Concrete contractor in Hayward, CA - driveways and slabs built to drain and stay put

Most of the cracked and sinking slabs we break out in Hayward tell the same story underneath. The ground was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so when the soil swelled with water and shrank as it dried, the slab moved with it, and roots from older trees lifted the rest. Water makes all of it worse, and a slab that falls toward the house sends rain against the foundation and under the concrete. We dig down to firm ground, pack a new subgrade, the layer the slab sits on, and set the slope so water heads for the street or the yard.

Hayward sits close to the Hayward fault. That's why I won't pour a foundation, footing or retaining wall here without good plans, and why the steel goes exactly where the engineer drew it.

Building permits here come from the City of Hayward through its Permit Center, and when your job needs one, our pour date waits until it's issued. The city's quick over-the-counter list covers small jobs like re-roofing and water heaters, and concrete isn't on it, so we settle the permit question before we put you on the calendar and handle the paperwork and inspections with you. Before you hire anyone, ask for two things. A concrete contractor should hold a state contractor license, and the city requires a Hayward business license from every business working here, even one based outside the city.

Your price mostly turns on the size of the slab, how much old concrete we break out and haul off, and how much digging and packing the ground needs. The schedule turns on the permit, the weather and the curing wait before you can use it. A flat lot west of Mission Boulevard is easy for a truck, while a steep street in the hills toward Castro Valley can mean pumping concrete up the slope, which adds cost. If the budget is tight, I'll tell you to cut the fancy finish before you cut the base, because the base is buried on day one and it's the part that decides whether the slab settles. The estimate I write up puts your own figure on all of it, the same way we do it next door in San Lorenzo.

Hayward is mostly single-family houses, a lot of them one-story homes on flat blocks running toward the bay, with older houses near downtown and newer ones climbing into the hills. Mixed in are apartment buildings, rentals and small shops along the main roads, so our calls come from homeowners, landlords and business owners alike, for anything from a set of front steps to a small parking lot.

The work is close to what we do in Cherryland and Union City, but here the ground changes fast between the flats and the hills. Down on the flats it's mostly flatwork, the driveways, patios and walks that sit right on soil that moves with water, and up the slopes it's walls, steps and footings that have to hold the hill back.