Concrete Contractor in Placentia, CA - Driveways and Patios on a Solid Base

The City of Placentia's list of work that needs no building permit includes driveways, walks and platforms no more than 30 inches above the ground and not over a basement or a room below. The city also says separate plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits are still required for those items unless they're exempted on their own, so a drain line or lighting in the slab may need its own permit. For anything else, like footings or a retaining wall, and whenever we're unsure what applies, we ask the city's Building and Safety Division before work begins.

Yes, for almost any driveway or patio job. California requires a current license from the Contractors State License Board for anyone who contracts for work that needs a building permit, uses employees, or totals $1,000 or more in labor and materials combined. The city also requires every business working in Placentia to hold an annual city business license, and it asks for that license number before it issues a building permit. We're fully licensed and insured.

The city requires plans accepted into review now to meet the 2025 California Building Code. That matters for work built from drawings, such as foundations, footings and slabs for additions, because plans drawn to the older code may need updating before they go in. If you already have plans, I'll look them over when I come out.

The price comes down to your driveway's size, how much old concrete has to be broken out and hauled away, and how much work the ground needs before we pour. A plain broom finish, the lightly brushed texture that gives tires and shoes grip, costs less than stamped or colored concrete, and tight access or a permit step can add to it. If the budget is tight, I'd rather you choose a plainer finish than a thinner base, because nobody sees the base on day one but it decides how the slab holds up.

You'll be off a new driveway longer than the pour itself takes, because the concrete has to cure before it can carry a car. Foot traffic comes first and cars later, and I'll tell you both waits for your job at the estimate so you can plan where to park. Breaking out the old slab and building the base come before the pour, so those days count too.

Most early cracks come from loose ground underneath, water running the wrong way or joints cut too late, not from the concrete itself. We dig out and pack the base instead of raking it level, slope the slab away from the house, pour in the cooler part of the day so the top doesn't dry weak and dusty, and cut the control joints on time. Concrete can still crack, but with those steps a crack usually stays thin and follows a line we chose.