Lot cracked, sinking or holding water? We even out the ground, then pour a slab thick enough for the cars and trucks that park there.
Concrete parking lot building in Irvine, CA means preparing the ground, then forming, pouring and finishing a slab sized for the vehicles that will use it, so you end up with a lot that stays flat and needs little upkeep when it's built to suit how it's used.
Most owners call because a lot is cracked, sinking or holding water, or because a site needs parking it doesn't have yet. Either way, the work follows the same steps. We take out what's there, get the ground even, set forms and pour. Then we give the top a broom finish, a light texture so tires and shoes don't slip, and cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the slab a planned place to crack.
The price follows the size of the lot and how much weight it has to carry. The schedule turns on any permit review and on the wait while the new concrete cures before traffic goes back on it. I go over both with you at the site visit, and the written estimate shows what's included.
Call us or use the form, and we'll set a time for me to come see the lot. It helps to tell us whether it's a new lot or a replacement.
I walk the site, take measurements and ask what cars and trucks will use the lot, because that decides how thick the slab needs to be. You get a written estimate that shows what's included, so you know what you're paying for before anything starts.
If the job needs a city permit, we file it and keep you posted while it's under review. Then our own crew takes out any old pavement, and we even out and pack the ground before a single form goes up.
We pour early in the day, because midday heat can leave a weak, dusty top, and we cut the joints on time so cracks land where we chose. Before we leave, we walk the finished lot with you.
Everything starts under the slab. A concrete lot doesn't need a special base layer, but the subgrade, the soil the slab rests on, should be the same type, moisture and density all the way across, so we dig out patches that differ and replace them with matching material. That work is buried on day one, and it's often the first thing a tight bid trims. I won't trim it, because a slab is only as flat as the ground under it.
The City of Irvine's precise grading permits cover parking lot upgrades and maintenance, and each one needs a Water Quality Management Plan unless the city excepts the project. Adding spaces, changing the landscaping, re-striping, or resurfacing that needs new striping takes a parking lot modification permit, and those changes may have to meet the state building code's accessibility standards. If you're in an HOA, we'll give you the drawings and details they need for approval.
What a parking lot job includes:
If the slabs are still level and the cracks are narrow, we can usually cut out and replace the damaged panels and leave the rest alone. When sections have sunk, rock under a tire or hold water, the ground beneath them has moved, and a patch would sit on the same weak soil. In that case I'll recommend tearing out that area and redoing the ground. If it's the building beside the lot that has settled, that calls for foundation raising, not new paving.
Size comes first, then the thickness your vehicles call for, since heavier trucks need more concrete under them. Taking out old asphalt or concrete adds labor and hauling, and soft or uneven ground means more digging and fill before the pour. Rebar, the steel bars that help hold a slab together, raises the price per square foot over an unreinforced pad. Permits, drainage work and how easily trucks can reach the site also play a part.
I come out to look at every lot myself, and either I or my foreman runs the work on site with our own crew. We keep trucks and materials where you've agreed, protect the curbs, planting and buildings next to the work, and leave your property as tidy as we found it.
Before you sign, I'll explain what each line of the estimate pays for and why. If a shortcut would cost you later, I'll tell you plainly instead of taking it, and then we do exactly what the estimate says. We've been in business since 2013. We're licensed and insured, with satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
Call (949) 518-3401 with the lot's rough size, the vehicles it serves and any pavement coming out, so I can plan the visit.
Tell us the lot's rough size and the vehicles it serves. We reply within one business day to set a time for my free on-site visit and written estimate, with no obligation.
Concrete slab and pad work in Orange County usually costs about $7 to $14 per square foot, not counting staining or stamping. That's the going rate across the area rather than our price. Your lot's figure depends on its size, thickness and site work, so I measure it and put everything in a written estimate.
Yes, if the job removes more than 3,000 square feet of pavement or digs out more than 50 cubic yards of soil, because the city's parking lot permit rules call for a grading permit past either line. Sites disturbing more than an acre also need a Notice of Intent from the Regional Water Quality Control Board with the permit papers, so we plan for that filing early. Below those lines, the other city parking lot permits described above can still apply.
The usual advice is to keep cars off a new slab for three days and trucks off for seven. That wait is curing, the time concrete needs to gain strength, and it can end sooner when tests show the concrete is strong enough. We help you plan when the lot reopens to cars and then to trucks, so tenants and deliveries aren't caught off guard.
The slab should get thicker as the vehicles get heavier. One Illinois concrete trade group suggests stepping up from car parking to areas for heavier commercial and industrial trucks, and it treats heavy industrial truck areas as their own design. I ask what will park and drive on your lot, and we set the final thickness from that.
Pervious pavement, which lets water soak through it, can reduce stormwater runoff and does a good job of pulling solids out of it, though its effect on other pollutants is still unclear. Whether it suits your lot depends on the site, the soil and the local climate, so those get checked before anyone chooses it. If you're curious about it, ask me at the estimate.
The state's concrete contractor license class covers pavement and flat concrete work like a parking lot. It's fair to ask anyone bidding your lot which license they hold before you sign anything.
We're based in Irvine and build parking lots across the cities around it, including Tustin and Costa Mesa. Pick your city below, or call if yours isn't listed.
