Concrete contractor in La Cañada Flintridge - flatwork built for hillside lots
Built Right Pasadena Concrete pours driveways, patios, walks, steps, retaining walls and slabs for homes in La Cañada Flintridge, CA. We're a Pasadena concrete contractor, and what we care about most is underneath, the packed base and where water goes.
La Cañada Flintridge concrete starts with the slope
La Cañada Flintridge is mostly homes on the foothills between Altadena and La Crescenta-Montrose, and most of our calls here are for driveways, patios, walks and steps. Many lots sit on a grade, so a driveway often climbs from the street and a patio may need a wall or a few steps to meet the house. The price here usually follows the ground as much as the slab. The schedule follows the permit, if the job needs one, and curing, the days new concrete needs to harden before it takes foot traffic and then cars. The estimate is where you get the figure for your own job.
On a lot that falls toward the house, the base and the pitch of the slab decide whether rain runs off or sits against your foundation, so that's where I start.
Hillside lots change how a slab gets built
Most of the trouble we find on concrete here traces back to the ground under it and the way water moves across a sloped lot, not to the surface you see.
Sloped driveways carry water downhill fast, so the slab has to be pitched and edged to send it away from the garage and house.
Hillside patios often sit partly on loose fill, so we dig out and pack the subgrade, the ground under the slab, before we pour.
The city's building rules carry county amendments written for hillside building, fire areas where homes meet wild land, and high-wind zones.
Where a yard steps down, a retaining wall holds the grade, so its footing and the drain behind it matter as much as the face.
I'd rather see the slope, the drainage and the old slab in person before I give you a number, so I come out and look at the job myself.
Our service area includes La Cañada Flintridge
We're based in Pasadena and work across the cities around it, from La Cañada Flintridge to Glendale and South Pasadena. The cities listed here have their own pages, but they aren't the only places we work.
Concrete services for La Cañada Flintridge homes
Concrete driveway building
Sloped driveways take runoff from the yard above, so we build a packed base and set the pitch to carry water away from your garage door.
Concrete patio construction
A patio off the back of the house should fall away from it, so we check where water runs before we set a single form.
Stamped concrete services
Stamped concrete gives a patio or walk the look of stone or brick, poured over the same packed base we'd put under a plain slab.
Concrete sidewalk building
Walks on a grade get a broom finish, the light ridged texture that gives shoes grip when it's wet, and a slight tilt so rain runs off.
Garage floor concrete
Cracked or sunken garage floors usually trace back to a base that settled, so we remove the old slab, rebuild what's under it and pour new.
Decorative concrete
Colored or textured concrete can match the house and garden, and we plan the control joints, the cuts that decide where it cracks, to suit the pattern.
Concrete retaining walls
On sloped yards a retaining wall gives you flat, usable ground, and we build it to suit the height and the soil it's holding back.
Concrete floor installation
Interior slabs for additions, workshops or storage rooms go over a packed base and a moisture barrier to keep ground moisture from coming up through the floor.
Concrete pool decks
Pool decks need a surface that isn't slick underfoot and a slope that sends splash water to drains, not back into the pool or toward the house.
Concrete steps construction
Hillside homes often have steps from the driveway up to the door, and we form each riser the same height so the climb feels even.
Slab foundation building
Under a slab foundation for an addition or garage, we pack the ground and tie rebar, the steel grid that holds the concrete together under load.
Foundation installation
New foundations on a slope usually step down with the ground, so we lay out the forms to the grade before any concrete arrives.
Concrete parking lot building
For a small business or shared lot, we pour flatwork, the flat slabs cars park on, graded so water reaches the drains instead of pooling in stalls.
Concrete footings
Footings are the buried concrete under walls, posts and steps, and on hillside ground we dig them down to firm soil, past loose fill.
Foundation raising
When part of a slab or foundation has dropped, raising it back toward level can save a tear-out, and I'll tell you at the estimate if it won't.
Concrete cutting
We saw-cut concrete to make room for a drain line, take out a cracked section or square up an edge without breaking up the rest.
Get a written estimate for your La Cañada Flintridge project
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time to come out to your place in La Cañada Flintridge. I'll look at the slope, the drainage and any old concrete, then write up the estimate myself. It's free, and there's no obligation to go ahead.
- Call
- (626) 345-7318
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–10 PM
Why La Cañada Flintridge homeowners call us
Hiring for concrete mostly comes down to who looks at the job, who runs the pour and what they'll spend your money on. Here's how we handle each one. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
I write every estimate myself
I come out, walk the lot and write the estimate. If the old base is soft or water runs toward your house, you'll hear it from me then, not a year after the pour.
The base gets paid for first
If the budget's tight, I'd drop a fancy finish before I'd skimp on the base. You can redo a surface later, but a slab on loose dirt settles right along with it.
Licensed, insured and run by me
We're licensed and fully insured, our crew does the work, and I'm on site running it. I learned the trade running pours for another contractor before opening in Pasadena in 2020. Call (626) 345-7318 to set up a visit.
Concrete questions from La Cañada Flintridge homeowners
Do I need a permit to pour a concrete driveway or patio in La Cañada Flintridge?
It may, and the office to ask is the city's Building and Safety Division, since its Building Official issues building permits in La Cañada Flintridge. One exemption the city spells out is for fences up to 42 inches tall, and that doesn't cover a fence that acts as a barrier around a pool, spa or hot tub. When a job needs a permit, we settle who's pulling it before we start, put that in writing and handle the paperwork on the ones we pull.
How long does a building permit stay valid in La Cañada Flintridge?
Under the city's proposed rule, a permit expires if work doesn't start within 180 days of the day it's issued, or if work stops for 180 days after it starts. Separately, the city won't issue new permits on a property with illegal structures, an open code enforcement case or an expired permit, unless the new permit fixes that problem or covers the expired work. If you know of an old open permit on your property, tell me at the estimate so we can plan around it.
Does a concrete contractor need a license in California?
Yes, if the job needs a building permit, if they use employees or if the work comes to $1,000 or more in labor and materials combined. The license comes from the state's Contractors State License Board, and it has to be current and valid. Ask any contractor you're weighing to show theirs before you sign.
How much does a concrete driveway cost in La Cañada Flintridge?
The cost comes mostly from the size of the slab, how much old concrete has to come out and how much digging and base work the slope needs. Access matters on hillside lots, because concrete moved a long way up from the street takes more labor, and a stamped or colored finish costs more than a plain broom finish. Your number goes in the written estimate once I've seen the site.
How long does new concrete take to cure before I can drive on it?
You can walk on a new slab well before you can drive on it, because concrete keeps gaining strength for days after the pour and a car weighs far more than a person. Curing goes better when we pour early in the day, since a pour in midday heat can leave a weak, dusty top. We'll tell you the walk-on and drive-on days for your slab before we start, so you can plan where to park.
What causes concrete driveways to crack and sink on sloped lots?
Most cracking and sinking comes from a base that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, and from water running under or against the slab. All concrete cracks some as it shrinks, so we cut control joints early to give those cracks a line we chose. On a new slab we pack the base, check where the water runs and pitch the concrete away from the house.
Plan your La Cañada Flintridge concrete job
Call (626) 345-7318 or send the contact form, and if the workday isn't a good time, we take calls until 11 PM on weeknights and 10 PM on weekends.
Mon–Fri: 8 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–10 PM