Concrete Contractor in Lomita, CA - Driveways and Patios Built on Solid Ground

The cost comes down to how big the driveway is, how much old concrete has to be broken out and hauled away, how much base work your ground needs and the finish you choose. A plain broom finish, light grooves dragged across the top for grip, costs less than stamped or colored concrete. If the budget's tight, I'd rather you save on the finish than the base, because the base is buried on day one and it's the part that keeps the slab from sinking later. Your written estimate spells out the prep, the joints and the curing, so you can hold any bid to the same standard.

Los Angeles County handles it for the city, according to an earlier city report that describes Lomita contracting with the county for its building and safety services. Under that arrangement, county staff do plan check, the review of your plans, and inspections for building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits on the city's behalf. Whether your job needs a permit is something we go over at the estimate, where I'll explain which office is involved, who handles each step and how to handle any step that falls to you.

Lomita follows Los Angeles County's building codes, which the city takes on as its own and updates as the county updates them, according to a city report. The same report describes a proposal to adopt the county's latest building and residential codes, among others, with a few changes for local conditions. For you, that means your project is held to the county's rules, not a separate set written by the city.

Ground that moves is usually behind it, and the city's own general findings describe hot, dry summers, strong Santa Ana winds, heavy winter rains that often leave the soil expansive, and ground marked by geological instability. Expansive soil swells when it's wet and shrinks as it dries, which lifts and drops whatever sits on it. Those findings cover the whole city, so I look at your yard itself, the dirt and where the water collects, before I say what your base needs.

You'll wait longer to drive on it than to walk on it, because curing, the time new concrete needs to gain strength, has to run its course before a slab carries a car. Heat and dry wind pull water out of the top fast and leave it weak and dusty, so on hot days we usually pour early in the morning, and I'll tell you on the day when it's ready for feet and when it's ready for your car. Rain can push a pour date, and so can any permit review your job needs, so plan on parking on the street for a while.

Get the base, the joints and the drainage right, because those decide how a slab cracks far more than the finish on top does. We dig out and pack the base instead of raking the dirt level, and we check where the water runs so the patio falls away from your house rather than toward it. Concrete can still crack, so we cut control joints, shallow grooves that give it a straight line to crack along, soon after the pour so the cracks land in the joints instead of wandering across the middle.