Concrete contractor in Pleasant Hill, CA - slabs built for clay ground

Bedrock Lafayette Concrete is a concrete contractor based in Lafayette, CA, building driveways, patios, walkways, steps and foundations for homeowners in Pleasant Hill, with the ground under each slab dug out and packed for the city's clay soil.

Get an estimate (925) 298-0707

A large light-gray concrete pool deck surrounds a rectangular swimming pool, with lounge chairs and a white house beyond.

Rectangular pool and pale stone deck beneath a screened enclosure, with geometric grass-and-paver sections.

Pleasant Hill homes and the ground under them

Most of our calls in Pleasant Hill are for flatwork, the driveways, patios and walks around a family home. We see a driveway cracked across the middle, a back patio that has sunk toward the lawn, or a front walk with one panel lifted at the edge. The city is mostly quiet residential streets with shops and offices closer to the freeway, and it borders Walnut Creek and Concord, where the houses and the calls are much the same. Many of the slabs we replace here have been down a long time, and the trouble usually started underneath them, not on top.

The ground is usually the reason. City documents point to clay soils as common throughout Pleasant Hill, and clay swells when it's wet and shrinks as it dries, which lifts and drops whatever sits on it. That's a citywide finding, not a test of your lot, so I look at your soil, how water moves across your yard and what the old slab sat on before I plan the base.

What we build in Pleasant Hill

Concrete driveway building
A new driveway starts with the old slab broken out and the clay dug down to firm ground, then a packed rock base, steel and cut joints.
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Concrete patio construction
For a back patio that stays put, we set the slope so rain runs away from the house, then pour on a packed base.
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Stamped concrete services
We press stone, slate or brick patterns into the concrete while it's soft, so we time the pour to the weather as carefully as you choose the pattern.
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Concrete sidewalk building
Front walks here often have one panel lifted or sunk at a joint. We replace the bad sections or the whole run, matching the slope and the finish.
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Garage floor concrete
A garage floor carries a car every day, so we pour it thick enough over a packed base, with steel inside and joints cut to steer cracks.
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Decorative concrete
Colored concrete, exposed stone and saw-cut patterns let a plain slab suit your house. We talk through how each finish wears and how much upkeep it asks for.
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Concrete retaining walls
A retaining wall holds back soil on a sloped yard, and on clay it needs a solid footing and drainage behind it so water doesn't push it over.
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Concrete floor installation
We pour interior concrete floors for workshops, sheds and additions, setting a vapor barrier under the slab when the room will be finished or used for storage.
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Concrete pool decks
Around a pool you want a deck that sheds water away from the edge and isn't slick when wet, so we plan the slope and texture first.
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Concrete steps construction
Concrete steps need the same height on every step so nobody trips, and footings deep enough that they don't pull away from the house as clay moves.
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Slab foundation building
For a new garage, addition or accessory building, we form and pour the slab foundation to the engineer's plans, with the steel and thickened edges they call for.
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Foundation installation
We dig, set forms and steel and pour a full foundation to the approved drawings, and engineering questions go to your engineer, not to guesswork on site.
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Concrete parking lot building
Small lots for offices, churches and shops along the busier streets need a thick slab and a plan for where the stormwater goes, which we settle before pouring.
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Concrete footings
Footings are the concrete under a wall, post or porch that spreads its weight into the ground, and on clay their depth and width matter most.
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Foundation raising
If a floor has sunk or doors have started sticking, raising the foundation can bring it back toward level, after an engineer has looked at why it moved.
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Concrete cutting
We saw-cut concrete for new openings, utility trenches and clean edges where only part of a slab is coming out, so the rest stays whole.
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Working in Pleasant Hill: permits, licenses and planning the pour

In Pleasant Hill, permits go through the city. The Building Division requires a building permit for any work that physically changes a structure or adds one to your property, such as a foundation for a new addition, and the application goes to the city's Permitting Office, so we leave room in the schedule for that review before anything is poured. Before you hire anyone, you can check two things: that they hold a California contractor license from the state licensing board, and that they hold a Pleasant Hill business license, which the city requires even of contractors who work here from an office in another city. We're fully licensed and insured, and I'll help you work out which offices your project goes through, whether that's the city, the county or both, and we handle the permit paperwork with you as part of the job.

Pleasant Hill sits along Interstate 680 in the middle of Contra Costa County, a short drive from Lafayette, where we're based, and that matters on pour day because a loaded concrete truck can't sit in traffic for long. We plan deliveries around the busy hours on the freeway and near Diablo Valley College, the same way we do for jobs farther south in San Ramon. Your price turns mostly on the size of the slab, how much old concrete comes out, how deep we dig through clay to reach firm ground, how easily the truck reaches the spot and the finish you choose, from a plain broom finish, the light texture that gives shoes and tires grip, to stamped or colored work. The schedule turns on whether a permit is involved, the weather and the curing wait before the slab can take weight, and I'll give you your own figures when I come out to look.

We dig below the soft clay to firm subgrade, the ground the slab actually rests on, and pack a rock base over it in layers, because a base that's only raked level settles along with the dirt.
Before the forms go up, I look at where your downspouts empty and where water stands after rain, so the new slab falls away from the house instead of toward it.
The old slab tells us a lot, since a lifted edge, a sunken middle or a crack that keeps reopening each points to a different problem underneath.
When the truck can't reach a back yard, we pump the concrete or wheel it in, and that choice gets made at the estimate so it isn't a surprise on pour day.
If the budget is tight, I'll lay out both options and you decide, but I'd rather simplify the finish than thin the base, because nobody sees the base on day one and it's what decides how the slab holds up.

Your free on-site estimate in Pleasant Hill

Thank you for thinking of us, and please tell us what's going on with your driveway, patio, walkway or other concrete. We'll get back to you within one business day to set a time for me to come out and look at it myself. The estimate is free, done on site and comes with no obligation, and if you go ahead, I'm on the job alongside our crew.

(925) 298-0707

Questions Pleasant Hill homeowners ask us

Do I need a permit to replace a concrete driveway or patio in Pleasant Hill?

The city doesn't ask for a building permit for driveways, pathways and patios, which it treats as ground work, but other city permits can still apply. Work that reaches the street, curb or gutter may need an encroachment permit through the Engineering Division, and the city counts about 700 homes in FEMA flood zones, where improvements may need a Floodplain Development Permit. When you're unsure, the city asks you to call the Building Division at (925) 671-5200, and we'll go through it with you at the estimate.

Does a concrete contractor in California need a state license?

Yes, if the job needs a building permit, uses any workers besides the contractor, or costs $1,000 or more for labor and materials together. The state raised that limit from $500 to $1,000, so the only exception is a small job done alone with no permit. You can look up any contractor with the Contractors State License Board before you sign.

What hours can construction crews work in Pleasant Hill?

The city allows construction Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. On warm days we start a pour as early as those hours allow, because concrete placed in the midday heat can dry too fast and leave a weak, dusty top. If your job needs a weekend day, we plan around the later start.

Will my new concrete driveway crack like the old one?

It can, because concrete shrinks as it cures and clay moves under it, but we do the work that keeps cracks small and in places we choose. Over the packed base we set rebar, the steel bars that hold the slab together if it cracks, and cut control joints, grooves that give the slab a straight line to crack along. Then we keep it damp while it cures, the slow hardening that sets its strength, and you can usually walk on it well before you can drive on it.

Service areas

We're based in Lafayette and work throughout the East Bay, in Lafayette and many of the cities around it. These are the cities with their own page on our site, and if yours isn't listed, please call and ask.

Call (925) 298-0707 or use the form, and if you can, mention where water collects after a heavy rain, because that tells me a lot about the ground before I arrive.