Concrete Contractor in Torrance, CA - Driveways and Patios Built for Clay Soil
Lomita Concrete is a concrete contractor based in Lomita that pours driveways, patios, walkways, garage floors and foundations for homes across Torrance, with the owner on site from the first look to the final cleanup.
- Service area
- Torrance, CA
- Call
- (424) 667-0052
Torrance homes and the ground under them
The calls we get from Torrance are mostly about concrete people live with every day: a driveway cracked across the middle, a patio that's dropped toward the back wall, a front walk with a lip someone trips on. It's a short drive from our base in Lomita, and we do the same work next door in Redondo Beach and over in Long Beach.
The ground is the bigger story here. The city has said its soils are expansive, which is clay that swells when it gets wet and shrinks as it dries, and it made its foundation rules stricter because of it, with tougher soil checks tied to the nearby earthquake faults and the hillsides inside the city. Concrete on dirt like that holds up best when the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, is dug out and packed firm, so that's where I spend the most time on a Torrance job. That base work is a big part of what moves the price here, and whether your job needs a permit usually moves the schedule, so your written estimate spells out the prep and we go over the permit side with you at the visit.
Our services in Torrance, CA
Many Torrance driveways crack or lift where the soil below has moved. We dig out the old base, pack new fill in layers and cut control joints, grooves that tell cracks where to go.
Plenty of patios here tip toward the house, so water pools against the wall instead of running off. We check where water goes before we build forms, then slope the slab away from your house.
On ground that moves like Torrance's, a crack in stamped concrete shows more than in a plain slab, so we hide joints in the pattern lines. The base gets packed as firmly as a driveway's.
When a house or garage has settled on shifting clay, you see doors that stick and cracks that keep widening. We find where it dropped, raise it toward level and go after the cause.
Sloped backyards in Torrance's hillier neighborhoods need walls that hold the dirt back without leaning. We set them on solid footings and give water behind them a way out, since trapped water pushes walls over.
Room additions here sit on clay that moves, so the slab under them has to be built for it. We set rebar, steel that holds the slab together, and pour to the approved plans.
Every service we offer
Concrete driveway building
Concrete patio construction
Stamped concrete services
Concrete sidewalk building
Garage floor concrete
Decorative concrete
Concrete retaining walls
Concrete floor installation
Concrete pool decks
Concrete steps construction
Slab foundation building
Foundation installation
Concrete parking lot building
Concrete footings
Foundation raising
Concrete cutting
How a Torrance concrete job goes once you call us
Call or send us a note
Call (424) 667-0052 or use the form and tell us what's going on with your driveway, patio or slab. We'll set a time for me to come out to your place in Torrance, and it helps if you can be there.
Walk the job together
I look at the old concrete, the slope and where the water runs, and we talk through what you want. Then you get a written estimate that spells out the prep, the joints and the curing, plus which office the permit side involves and who handles each step.
Dig out, pack and pour
I lead the crew on your job, from tearing out the old slab to packing the base and setting the forms. I check in with you before the pour, and we cut the joints soon after, before the concrete can crack on its own.
Let it cure, then finish
Curing is the wait while the new slab hardens before you use it, and we'll tell you when it's ready for feet and when it's ready for the car. I check in with you again at the end, and we haul off the debris and clean up before we leave.
Torrance concrete questions answered
How do I get a permit for concrete work in Torrance?
Construction permits in Torrance go through the city's Building and Safety Division, and before you apply you need zoning clearance from the Planning or Environmental Division, with proof of it sent in along with the application. Since January 5, 2026, the city takes plans and applications electronically only, and you can follow a permit's status on its online citizen portal. At the estimate I'll explain who handles each step, and where one falls to you as the owner, I'll walk you through it.
Does a concrete patio or driveway need a permit in Torrance?
The sure answer comes from the Building and Safety Division, so check with the division before counting on skipping one. The exemptions in the city's draft ordinance are things like small one-story sheds and playhouses, low fences and finish work such as painting, tile, cabinets and countertops, and city staff say the update makes that list stricter to fit local conditions. We'll go over your job's permit side together during the estimate.
When does a concrete contractor need a California license?
Under the Contractors State License Board's guidance, a contractor needs a state license when the project needs a building permit, brings in any other workers, or when labor and materials on one or more contracts for the project come to $1,000 or more. The board also says a bigger job can't be split into smaller contracts to stay under that amount. We're fully licensed and insured, and it's fair to ask anyone bidding your job about theirs.
Does a contractor need a Torrance business license to work at my house?
Yes, the City of Torrance requires a business license for anyone whose company is in Torrance or who will physically work there, so a crew coming in from another city falls under it too. It also covers anyone using their own vehicles to deliver into Torrance.
How do I keep a new concrete driveway from cracking in Torrance?
Nobody can promise concrete won't crack, but you can keep it from settling and decide where the cracks go, and both start below the surface. On the moving clay we talked about above, we dig out and pack the subgrade instead of raking it level, slope the slab so water runs away from the house, time the pour so the top doesn't dry out before we finish it and cut the joints on time. A slab done that way is far less likely to end up like the one you're replacing.
What affects the cost of a concrete driveway in Torrance?
The size of the slab, how much old concrete has to come out, how easily a truck can reach the spot and the finish you pick set most of the price. A plain broom finish, a lightly brushed texture that gives tires and shoes some grip, costs less than stamped or decorative work. When people need to trim, the base is usually the first thing they want to cut because it's buried by the end of day one, and it's the last thing I'd cut, because a nice surface on a weak base sinks and cracks just like the old one.
Get a free written estimate for your Torrance concrete job
We reply within one business day, and the estimate is free with no obligation. I come out to your Torrance property, look at the job with you, then send a written estimate that says what we'll do and why.
- Call
- (424) 667-0052
- Location
- Lomita, CA 90717
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM
Talk to us about your Torrance concrete
Call (424) 667-0052 until 11 PM any day of the week, or send the form whenever it suits you.