Concrete Contractor in Glendale, CA - Driveways and Steps for Older Homes and Hills
Custom Duarte Concrete is a concrete contractor working in Glendale, CA. We replace cracked driveways, patios, steps, pool decks and retaining walls on older houses and hillside lots, starting with the ground under the slab.
- Service area
- Glendale, CA
- Call
- (626) 416-2143
Older homes and hillside lots across Glendale
Glendale has a lot of older houses, many of them Spanish Colonial and Tudor Revival, mixed in with newer homes and businesses. The north end climbs into the San Gabriel foothills and the Verdugo Mountains rise inside the city, so plenty of lots sit on a slope. We drive over from Duarte, past Monrovia and Pasadena, where we do the same kind of work.
On the older houses, the concrete is usually as old as the house, or patched so many times it's hard to tell. Driveways often run narrow between the house and the property line and climb from the street. That means truck access and how much old slab has to come out by hand move the price a lot, along with size, the base work and the finish you pick. Sloped lots make drainage the first thing I check, because a slab that tips water toward the house causes trouble no finish can hide. The schedule mostly turns on what the city needs before we start and the days the concrete needs to cure.
Our services in Glendale, CA
Many Glendale driveways are as old as the house, cracked and sunk where they meet the street. We break out the old slab, pack a firm base and pour the new one sloped toward the street.
Front steps on older Spanish and Tudor houses here often chip, lean or rise unevenly. We rebuild them with even risers and rebar, the steel inside that holds the concrete together.
Lots climbing toward the foothills often need a wall to hold back a yard or a driveway edge. We build concrete retaining walls on proper footings, with drainage behind them so water doesn't push them out.
Older backyard pool decks here often crack and tilt, holding water right where people walk. We build concrete pool decks on a packed base, sloped to shed water, with a finish that grips wet feet.
Backyards behind older houses often have a patio poured in pieces over the years, now uneven and pooling water. We pour one slab on a packed base with control joints, cut lines that tell cracks where to go.
Owners of Spanish and Tudor houses here often want a walk or patio that suits the house. Stamped concrete gives it a tile or stone look, and it gets the same base work as plain concrete.
Every service we offer
Concrete driveway building
Concrete patio construction
Stamped concrete services
Concrete sidewalk building
Garage floor concrete
Decorative concrete
Concrete retaining walls
Concrete floor installation
Concrete pool decks
Concrete steps construction
Slab foundation building
Foundation installation
Concrete parking lot building
Concrete footings
Foundation raising
Concrete cutting
What happens when you call us about a Glendale job
Call or send a request
I still answer the phone myself, so tell me what you're seeing, whether it's a cracked driveway, sinking steps or water sitting on the patio. Then we set a time for me to come out.
I look at the job
I come to your Glendale address, walk the slab, check where the water runs and ask a lot of questions. Then I write up your estimate, so you have a real number for your job before you decide anything.
We check the city's requirements
Before anything is scheduled, we find out whether your address falls under the city or the county and what the job needs from that office. I tell you what we found and who's handling each piece.
We prep, pour and walk it
Our crew digs out, packs the base, forms, pours and finishes, and I'm on site checking the work. When it's done, I walk it with you and tell you when you can walk and drive on it.
Glendale concrete questions answered
Do I need a permit to replace a concrete driveway in Glendale?
It may need one, and the city's quick online permit list won't settle it, because that list covers jobs like re-roofs, water heaters and HVAC change outs, not concrete. The office to ask is the city's Development Services division, and city applications now go through its online portal. We check what your address needs before we schedule and tell you who's handling each piece.
How do I check that a concrete contractor can legally work in Glendale?
Check for a state contractor's license and for the city's own license to do business in Glendale. The California Contractors State License Board requires a license when a job needs a building permit, uses any workers, or totals $1,000 or more in labor and materials, and a bigger job can't be split into smaller pieces to slip under that line. The city adds its own rule, so a contractor based outside Glendale applies for the city's Contractor's License, and a business located in the city keeps a Business Registration Certificate.
Which building code applies to a concrete project in Glendale?
Projects sent to the city now follow the current California building code plus Glendale's own changes to it, which together make up the city's building and safety code. For you, that means the city's rules, not just the state's, decide what your job needs. We sort that out before we plan the pour.
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Glendale?
Your price comes down to the size, how much old concrete has to come out and what the base needs, and you get your own number from the on-site estimate. Tight access and steep driveways add labor, and a stamped or decorative finish costs more than a plain broom finish, the light texture that keeps it from getting slick. If the budget's tight, cut the finish and keep the base, because the base is the part you can't fix later without a jackhammer.
What causes a concrete driveway or patio to crack and sink?
Most of it starts under the slab, with a base that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so the ground settles and takes the slab with it. Water running toward the house or under the slab makes it worse, and joints cut late or skipped let cracks pick their own spot. We pack the base, check where the water goes and cut control joints early, because concrete cracks, that's what it does, and we'd rather choose where.
How long does it take before I can drive on a new concrete driveway?
Longer than you'd like, because the concrete has to cure, the slow hardening that gives it its strength, before it can carry a car. You can walk on it well before you can drive on it. I give you both dates when we pour, since they depend on the slab and the mix.
Get a free on-site estimate for your Glendale concrete job
Send the form or call, and we reply within 1 business day. I come out to your Glendale address, look at the job and write up a free estimate, obligation-free. If you go ahead, we check what the city needs before anything gets scheduled.
- Call
- (626) 416-2143
- Location
- Duarte, CA 91010
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM
Call about your Glendale concrete job
Calling before anything gets torn out lets me see the old slab and the drainage as they are, and that tells me most of what the new one needs.