Concrete Contractor in Montebello, CA - Level Driveways, Patios and Steps
South El Monte Concrete is a concrete contractor based in South El Monte, and we pour driveways, patios, steps, walkways and slabs for Montebello homeowners and small property owners, from full replacements to the small jobs others pass on.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Montebello homes and the concrete around them
Montebello is just down the road from our base in South El Monte and right next door to East Los Angeles and Monterey Park, so it's an easy drive for the crew and the truck. Most of the calls we get here come from homeowners. Usually it's a driveway that's cracked and lifting, a back patio that holds water, a front walk with a trip edge or steps that have started to lean, and now and then a small property owner who needs a walkway or a parking area redone.
Plenty of homes here have a driveway running along the side of the house to a garage out back, so a backyard patio often means pumping or wheeling the concrete past the house. Tearing out an old driveway also means working carefully next to walls, fences and the neighbor's yard, and we plan for that at the estimate.
Concrete work we do for Montebello homes
Concrete driveway building
When your driveway has cracked, sunk by the garage or lifted at the street, we tear it out, pack a solid base and pour new.
Concrete patio construction
A back patio that holds puddles or tilts toward the house gets rebuilt with the slope running out to the yard, so rain drains away from your walls.
Stamped concrete services
If you want a patio or walkway that looks like stone or brick, stamped concrete gives you the pattern in one pour, sitting on the same packed base.
Concrete sidewalk building
Front walks and side paths that have heaved into trip edges get replaced in sections, with joints cut so any future crack lands in a straight line.
Garage floor concrete
Garage floors that are pitted, cracked through or sloping the wrong way get broken out and repoured as a smooth, solid slab that takes a car's weight.
Decorative concrete
Color, exposed stone or a scored pattern can make a plain front walk or entry fit the house, and we talk through the options at the estimate.
Concrete retaining walls
Where a yard steps up or down, a concrete retaining wall holds the soil back and gives you a flat spot for a patio or planting bed.
Concrete floor installation
For a new room, a workshop or a converted space, we pour an interior concrete floor level and smooth, ready for tile, coating or plain sealed concrete.
Concrete pool decks
Pool decks take bare feet and splash water, so we pour them with a textured finish for grip and a slope that carries water off the deck.
Concrete steps construction
Front steps that have cracked, crumbled at the edges or pulled away from the porch get rebuilt with every step the same height, so nobody catches a toe.
Slab foundation building
For a room addition, garage or backyard unit, we pour the slab foundation on a dug-out, packed base with steel placed where the plans call for it.
Foundation installation
New foundations for additions, sheds and outbuildings get dug, formed and poured to the plans, so the walls going up have something square and solid underneath.
Concrete parking lot building
Small apartment and business lots with broken, patched paving get redone in concrete, graded so water runs to the drain instead of sitting in the stalls.
Concrete footings
Patio covers, block walls and posts need footings, the buried concrete that carries their weight, and we dig them deep and wide enough for what's going on top.
Foundation raising
If part of a slab or foundation has dropped and left a lip at the doorway, we find out why before we talk about raising it.
Concrete cutting
Need a trench for a new line or one bad section taken out? We saw-cut clean edges so the rest of your concrete stays in one piece.
Get a free concrete estimate for your Montebello property
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time. I'll come out myself, measure and talk it through, and the estimate is free with no pressure to book.
- Based in
- South El Monte, CA 91733
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–10 PM
Working in Montebello: permits, licensing and price
Permits here go through the city's Building and Safety Division, and whether your job needs one is the division's call, so we check for your address before we set a date and pull the permit ourselves when there is one. That puts the pour on the city's inspection schedule as well as ours. The state licenses contractors who build or alter structures in California, so ask anyone you're thinking of hiring for their license. We're licensed and fully insured, and our work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
The price turns on the size and thickness of the slab, how much old concrete we break out and haul off, how deep the base needs to go, whether the truck can reach the forms or we pump the concrete in, and the finish you pick. The schedule turns on the permit if there is one, the tear-out, and curing, the stretch after the pour when the concrete hardens and shouldn't take weight yet. It's the same list I walk through on jobs in Pico Rivera and the other cities around us, and you get your own figure at the estimate.
Why Montebello driveways and patios crack and sink
Most of the broken concrete we look at in Montebello failed from underneath. When the subgrade, the ground the slab actually sits on, is just dirt raked flat instead of dug out and packed, it keeps settling after the crew leaves and the concrete cracks and sinks with it, usually by the garage, at the street edge or under a downspout. We dig out the soft soil, bring in base rock and pack it before any concrete shows up. It's the part you can't see on day one and the first thing people want to cut from the budget, and if it comes down to a fancier finish or a proper base, I'll steer you to the base, because a pretty surface on bad ground just cracks in a prettier pattern.
Water is the other one. A patio or driveway that falls toward the house sends rain against your foundation and leaves puddles that stain and chip the surface, so we check where the water runs before we set the forms and slope the new slab away from your walls.
How a concrete job runs when you call us in Montebello
Here's how a job goes from your first call to the last walk-around, and you'll be dealing with me the whole way.
Call or send us a message
Call (626) 719-0110 or use the form and we'll get back to you to set up a visit. You don't need measurements or a plan yet, just a rough idea of what you want.
I come out and measure
I come to every estimate myself to measure, look at the old concrete and where the water runs, and talk through what you want. Then you get the estimate, and I'll walk you through what's moving the number so the price isn't a mystery.
Permits, tear-out and the pour
If you go ahead and the job needs a permit, we pull it and line up the city's inspections, and the pour date waits on those. My crew and I do the work ourselves, from breaking out the old slab and packing the base to finishing and cleanup.
We walk the job together
Before we pack up, I go over the finished job with you and explain how to look after it while it cures. If something isn't right, that's the time to say so, while we're all still there.
Questions about concrete work in Montebello
Who issues building permits for a driveway or patio in Montebello?
The city's Building and Safety Division issues building and grading permits in Montebello, and the city asks you to check with that office before starting any project to learn which approvals, permits and inspections apply. On our jobs we make that check for your address, and if a permit is needed we pull it for you.
How do inspections work on a permitted concrete job in Montebello?
Every permit the division issues comes with an inspection record that lists the inspections your job needs, based on the work and the type of permit. Each item on that list has to be inspected before the work is covered, so anything the inspector needs to see gets checked before concrete goes over it. We schedule those inspections and set the pour date around them.
When does a concrete contractor in Montebello need a California license?
A contractor needs a license from the California Contractors State License Board when the job needs a building permit, uses employees, or the labor and materials on the project come to $1,000 or more. A job only falls outside that when none of those apply, and a bigger job can't be split into smaller contracts to get under $1,000. Any contractor you're considering, us included, should be able to show you their license.
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Montebello?
We set the price for a Montebello driveway after I've measured it, because the size, the tear-out and the base work it needs move the number most. The finish is the biggest choice you control, since a broom finish, the light brushed texture that gives shoes and tires grip, costs less than stamped or colored concrete. If part of your old driveway is still sound we can talk about keeping it, but I won't save you money by skimping on the base.
How long does it take before I can drive on a new concrete driveway?
You can walk on a new driveway well before you can park on it, because concrete keeps hardening for days after the pour and a car is a lot heavier than footsteps. If the job has a permit, the inspections happen before the pour, so the wait starts once the concrete is down. I'll tell you before we leave when it's ready for feet and when it's ready for the car.
What causes a new concrete driveway to crack, and how do I keep mine from cracking?
Most new slabs crack from a soft base, missing joints or a top that dried out too fast, so how yours holds up depends more on the prep than on the concrete. Concrete shrinks a little as it hardens, which is why we cut control joints, shallow grooves that give a crack a straight place to happen instead of a random one, and we cut them on time. On driveways and slabs that carry weight, rebar, the steel bars set inside, helps hold the pieces together if a crack does show up.
South El Monte, CA
Tell us about your Montebello concrete project
Concrete is hard to undo once it's poured, so the time to ask every question you've got is before the truck is booked, and you can call (626) 719-0110 or send the form to start.