Concrete sidewalk building in Hayward, CA - a firm base and a walk that sheds water

Most people call us because the walk out front has cracked, lifted or started holding water, and they want it fixed once. The price moves mostly with the size of the walk, whether there's old concrete to tear out and haul away, how much soft ground has to come out underneath and the finish you pick, while the schedule turns on the weather, the curing time and, for a public sidewalk, the city permit. If the walk ties into your front steps, we can rebuild those in the same job with our concrete steps construction work, and when I come out I'll write up an estimate that breaks each of those pieces down for your walk.

No new walk stays crack free, so I put our effort into the parts that decide how it holds up. We break out the old concrete and haul it off, then dig out the soft dirt and pack the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, until it's firm. We set the forms so water runs off the walk and away from the house, and we pour early in the day, because concrete placed in midday heat dries too fast and leaves a weak, dusty top. Our crew gives it a broom finish, a light texture that keeps feet from slipping when it's wet, and cuts control joints, shallow lines that give the slab a planned place to crack, before it has a chance to crack on its own. Then we keep it damp while it cures, since concrete that dries out too soon ends up weaker. If the budget is tight, I'll tell you to spend it on the base before the finish, because nobody sees the base on day one but it's what decides whether your walk settles.

A new walk often leads to the next project close by. If the walk runs up to the garage and the floor in there is cracked or sinking too, our garage floor concrete work can be lined up with it. If you'd like color or a pattern instead of plain gray, decorative concrete works on a walk as well, and I'll tell you plainly where it's worth the extra cost.

In Hayward, the sidewalk in front of your property is yours to keep up. The city has made clear that under state law, maintenance and repair of a sidewalk falls on the property owner next to it, which is why the bill for a new walk usually lands with you. Any work in the public right-of-way, and that includes the sidewalk, needs an Encroachment Permit from the City of Hayward, and the city says it may be a Minor or a Major permit depending on the area, how long the work runs and its scope. We handle the paperwork and inspections with you, so you're not left sorting out which permit fits your job.

On jobs around here we see plenty of walks lifted by street tree roots and slabs that sank because the dirt under them was never packed, and the fix is the same either way, which is to get underneath and rebuild the base. We run into the same thing on jobs in Castro Valley and San Leandro, and we work in the cities around Hayward across the East Bay and over on the Peninsula.