Port Hueneme Concrete is a concrete contractor based in Port Hueneme, CA, and we come up the coast to Carpinteria to pour driveways, patios, steps and slab foundations. I learned this trade on big commercial pours, and I still care most about the ground under the slab.
(805) 269-8744
A lot of the houses we work on in Carpinteria are older homes on raised foundations, the kind where you take a step or two up to the front porch. That means the job is often new steps, a walk or a driveway that has to meet an old house cleanly. Before we set a single form, we look at how the house sits and where the water runs, because a new slab that tips toward the house sends rain right where you don't want it.
The ground is the bigger story. When the city proposed building code changes a while back, it named expansive soils, the kind that swell when wet and shrink as they dry, along with earthquake faults and flooding that calls for careful site drainage. That's why we dig out and pack the subgrade, the dirt and gravel the slab actually sits on, instead of raking it level, and why drainage gets planned at the estimate and not on pour day.
Send the form or call (805) 269-8744, and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time. I'll come out to your Carpinteria property myself, look at the ground and the drainage, and write up an estimate that shows what's included. There's no obligation and no pressure to book.
(805) 269-8744Most of what we pour here is flatwork, the flat slabs like driveways, patios, walks and garage floors, often replacing a driveway that's settled or a patio that pools water by the back door. We also build front steps, retaining walls, slab foundations and footings, and backyards with a pool get concrete pool decks with a texture that holds your footing when it's wet. Stamped and decorative finishes, concrete cutting and foundation raising round it out, and every one of them starts from the same dug-out, packed base.
Inside city limits, building permits come from the city's Community Development Department, which issues them for most structures and alterations. Concrete work isn't on the short list an older city brochure says can be issued on the spot, so if your job needs a permit, plan on a review before we pour. That same brochure lists a paved driveway replaced at the same size and spot, and a retaining wall up to four feet from the bottom of its footing to the top that isn't carrying extra load from above, as work that needs no building permit, but changing the paved area may need a city permit, so the department is the place to ask about your own project. Before you hire anyone here, you can check two things, a contractor's state license and a current city business license.
If your job needs a permit, I'll tell you at the estimate, and we take care of the application and the inspections with the city so you're not running paperwork back and forth. The price mostly turns on the size of the slab, how much old concrete has to come out, how deep we dig and how much base we bring in, whether it needs rebar, steel set inside the slab to hold it together if it cracks, and whether you want a plain broom finish, the light brushed texture that gives shoes and tires grip, or something stamped. The schedule turns on any permit review and on curing, the days the concrete needs to gain strength before it takes weight, and Carpinteria is a straight drive up the 101 for our crew, the same crew and the same way of working we bring to Ventura and Moorpark.
I poured slabs and parking lots for a big commercial outfit before starting this business in 2017, and I still come out myself to look at the job. I check the ground, the slope and where your water runs, then write it all down so you can see what's included.
Nobody sees the base once the slab is down, so it's the first thing people want to trim. I'd rather you skip a fancy finish than a proper dig-out and packed base, because a good-looking slab on loose dirt sinks and cracks right along with it.
Our own crew forms, pours and finishes, and we cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the slab a straight place to crack, before cracks can pick their own spot. We pour early in the day and keep the surface from drying too fast, so the top stays hard instead of dusty.
We're licensed and fully insured, and we pick up seven days a week, Mon–Fri: 6 AM–9 PM and Sat–Sun: 8 AM–10 PM. Your satisfaction, guaranteed. Call (805) 269-8744 or send the form and tell us what's going on with your Carpinteria driveway, patio or slab.
The cost comes down to the size of the driveway, how much old concrete has to be broken out and hauled away, how much base work the ground needs and the finish you choose. With the swelling soil we talked about above, the base is often where a Carpinteria driveway differs most from one on firm ground. Your written estimate breaks out each part so you can see where the money goes.
You can usually walk on a new slab well before you can drive on it, because concrete keeps gaining strength for days after the pour. I'll give you both times for your job at the estimate, so you can plan where to park and how to get to the door in the meantime.
Most cracks come from a base that settles, joints cut late or skipped, or a pour that dries out too fast in the afternoon heat. Concrete can still crack a little, so we cut control joints to give it a straight line to crack along and put most of our effort into the base so the slab doesn't sink with the dirt under it.
The Contractors State License Board requires a license when the job needs a building permit, uses any extra workers, or costs $1,000 or more in labor and materials combined. A bigger job can't be split into pieces under $1,000 to get around that, so ask any contractor for their license number and check it with the board before you sign.
Yes, as a rule the city requires a business license for business done inside city limits. Every city license expires on June 30 each year, so if a contractor shows you one, make sure it's current and not last year's.
Start with drainage, because with the soil and flooding issues covered above, a patio has to shed water away from the house before anything else matters. At the estimate we walk the yard together, look at the slope, where the joints should go, the thickness and the finish, so the plan is settled before our crew starts digging.
