Bedrock Lafayette Concrete is a concrete contractor based in Lafayette that builds driveways, patios, walkways, steps and slabs for homeowners in Alameda, with the ground underneath, the steel and the joints prepared before anything is poured.
Alameda has a lot of older housing, from Victorians and early 1900s cottages on narrow lots to postwar bungalows and small apartment buildings, and thousands of its buildings sit on the city's historic building study list. Most of what we're asked to do here is flatwork, our word for driveways, patios, walks and other slabs that sit on the ground, at houses where the concrete has been in for decades and has heaved, settled or broken up around old roots. The older blocks feel a lot like parts of Oakland and Berkeley, where we see the same tired front walks and narrow driveways.
The ground is low and flat across much of the city, and the city notes that more than 1,000 properties here sit in FEMA flood hazard areas, where owners may have to carry flood insurance and take steps to reduce flood risk. On a flat lot water doesn't run off by itself, so I check where it goes before we set any forms and plan the slab to carry it away from the house.
When an old driveway has settled or cracked across, we break it out, dig to firm ground and pour a new slab sloped away from the house.
Explore serviceWe build backyard patios sized for how you'll use them, with a slight slope so rain runs off toward the yard instead of sitting against the back wall.
Explore serviceStamped concrete gives a patio or walk the look of stone or brick, which can suit an older house, and the base matters more than the pattern.
Explore serviceWe replace front walks that have lifted or broken up over the years, setting them to meet your steps and driveway evenly so nobody catches a toe.
Explore serviceA new garage floor starts with breaking out the cracked one and packing a firm base, then a smooth troweled finish that's easy to sweep and park on.
Explore serviceYou pick the color, texture or exposed stone you want, and we plan the mix and finish so it wears well on a front walk or patio.
Explore serviceConcrete retaining walls hold back soil where a yard steps down, and the footing, steel and drainage behind the wall decide whether it stays put.
Explore serviceFor a shop, studio or room addition, we pour interior floors flat and level, with a vapor barrier underneath where the space needs to stay dry.
Explore serviceWe pour pool decks with a broom finish, brushed lines for grip under bare feet, and a slope that carries splash water away from the pool and house.
Explore serviceFront steps on an older house have to rise evenly and sit on a solid footing, so we form each step to the same height before pouring.
Explore serviceA slab foundation for an addition, cottage or garage needs a packed base, steel in the right place and the engineer's plans followed closely.
Explore serviceWhen a house, addition or garage needs a new foundation, we dig, form, set the steel and pour to the approved plans.
Explore serviceFor a small lot behind a shop or apartment building, the plan turns on how heavy the traffic is, which sets the slab's thickness and steel.
Explore serviceFootings are the buried concrete that carries a wall, post or deck, and we size and place them to the plans so the load sits on firm ground.
Explore serviceIf floors slope or doors stick because the foundation has dropped, we look at what's underneath first, and some jobs need an engineer before anyone lifts anything.
Explore serviceWe saw-cut openings, trenches and clean edges in existing concrete, so a broken section can come out without cracking the slab you're keeping.
Explore serviceWhen a job here needs a permit, it comes from the city through the City of Alameda Permit Center, and the city has the owner or an authorized agent apply and get the permit before work starts, so the pour date waits on that approval. The city's list of work that needs a permit is written around buildings and their electrical, gas, mechanical and plumbing systems and doesn't name driveways or patios, so I'd ask the Permit Center about your project rather than assume either way. Before you hire anyone, you can check that they hold a California contractor license and a current City of Alameda business license, which the city requires of contractors doing business here. We're fully licensed and insured, and we'll help you work out which offices your job goes through and handle the permit paperwork with you as part of the job.
Alameda is a drive from our base in Lafayette, and we do the same kind of work in Dublin and across the East Bay. What moves the price is mostly the size and thickness of the slab, how much old concrete comes out and gets hauled away, how much digging and base work the ground needs, and the finish you pick. The schedule turns on the permit if your job needs one, the weather, and curing, the days new concrete needs to gain strength before you walk or drive on it. You'll get your own figure from the estimate once I've seen the site.
Thank you for considering us. Tell us about the driveway, patio, walk or steps you have in mind, and we'll get back to you within one business day to set up a time to see the job. The estimate is free and done on site, and there's no pressure to book.
(925) 298-0707Yes, in most cases, because the Contractors State License Board requires a license when a project needs a building permit, uses any additional workers, or the labor and materials on its contracts come to $1,000 or more. Most driveway and patio jobs meet at least one of those, so it's fair to ask any contractor to show you their license before you sign.
Work under a city permit can run Monday to Friday from 7 AM to 7 PM and Saturday from 8 AM to 5 PM. Those hours don't cover work that needs no city permit, emergency work, or someone working on their own home or rental property. On permitted jobs we plan pours early in that window, which suits the concrete too, as noted above.
It may crack somewhere, because concrete shrinks as it cures, but we work to keep cracks small and in places we choose. We cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the slab a straight line to crack along, soon after the pour, and we set rebar, the steel that holds the pieces together, over a packed base. If the budget is tight it's your call, but I'd go simpler on the finish before cutting the base, because nobody sees the base on day one and it's what decides how the slab holds up.
Yes, we're based in Lafayette and work throughout the East Bay, including Alameda. I come out to look at each job myself and work on site alongside our crew, so the person who walked your driveway with you is there when it's poured.
Alameda is one of the cities we work in from our base in Lafayette. These are the cities with their own page, and we work in many others around them, so please call if yours isn't listed.
Our phones are on seven days a week until 9 PM, so call (925) 298-0707 or send the contact form whenever it suits you, and we'll talk through your job and its permit steps.
Thank you for reading, and if you'd like to talk through a driveway, patio or walk in Alameda, we'd be glad to hear from you.
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