Bedrock Lafayette Concrete is a concrete contractor based in Lafayette that builds driveways, patios, walkways, steps and retaining walls for Orinda homes, with most of our care going into the base, steel and joints under the slab.
Orinda is our neighbor just west of Lafayette along Highway 24, and most of the homes we're called to here sit on sloped lots off winding roads, with long driveways, mature oaks and yards built in levels. Many of the neighborhoods are older, so the driveway, walk or patio we're asked about is often original to the house and showing it, cracked across the middle, sunk along one edge, or holding a puddle by the garage door.
As in Moraga next door, the slope shapes nearly every job here, because on a hillside the base, the steel and the way water runs off decide whether a slab holds up, long before anyone notices the finish.
Most Orinda driveways we replace start with breaking out the old slab, digging to firm ground and setting the slope so water runs toward the street, not the garage.
Explore serviceYou want a level place to sit on a sloping yard, so we plan the patio's height, edges and drainage before any forms go in.
Explore serviceStamped concrete is pressed with patterns that look like stone or brick, and on a sloped walk or patio we help you pick one that still grips underfoot.
Explore serviceWe pour front walks and side paths with a broom finish, the brushed texture that keeps feet from slipping, and add steps or landings where the grade gets steep.
Explore serviceA new garage floor means taking out the old slab, checking the ground beneath and sloping the surface toward the door so water off the car runs out.
Explore serviceIf plain gray doesn't suit the house, decorative concrete adds color, exposed stone or scoring, and we lay out the joints so they work with the design.
Explore serviceOn Orinda's sloped lots, a retaining wall holds back the hill to make usable yard, and its height decides the footing, the steel and whether a permit applies.
Explore serviceFor a basement, workshop or room addition, we pour interior slabs over a packed base and vapor barrier, finished smooth enough for the flooring that goes on top.
Explore serviceAround a pool you want a deck that's safe barefoot and wet, so we plan a textured finish and slope it away from the pool and house.
Explore serviceHillside entries often need concrete steps, and we form each one to the same height with a solid footing below, so they feel even underfoot.
Explore serviceWe pour a slab foundation's floor and footing as one piece for an addition or garage, with rebar, the steel that keeps cracks tight, set to the plans.
Explore serviceFor an addition or new building, we dig, form and pour the foundation to the engineer's drawings, and on a hillside, footings often step down with the grade.
Explore serviceFor a church, office or shared lot, we pour thicker, reinforced concrete built for steady traffic, with joints and drainage laid out before the pour.
Explore serviceFootings carry the weight of a deck, wall or addition down to firm ground, and we dig, set the steel and pour them to the plans.
Explore serviceIf a corner of the house has dropped, raising the foundation lifts it back toward level, and we'll say plainly when an engineer should look first.
Explore serviceWe saw clean lines through existing concrete so you can add a drain, widen a driveway or replace one damaged section without breaking up the rest.
Explore serviceOrinda contracts its building services to Contra Costa County, so the county building department issues permits and does the inspections, but it only processes a permit once every agency involved has approved the project, including the city's Planning Department checking zoning and the city's Waste Management Plan, its rules on construction debris. A permitted job waits on the city first and the county second, and the city's building permit page lays out that order, which shapes your start date more than anything we do on site. The county's list of common permit work names jobs like re-roofs and kitchen remodels rather than driveways or patios, so we don't guess about yours. We help you work out which offices it goes through and handle the permit paperwork with you as part of the job. Before you hire anyone here, it's worth checking a contractor's state license and their Orinda business registration, which the questions below explain, and we're fully licensed and insured.
The price of a job here turns mostly on how much old concrete has to come out, how far down we dig to reach firm ground, the slab's size and thickness, the steel and the finish you pick. The schedule turns on that permit review and on curing, the days a new slab needs before you can walk on it and the longer wait before you drive on it. We do the same kind of work in Pleasant Hill and the other cities around Lafayette, but Orinda's slopes and tight roads add planning to most jobs, and your own price comes from the estimate once I've seen the site.
Thank you for thinking of us. Send the form or call (925) 298-0707 and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time, and then I come out to Orinda myself to look at the old concrete, the slope and where the water runs. The estimate is free, done on site, and there's no obligation to book.
(925) 298-0707Yes, a retaining wall taller than 3 feet needs a building permit in Orinda. The city also limits walls to 4 feet within 10 feet of any property line or inside the required yard setback, whichever is greater, and to 8 feet elsewhere, as the city's permit FAQ explains, so on a steep lot two shorter walls sometimes work better than one tall one. I'll walk the slope with you and say plainly when the design belongs with an engineer.
You need an Encroachment Permit from the city's Public Works & Engineering office for any part of the work that sits in the public right-of-way, the strip along the street that the city controls. That often takes in the end of a driveway where it meets the street, so we check where your property line falls before we plan the break-out and add that permit to the paperwork we handle with you.
Yes, a contractor needs a license from the Contractors State License Board whenever a job needs a building permit, brings on any other workers, or comes to $1,000 or more in labor and materials, which takes in nearly any driveway or patio. The city also requires every business working in Orinda to hold a city business registration certificate before starting, unless it earns less than $10,000.00 a year from work in the city. Both are fair to ask any contractor about, us included.
It can, because concrete shrinks as it cures and moves with the ground, and I'd rather tell you that plainly than promise otherwise. What we can do is keep cracks small and in the right places by digging out and packing the base instead of raking it level, setting rebar, and cutting control joints, shallow grooves that give the slab a chosen place to crack, before the slab picks its own. If the budget gets tight, I'd suggest going plainer on the finish rather than the base, because nobody sees the base on day one but it's what the slab rests on for years.
We're based in Lafayette and work throughout the East Bay, in Lafayette and many of the cities around it. These are some of the cities with their own page, and if yours isn't listed, give us a call and ask.
Call (925) 298-0707 or use the form, because on a permitted job the city's review comes first, and the earlier we see your project, the earlier that paperwork can start.
If you're still deciding what your driveway, patio or wall needs, we're glad to talk it through with you.
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