Concrete Contractor in Pasadena, CA - Driveways and Slabs Built on a Solid Base
Optimum Alhambra Concrete is a concrete contractor based in Alhambra. We pour driveways, patios, garage floors, steps, retaining walls, footings and foundations for Pasadena homes, apartment buildings and small commercial lots.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Pasadena's older homes and long side driveways
Pasadena has a lot of older houses, from Craftsman bungalows to Spanish-style homes, and many of them sit in the city's designated historic neighborhoods. Apartment buildings and small commercial lots line the busier streets. On a typical house job here, we find a long, narrow driveway running along the side of the house to a detached garage in back, a front walk lifted by a street tree, and a patio someone poured decades ago.
We see much the same next door in South Pasadena and San Marino. Here it means the old concrete has to come out in pieces beside walls, porches and garage doors, and the new forms have to fit lot lines and older steps that were never quite square.
Concrete services for Pasadena homes and lots
Concrete driveway building
Long side driveways to detached garages are common in Pasadena, and when yours has cracked or lifted, we tear it out, rebuild the base and pour new.
Concrete patio construction
Backyard patios on older lots often tip toward the house, so we set the slope to carry water away before we pour a new one.
Stamped concrete services
Stamped concrete presses a stone or brick pattern into a patio or walk, a look that suits Pasadena's Spanish and Craftsman houses.
Concrete sidewalk building
Front walks heaved by tree roots turn into a tripping hazard, so we replace them with even sections and joints cut where cracks should go.
Garage floor concrete
Detached garages behind older homes here often have thin, broken floors, and we pour a new slab sized for the cars and storage it has to carry.
Decorative concrete
Color, exposed stone and textured finishes let a driveway or courtyard match an older house, and we settle the color and finish in writing before pour day.
Concrete retaining walls
Where a yard steps down or a slope presses on a patio, we build a steel-reinforced concrete wall on a footing sized for the ground behind it.
Concrete floor installation
For workshops, additions and commercial spaces, we pour interior floors flat and level, with the base and moisture barrier checked before the truck arrives.
Concrete pool decks
Around a backyard pool we pour a deck that slopes splash water away from the pool and the house, with a textured surface that gives bare feet grip.
Concrete steps construction
Older front steps that have chipped, settled or pulled away from the porch get replaced with even step heights, set on a footing instead of loose fill.
Slab foundation building
For additions, garages and backyard units, we lay out the slab against the approved plans and check forms, steel and base before the truck backs in.
Foundation installation
When an older house needs a new foundation section or an addition needs its own, we build to the approved plans and check layout before anything is poured.
Concrete parking lot building
Apartment and small commercial owners along Pasadena's busier streets call us for lots graded to drain and poured thick enough for the traffic they carry.
Concrete footings
Footings for walls, additions and patio covers are dug to the depth the plans call for and checked before we pour, because everything above depends on them.
Foundation raising
When part of an older house or slab has settled, we look at what's underneath first, then raise and support it where that's the right fix.
Concrete cutting
We saw-cut clean lines to take out a broken section, open a slab for plumbing or fit new work, so you replace only the part that's failing.
Get a written concrete estimate for your Pasadena job
We reply within one business day to set a time, then I come out to measure. The estimate is free and written, lists each part of the job, and comes with no obligation.
(626) 597-0288- Based in
- Alhambra, CA 91801
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–9 PM
Pasadena permits, licenses and what sets the price
Most construction in Pasadena needs a building permit from the city's Permit Center, and work that doesn't can still need a zoning permit, which checks the job against the city's zoning rules. If your job needs one, we handle the application and keep you posted on where it stands, and the pour date waits on it. Before you hire anyone here, look the contractor up with the California Contractors State License Board and ask for a current City of Pasadena business license, which every business working in the city needs and contractors have to show when they pull a permit. The city's permit staff check the state license and workers' compensation insurance too, and we're licensed and fully insured.
The price here moves with the size and thickness of the slab, the old concrete we break out and haul off, how much base we dig out and pack, the steel and finish you choose, and how easily our crew can get concrete to the spot. The schedule turns on the permit, the curing wait before you can use the slab, and the weather, because we'd rather pour on a cool morning than in afternoon heat that leaves a weak, dusty top. Your written estimate lists each part, so you can see exactly what's included. We do the same work in the cities around Pasadena, including El Monte and Glendale.
Older Pasadena concrete and what fails first
Much of the concrete around Pasadena houses is decades old, and we see the same problems on job after job. Driveways and walks poured thin over a raked dirt base have settled and cracked, big trees have lifted sections at the seams, and some slabs tip toward the house so rain pools against the garage or the foundation. We dig down to firm subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, and pack the base in layers, then set the fall so water runs away from the house. A driveway usually goes in about 4 inches thick, more where a heavy truck parks, with rebar, the steel that keeps cracks from spreading apart. We also cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the concrete a straight place to crack as it shrinks.
Some Pasadena owners are rebuilding after the Eaton Fire, and that work starts with footings and a foundation. The city lists an optional older set of building codes for Eaton Fire rebuilds alongside the current ones, so before we pour, I check which set your approved plans were drawn to and lay out the forms against them.
How a Pasadena job runs once you call us
Here's how a Pasadena job goes from your first call to the final walk-through, and where you'll hear from me along the way.
Call us or send the form
Tell us what you want poured, and send a photo if you have one. We set a time for me to come out and see the site.
I measure and write it up
I measure, check where the water runs and ask what the concrete has to carry and what goes on top of it, so it helps if you're home. You get a written estimate listing each part of the job, so you can compare bids line by line before you spend anything.
We handle the permit and pour
If a permit's involved, we take care of it, and the pour date waits on the city's sign-off. On pour day I'm on site while our crew forms, pours and finishes, and I check the work as it goes.
We walk the job together
When we finish, I walk the job with you before we call it done. I'll also go over the curing wait before you walk or drive on the new slab.
Questions about concrete work in Pasadena
How do I find out if my driveway replacement in Pasadena needs a permit?
In Pasadena's residential zones, a driveway or other paving needs a zoning permit, even when the job doesn't call for a building permit. The city's permit application page explains the zoning and building permits. We work out which ones your job needs and handle the application before we schedule the pour.
Does a concrete retaining wall need a permit in Pasadena?
Yes. A lower retaining wall up to 4 feet high, measured from the footing, needs a zoning permit in Pasadena. For a taller wall, we ask the Permit Center what it needs before any layout starts.
Can I pull my own permit in Pasadena and hire cheaper help for the concrete?
You can get a permit as an owner doing your own work in Pasadena, without the contractor requirements. But if you then hire unlicensed workers, you have to provide their workers' compensation insurance and you take on other liabilities. The state board licenses anyone whose job needs a building permit, uses employees, or comes to $1,000 or more in labor and materials, and the city's Permit Center highly recommends hiring a licensed contractor.
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Pasadena?
A Pasadena driveway is priced from your measurements, so you get a real figure once I've seen the site and written it up. Beyond size and thickness, the big swings here are breaking out the old slab and access, since a long, narrow side drive can mean moving concrete by wheelbarrow instead of pouring straight from the truck. If you need to save, pick a plain broom finish, a lightly brushed texture that gives tires and shoes grip, before you cut the base, because a finish can be upgraded later and a weak base can't be fixed without tearing the slab out.
How long before I can drive on a new concrete driveway in Pasadena?
You can usually walk on a new driveway after about a day and drive a car on it after about a week. That wait is curing, the time concrete needs to gain strength, and on hot, dry days we keep the surface damp longer so the top doesn't dry out too fast. I'll tell you the wait for your slab at the walk-through.
What happens if my Pasadena house has unpermitted concrete work when I sell?
When you sell in Pasadena, the city's Occupancy Inspection Program researches the property, inspects the site and reports any illegal construction it finds. Owners with illegal construction may be forced to tear it out, which is one more reason we pull the permit whenever a job needs one.
Alhambra, CA
Get your Pasadena concrete job measured right
Call (626) 597-0288 or send the form, and have any old plans or photos of the property handy, since they help me see what's under the old slab before we price it.