Concrete Contractor in Rialto, CA - Driveways and Patios Built on a Packed Base
Classic Rialto Concrete Company is a concrete contractor based in Rialto, CA. We build driveways, patios, walkways, steps and garage floors here, and we dig out and pack the ground first so the slab sits on something solid.
What concrete looks like around Rialto homes
Rialto is where we're based. Most of what we pour here goes around single-story stucco houses on regular lots, on older blocks that still have the original driveway and walk and in newer tracts mixed in among them. On the older houses that first concrete has usually done its time, so the calls we get are about cracks, a section that's sunk, chipped edges or water sitting by the garage door. It's much the same work we do over in San Bernardino.
For your job, that means most of the work happens below the surface. Replacing an old slab means breaking it out, hauling it off and digging past whatever loose dirt was left under it, all while working around a garage, fence and gate that are already there.
Services in Rialto, CA
Concrete driveway building
Older Rialto driveways often crack and sink because the base was never packed. Our concrete driveway building starts by digging down to firm ground and compacting it.
Concrete patio construction
Back patios on older Rialto homes are often small or cracked through. We pour a new patio on packed ground, sized for how you use the yard.
Concrete sidewalk building
Front walks here get lifted and chipped until they trip someone. We replace the bad sections and cut control joints, grooves that decide where concrete cracks.
Garage floor concrete
Garage floors in older Rialto homes are often cracked and out of level. We break out the old slab, pack the ground and pour a smooth new floor.
Concrete retaining walls
Where a yard steps down, a wall has to hold the dirt back. We pour retaining walls on solid footings with drainage behind so water doesn't build up.
Concrete steps construction
Front steps on older houses here settle away from the porch and crack at the corners. We form new steps at even heights so nobody trips.
Working in Rialto: permits, licenses and what sets your price
In Rialto, the city's Building Department issues the permits for building, changing or tearing out structures. When your job needs one, the city's review comes before we can pour, so it sets the start date more than our crew does. Grading and work in the public right of way, such as where a driveway meets the street, go through the city's Engineering Department instead. When a permit's needed, we pull it and stay with the office through the inspections, and if I'm not sure which office covers your address, I find out before I bid. Before you hire anyone for concrete here, ask for their state contractor license and their Rialto business license, because the city requires one from every state-licensed contractor who bids on or does work in the city, subcontractors included. We're licensed and fully insured.
Your price mostly comes down to what I measure on the visit. That's the size and thickness of the slab, how much old concrete and loose dirt has to come out and be hauled off, and how close a mixer truck can get on a street lined with parked cars. The finish matters too, anywhere from a plain broom finish, the light texture that gives shoes and tires some grip, up to stamped. The schedule turns on the permit if there is one, the weather on pour day and how long the slab has to cure before you use it, and your written estimate spells out what's included. We've been doing this work since 2013, here and in the cities around Rialto like Fontana and Colton, where the houses ask the same things of the ground.
Why older Rialto slabs need more than a new top
A lot of Rialto lots have had concrete added over the years. Maybe a driveway got widened for a second car, a slab went in beside the garage or a patio got extended, and often different people did each piece with different base work. Those pieces then settle at different rates, and you get lips and trip edges where they meet. We tie new work into old where the old is sound and take it out where it isn't, because pouring against a section that's still moving just moves the problem over a few feet.
The city's own building code findings note two earthquake fault systems inside Rialto, the San Jacinto and the Rialto-Colton, though that's said of the city as a whole and doesn't map any single lot. For footings, foundations and retaining walls, we build to the plans the permit approves and leave the work open until the inspector has seen it.
Get a written estimate for your concrete job in Rialto
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set up a visit. I come out to your Rialto property for a free estimate, and you get it in writing with no obligation to go ahead.
What happens after you call us in Rialto
Call or send the form
Call (909) 546-5019 or use the form and tell us what's going on, whether it's a cracked driveway, a sunken patio or a new slab. A couple of photos help me get ready for the visit.
I come out and measure
I walk your property with you, take measurements, check where water runs and talk through your options and finishes. Then you get a written estimate that lists what's included.
We handle any city permit
If the job needs a permit, we pull it with the city. The city says patio and block wall permits can often be reviewed and issued within 10 business days, Monday to Thursday, while other permits have a tentative 20 business days of plan review and then about 10 more to issue, and any corrections start that review over.
Our crew forms and pours
We plan the pour around the weather, and our crew digs out, packs the base, sets the forms and pours while I'm there checking the work. On pour day it helps to have cars out of the garage and the side gate unlocked.
We walk the job together
When it's done, we walk the finished job together. I go over how to care for it, including when you can walk on it and when you can drive on it.
Questions Rialto homeowners ask about concrete
Do I need a permit to pour a concrete patio or driveway in Rialto?
A patio usually does, because patios are on the city's permit list along with retaining walls and masonry walls. Driveways and walkways aren't named on that list, and the list ends with "and more," so I check with Rialto Building and Safety before I bid instead of guessing. If your job needs a permit, we pull it.
When does a concrete contractor need a state license in California?
A contractor needs a license from the California Contractors State License Board to build or alter a structure when the project needs a building permit or uses employee labor, or when the contracts on it total $1,000 or more in labor and materials. The board lists a few exemptions, such as qualifying owner-builders, but anyone you hire to pour your driveway should be able to give you a license number before you sign.
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Rialto?
There's no single price, because a Rialto driveway is priced on its size, the tear-out, access and the finish, all things I measure at your house before you get a written estimate. When the budget gets tight, people want to cut the base prep first, since it's buried on day one and nobody ever sees it. I'd rather pour a plain broom finish on ground that's dug out and packed than a fancy finish over loose dirt, because the base is what decides whether the slab sinks.
How long does a new concrete driveway need to cure before I can drive on it?
You'll be walking on it well before you can drive on it, and I'll give you both dates for your pour once I know the weather that week. Curing is the stretch where the concrete hardens and gains strength, and a car on it too soon can crack it or leave marks that won't come out. Plan on parking on the street for a while, and we'll tape off the slab so nobody forgets.
What causes a concrete driveway to crack and sink?
Most of the time it's the ground underneath, a base that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so the dirt settled and the slab went with it. Water running under the edges makes it worse, and so do control joints that were cut late or skipped, because then the concrete cracks wherever it wants. We dig down to firm subgrade, the soil the slab sits on, compact it, add rebar, steel bars that hold the slab together, where the job calls for it, and cut the joints on time. Concrete can still crack a little, but it should crack in the joints and stay level.
How do I stop water from pooling against my house next to the patio?
The fix is a slab that slopes away from the house, so rain runs off toward the yard instead of back against your walls. A lot of the older patios we tear out in Rialto have sunk on the house side or were poured flat, and patching won't change which way they fall. Before we form a new one, I check where water runs now and set the forms so the slab carries it away.
Get your Rialto driveway or patio looked at
Our phone hours run seven days a week, from 7 AM on weekdays and 6 AM on weekends until 9 PM, so call (909) 546-5019 whenever it suits you or send the request form.