Bedrock Lafayette Concrete is a concrete contractor working in Berkeley, CA. We build driveways, patios, walkways, steps and retaining walls, and I come out to every job to see how your ground drains and holds before we plan anything.
Berkeley runs from the flats near the bay and the waterfront up into the Berkeley Hills, and the concrete work changes with the elevation. Down low we see older houses on tight lots, with front walks lifted by roots or years of settling, narrow driveways and garages built for smaller cars. Up in the hills and around Northbrae, lots get steeper and drives climb from the street, so retaining walls and steps carry as much of the job as the slab, much like the older hill neighborhoods next door in Oakland.
The city points out how close Berkeley sits to major earthquake faults. On ground like that, under houses that have been shifting for decades, I put the effort below the surface, into a packed base and into rebar, the steel bars inside a slab that hold it together if it cracks.
A driveway on a steep Berkeley lot has to carry your car and shed rain, so we plan the grade, base and steel before anything is poured.
Explore serviceYou want a flat, usable spot behind an older house, so we work out where the water goes and how the patio meets the back steps.
Explore serviceStamped concrete presses a stone or brick pattern into the fresh surface, and on an older Berkeley house we pick a color and pattern that suit it.
Explore serviceWe replace front walks that roots or settling have lifted, digging out to firm ground so the new path sits level with the steps and street.
Explore serviceA cracked or sunken garage floor in an older house usually means a tired base, so we break out the old slab and rebuild what's beneath it.
Explore serviceColored, exposed-aggregate and textured finishes give flatwork, the flat concrete of drives, walks and patios, a look that fits the house without skimping on the base.
Explore serviceHillside yards often need walls to hold back soil, so we plan the footing, steel and drainage for each wall around the slope behind it.
Explore serviceFor a basement, workshop or new room, we pour interior floors flat and smooth, with the base and moisture barrier planned around how you'll use the space.
Explore serviceA pool deck has to drain away from the water and stay comfortable underfoot, so we slope it carefully and choose a finish with good grip.
Explore serviceMany Berkeley houses sit above the street, so we build entry and garden steps with even risers and a footing set to hold on the slope.
Explore serviceFor an addition, garage or backyard cottage, we build the slab foundation on a dug-out, packed base with steel placed to the engineer's plans.
Explore serviceWhen a house or addition needs a new foundation, we form, reinforce and pour it to the drawings, working through the approvals with you.
Explore serviceFor a small building's lot or a shared driveway, we plan thicker sections where traffic is heaviest and a slope that carries water to the drains.
Explore serviceFootings are the buried concrete under walls, posts and additions, and we dig them to the depth and width the plans call for.
Explore serviceIf part of the house has settled, we look at what caused it first, and when the fix calls for an engineer, I'll tell you so.
Explore serviceWe saw-cut old slabs for removal, openings and repairs, cutting clean lines so the concrete that stays isn't broken up along with what goes.
Explore serviceIn Berkeley, building permits come from the city's Permit Service Center, so if your project needs one, nothing gets formed or poured until it's issued, and the schedule waits on it. Before you hire anyone, it's fair to ask for their state contractor license and their Berkeley business license, which the city requires of everyone operating there, contractors applying for building permits included. We're fully licensed and insured, and I help you work out whether your project goes through the city, the county or both, then we handle the permit paperwork with you as part of the job.
Price here turns mostly on the size and thickness of the slab, how much old concrete has to come out, how close the truck can get and the finish you choose. On the narrow, winding streets up toward Grizzly Peak Boulevard the truck often can't reach the forms, so pumping or wheeling the concrete adds time and cost, the same thing we plan around on hillside lots in Moraga. If the budget is tight, I'd keep the base work and trim the finish, because a plain slab on solid ground outlasts a fancy one on loose dirt, and you'll get your own figure when I come out to look.
Thank you for considering us. Tell us about your driveway, patio, steps or wall, and any permit questions you have, through the form or at (925) 298-0707, and we'll get back to you within one business day. I'll come out to look at the site myself, the estimate is free with no obligation, and if you go ahead, I'm on the job alongside our crew.
(925) 298-0707You might, because Berkeley requires a building permit for all construction work and most repairs unless the work is specifically exempt, and you can read the city's list of work exempt from building permits. Exempt work still has to meet the state building code and city law, and it can still need a zoning permit, a separate land use approval. We check your project against those rules before any forms go in.
A wall 4 feet or less, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, is exempt from a building permit as long as it isn't holding back extra load such as a driveway, a slope or a structure above it. A retaining wall in a required setback, the open strip the city keeps along property lines, needs a zoning permit. Taller walls or walls carrying a load are a question for an engineer and the city, and I'll say so at the estimate.
Yes, for most home jobs, because the Contractors State License Board requires a license when a project needs a building permit, uses any additional workers or costs $1,000 or more in labor and materials. Contractors have to hold that license before they bid, so it's reasonable to ask for it before you accept anyone's price.
It may, because concrete shrinks as it dries and the ground under it moves, and I'd rather tell you that plainly now. What we control is where and how much, by packing the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, setting steel inside and cutting control joints, shallow grooves that give the slab a planned line to crack along. Then it needs to cure, staying damp and off-limits while it gains strength, because rushing that wait leaves a weaker slab.
We're based in Lafayette and work throughout the East Bay, in Lafayette and many of the cities around it. These cities have their own pages, and if yours isn't listed, give us a call and ask.
We answer evenings and weekends, so you can reach us at (925) 298-0707 after work or describe the slope and the old concrete in the form whenever it suits you.
Thank you for reading, and if you have a question about concrete at your Berkeley home, we're glad to talk it through.
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