anyone shows up is a reason to slow down.
What causes a new concrete driveway to crack?
New driveways crack mostly from shrinkage as the concrete dries and from a base that settles underneath it. Concrete can crack some no matter who pours it, so the aim is fine cracks along the joints instead of wide ones across the slab, and that comes from a packed base and joints cut on time. In hot weather, a concrete trade group advises pouring early in the morning and dampening the forms and the ground first to limit shrinkage cracks, and says the contractor can ask the ready-mix supplier about a hot-weather mix.
How do I take care of a new concrete driveway while it cures?
Stay off it and keep it from drying out too fast, because concrete keeps gaining strength after the pour and a top that dries quickly turns weak and dusty. A concrete trade group advises starting the cure right after the slab is placed, with a curing compound, steady soaking, a wet burlap or plastic cover, or curing paper. Before the pour I'll go over how your slab will be cured and when it's ready for feet and then for the car.
Other concrete work people add to a driveway
- Concrete patio construction
If the back yard is bare dirt or broken pavers, a concrete patio on a packed base gives you a flat, solid place for chairs and a grill.
- Stamped concrete services
If plain gray looks too bare for the front of the house, stamped concrete presses a stone, brick or tile pattern and color into the wet slab.