Concrete contractor in Irvine, CA - driveways and patios that drain right
Complete Lake Forest Concrete Company is a concrete contractor based in Lake Forest that pours driveways, patios, walks, steps and foundations for homes in Irvine, and replaces slabs that have cracked or sunk.
We're a Lake Forest concrete company, and our own crew pours driveways, patios, walks, steps and slab foundations for homes in Irvine and the cities around it. We're best known for flatwork, the slabs you walk and drive on, that drains the way it should, and for explaining a job before we price it.
- Base dug out and packed first
- Options explained before we price
- Joints cut, site left clean
Concrete work on Irvine homes
In Irvine, as everywhere we work, most calls are for a driveway, patio or walk, or a slab that's started to move. When an old slab has sunk or cracked, I look under it before pricing the new one, because the subgrade, the dirt and base it sits on, usually explains it. A base that was only raked level, never dug out and packed, settles and takes the concrete with it.
Where water pools against the house, the old slab was usually poured falling toward it instead of away. We check where your water runs before we set a form, so the new slab carries it off. It's the part nobody thinks about until there's a puddle at the back door.
What we pour in Irvine
Pick the job you're planning for your Irvine home to see what it involves, what moves the price and how we go about it.
Concrete driveway building
A new driveway poured over a dug-out, packed base, sloped so rain runs to the street instead of the garage.
Concrete patio construction
For a backyard slab you can sit and eat on, we form, pour and finish a patio that drains.
Stamped concrete services
Pressed patterns and color that look like stone or brick, on a patio, walk or pool deck.
Concrete sidewalk building
Front walks and side paths that replace sunken, tripping-height sections, with joints cut where cracks should go.
Garage floor concrete
If your garage slab is cracked, chipping or dusting, we tear it out and pour a new floor.
Decorative concrete
Color, exposed stone and smooth or textured finishes for slabs that show, like an entry or a courtyard.
Concrete retaining walls
Walls that hold back a slope or raised bed, set on footings and drained so water doesn't push them over.
Concrete floor installation
Interior concrete floors for additions, workshops and rooms where you want a hard, level surface that lasts.
Concrete pool decks
Around a pool, we pour a deck with a grippy top for bare feet and a slope to shed water.
Concrete steps construction
New front or back steps with even step heights, so nobody misjudges one, and steel tied inside.
Slab foundation building
The ground-level slab a new room, addition or outbuilding sits on, poured to the plans and checked before the pour.
Foundation installation
Foundations for additions and new structures, from digging and forms through steel and the pour.
Concrete parking lot building
For small property owners, we pour parking areas thick enough for daily car traffic and sloped to drain.
Concrete footings
Footings under walls, posts, patio covers and additions, dug to size so the weight above has firm ground under it.
Foundation raising
Where a slab has settled, we find out why before we lift it back toward level.
Concrete cutting
Clean saw cuts through an old slab for a new door, a drain line or a section that needs replacing.
Serving Irvine from Lake Forest
We're based in Lake Forest and work in cities across Orange County, Irvine among them, along with Costa Mesa and Tustin. If your city isn't listed on this site, call and ask, because the list isn't every place we go.
I come out to see every job and write the estimate myself, and our own crew does the work. That way the person who priced your slab is the one checking the base and the joints before the concrete covers them up.
Before you pour in Irvine
What moves the price is the slab's size, how much old concrete comes out, how much the base needs, and the finish, since stamped or colored work runs more than a plain broom finish. The schedule turns on prep and curing, the days fresh concrete needs to harden, and your estimate gives you your own figure.
If the budget gets tight, I'd cut the fancy finish before I'd cut the base. The base is buried on day one, which is why it's the first thing a cheap bid trims, and it's the part that decides whether your slab stays flat.
- Where the water should go once the new slab is in.
- Whether a patio cover is coming, since Irvine requires a permit for one at any size.
- The finish you want, settled before the pour, not during it.
How an Irvine job runs
We look at the site
You call or send the form, and I come out to walk the site with you, look at the old slab, the ground and where your water runs.
Options and estimate
I explain the options and why one fits better, then leave you an estimate. If a permit's needed, we apply with you on the city's PermitsDIRECT! portal.
Pour and walk-through
Our crew handles the prep, forms, pour and finish, I check the work at the key steps, and we walk the finished slab together at the end.
Common questions about concrete in Irvine
Does my concrete project in Irvine need a permit?
It can, and the city decides which jobs do. The City of Irvine Community Development Department issues permits for most construction or repair work the code covers and takes permit questions at (949) 724-6313. We check with the city before work starts, and if your job needs one, we handle the application with you.
Do I need a permit for a concrete retaining wall in Irvine?
Not if it's 4 feet tall or less, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, and isn't holding up extra weight like a slope or driveway above it. A taller or loaded wall isn't on the city's exempt list, and even an exempt wall still has to meet the codes.
Does a concrete contractor in Irvine need a state license?
Yes, when the work needs a building permit, uses employees or totals $1,000 or more in labor and materials, the state licensing board requires one, and the city requires every business working in Irvine to hold a city business license. For home improvement, the state caps the down payment at $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less. We're fully licensed and insured.
Will my new concrete driveway crack like the old one?
Some cracking is normal, because concrete shrinks as it hardens, so we plan where it happens. We cut control joints, grooves that give the slab a straight line to crack along, and dig out and pack the base, because random cracks usually start with a soft base or joints cut too late.
Tell us about your Irvine slab
Send the form or call (949) 619-8295 with what you're planning. We reply within one business day, then I come out and leave you a free estimate, no obligation.
Call (949) 619-8295