Concrete Contractor in Fairfield, CA - Driveways and Slabs Built Right Underneath
Custom Vacaville Concrete Company is a concrete contractor working in Fairfield, CA. We break out failing slabs and pour new driveways, patios, walks and foundations, digging out and packing the ground first and planning the joints before we pour.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Concrete work in Fairfield, from driveways to foundations
The short answer: Custom Vacaville Concrete Company pours driveways, patios, walks, garage floors, footings and foundations for homeowners in Fairfield. We're a concrete contractor based in Vacaville, CA, right next door, and most Fairfield calls are about replacing slabs that have cracked, sunk or started holding water, or adding new ones done right underneath.
Our Fairfield jobs are mostly at single-family homes. Some are in older neighborhoods where the original driveway has given up, and some are in newer subdivisions where the builder's slab already has a crack running across it. A lot of the work is one piece of a bigger plan, like a wider driveway, a backyard patio or a slab for a new shed. The calls sound much the same in Suisun City and back home in Vacaville, and we handle them the same way, starting with what's under the concrete.
On a typical lot here, the driveway runs from the garage straight to the public sidewalk and the patio sits right against the back wall of the house. Those two edges, where your concrete meets the city's walk and where it meets your foundation, are where we plan hardest.
Why Fairfield driveways and patios crack and sink
Here's the bad news first. When a slab here has sunk or broken up, the base underneath usually failed before the concrete did. On a lot of the old slabs we break out, the subgrade, the dirt and gravel the slab sits on, was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so it settled and took the concrete with it. We dig down to firm ground, bring in base rock and compact it before a form goes up. Nobody sees that work on pour day, and it's the first thing people want to cut from a budget. I'd still put your money there before I'd put it into a fancier finish, because a nice surface on a soft base cracks just the same.
Then there's the top. Old concrete that's chipping or dusty on the surface was often poured in the heat of the day, when the top dries out before it can be finished and ends up weak. In hot weather we pour in the cooler part of the morning, and we give driveways and walks a broom finish, a light texture dragged across the surface, so they have grip when they're wet.
Concrete services for Fairfield homes and properties
Concrete driveway building
When your driveway has cracked through, sunk near the street or holds water, we break it out, rebuild the base and pour a new one with planned joints.
Concrete patio construction
For a backyard patio that tips toward the house or has heaved, we pour a new slab that sheds water away and sits flat enough for a table.
Stamped concrete services
If you want a patio or walk that looks like stone or brick, we press a pattern into the wet concrete over a properly built base.
Concrete sidewalk building
When a front walk has lifted into a trip edge, we replace the sections that moved and match the new concrete to your steps and driveway.
Garage floor concrete
If your garage floor is cracked, pitted or sloped so water sits by the door, we pour a new slab built to carry cars and a workbench.
Decorative concrete
When plain gray won't suit the house, we can add color, exposed stone or a smoother finish to driveways, patios and walks without skipping the groundwork.
Concrete retaining walls
On a sloped yard where dirt keeps sliding onto a patio or path, we build a concrete retaining wall on a solid footing to hold it back.
Concrete floor installation
For a shop, storage building or room addition that needs a flat interior floor, we pour a level slab ready for whatever covering or equipment goes on it.
Concrete pool decks
When the deck around your pool has cracked or drains back toward the water, we replace it with a slab that sheds water away from the pool.
Concrete steps construction
If your front or back steps have pulled away from the house or rock when you stand on them, we form and pour new ones that sit solid.
Slab foundation building
For a garage, shed, workshop or addition that needs a slab foundation, we dig, compact and pour it to the plans so the building has a level start.
Foundation installation
When you're building new or adding on, we put in the foundation that carries the structure, built to the plans and ready before the framers arrive.
Concrete parking lot building
For a small business or rental property whose lot is broken up and holding water, we pour concrete paving built to take steady traffic and drain off rain.
Concrete footings
When a deck, patio cover, fence or wall needs something solid under it, we dig and pour footings, the concrete feet that spread the load into the ground.
Foundation raising
If part of your house has settled and doors stick or floors slope, we find what's moving underneath and raise it when lifting is the right fix.
Concrete cutting
When you need an opening for a door, a trench for a pipe or one bad section removed, we saw-cut it cleanly so the rest isn't broken up.
Get a free written estimate for your Fairfield concrete job
Call (707) 898-1384 or send the form, and we'll get back to you within one business day to set up a visit to your Fairfield property. I come out myself, walk the site with you and leave you with a written estimate that spells out what's included. It's free, and there's no obligation to book.
Working in Fairfield: permits, licenses and what sets the price
Permits in Fairfield are the city's call. Its Building Safety Division reviews new construction and changes to existing structures, and applications, plans and inspection dates all go through Fairfield BUILD, the city's online permit system, so when your job needs a permit, the city's review sets the earliest pour date. Before you hire anyone, ask for two licenses, a California contractor license and a Fairfield business license, because the city requires one from every contractor and subcontractor working inside city limits and makes the contractor responsible for seeing that its subs have one. We're fully licensed and insured.
Once we know what your address needs, we pull the permit, keep the papers on site and meet the inspector, the same homework we do in Davis and the other cities we work in, because each one has its own way of doing things. Your price comes down to how much concrete you need, whether an old slab has to come out first, how much base work the ground needs and the finish you pick, and your schedule turns on the permit, the weather and the cure. The written estimate puts your own numbers on paper.
What happens when you call us about concrete in Fairfield
Here's how a Fairfield job goes from the first call to a finished slab. I'm the one who looks at your site, and my crew does the work with me running it.
- Step 01
Call or send a request
Tell us what you're dealing with, like a cracked driveway or a new patio, and we'll find a time for me to come out. You don't need plans or measurements to call.
- Step 02
I walk the site with you
I look at the ground, where the water runs and what the concrete has to carry, from foot traffic to a loaded truck, and it helps if you're there to walk it with me. You get a written estimate that spells out what's included, so you know what you're paying for before anything starts.
- Step 03
We handle permits and pour
If your job needs a permit, we pull it first, and the city's review decides how soon we can pour. Then my crew digs out, packs the base, sets the forms, plans the joints, pours, finishes and lets it cure, and you don't need to be home for it.
- Step 04
Walk the finished job together
Once it's cured, we clean up, walk the finished job with you and go over how to look after it. Satisfaction guaranteed is how we work, so that walk is your chance to ask about anything you see.
Fairfield concrete questions we hear most
Do I need a permit to replace my concrete driveway in Fairfield?
You do if the new driveway changes the public sidewalk, because the city's homeowner guidance calls for a Public Works encroachment permit for that, separate from any building permit. Whether the driveway itself needs a building permit turns on its height under the same guidance, so I check what your address and your plans call for before I price the job.
When does a concrete contractor need a California state license?
A contractor needs a state license whenever the job needs a building permit, uses any extra workers, or costs $1,000 or more in labor and materials, counting every contract for the project. The Contractors State License Board issues those licenses, and nearly any driveway or patio clears that bar, so ask whoever you're considering for theirs before you sign.
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Fairfield?
I won't put a number on it until I've seen the driveway, because the biggest costs are things only the site shows, like the size, whether the old slab has to be broken out and hauled off, and how much digging and packing the base needs. A thicker slab with more steel for heavy trucks, or a stamped or colored finish instead of a plain broom finish, adds to it, and a simple shape the truck can reach easily keeps it down. Your written estimate lists each of those so you can see where the money goes.
How long before I can drive on a new concrete driveway in Fairfield?
You'll be walking on it well before you can drive on it, and I'll give you both dates for your slab before we pour, since the weather and the thickness change them. That wait is curing, the slow hardening while the concrete holds its moisture, and parking on it early is one of the easiest ways to damage a new slab, so plan where the cars will go for a while.
What causes concrete driveways in Fairfield to crack?
Concrete shrinks as it dries and moves a little with the ground, so some cracking is normal, and I'd rather tell you that than promise a slab that won't crack. We cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the slab a planned place to crack, before it can pick its own spot, and we set rebar, steel bars that hold the pieces together, where the slab has weight to carry. Cracks that open wide or drop on one side usually go back to the base, which is the dig-out-and-pack work I covered above.
How do I keep a new patio from draining toward my house in Fairfield?
Build the patio so it falls away from the house, and work out where the water goes after it leaves the slab before any forms go up. A patio poured flat or tipped toward the wall sends rain against your foundation, so we set the forms with a gentle fall and make sure the low edge drains toward the yard or a drain instead of a neighbor's fence.
Ask about your Fairfield concrete project
Call (707) 898-1384 or use our request form to ask about your project and its permit steps, and you'll know what's included and what the city wants before anyone breaks ground.