Concrete contractor in Berkeley - Driveways and walls built for the hills

Most of the trouble we see on Berkeley concrete starts with water and slope. Up in the hills, rain comes down the lot fast and finds the low spot, and too often that's a driveway falling toward the garage or a patio poured tight against the house. Down in the flats the ground is gentler, but plenty of older walks and driveways went in on dirt that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so they've settled with the dirt and cracked wherever they pleased. On the farm we'd say you can't fix a leaning post by painting it, and concrete's the same. I spend most of my time on the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, and on where the water will run before we set a single form.

Berkeley also sits close to major earthquake faults, as the city points out when it talks about building codes. For footings, walls and foundations, that's one more reason we build to the engineer's plans when the job has them, set the rebar, the steel that ties the concrete together, where it belongs, and never shave the base to save a day.

Building permits in Berkeley come from the city's Permit Service Center, and when your job needs one, its review sets our start date more than anything we control. Before you hire anyone, check that they hold a California contractor license and a Berkeley business license, which the city requires of contractors who apply for building permits there. We're licensed and fully insured, and when a permit is needed we pull it as your contractor and handle the paperwork and inspection calls for our part of the work. Price here mostly follows the site. How steep the lot is, how close a concrete truck can get, how much old concrete comes out and gets hauled off, and how deep we dig for the base all move it. The schedule turns on the permit review, the weather around pour day and curing, the wait while new concrete gains strength before you load it. Your written estimate spells out what's included.

Hill streets are where Berkeley jobs take the most planning. Many are narrow and winding with cars parked tight on both sides, so before I write a number down I look at where the truck can stand and whether we'll pump or wheel the concrete in. The flats closer to the bay are easier to reach but tighter between houses. We work the same way over the hill in Concord and next door in Oakland, base and water first.

Berkeley runs from the steep Berkeley Hills, up around the Rose Garden and the rock parks of Northbrae, down through older neighborhoods to the flats by the bay. Up top, houses sit on sloped lots with long runs of stairs, steep driveways and walls holding back the yard. Lower down, lots are flatter and closer together, and a lot of the concrete we're called about is older walks, driveways and garage slabs that have shifted over the years.

We're a concrete contractor based in Orinda, just over the hill, and we also work north in Richmond. Whichever end of Berkeley you're in, the slope and the water decide most of the job, more than the finish on top.