Concrete driveway building in Mission Viejo CA - a slab built for what you park
Old driveway cracked, sinking or holding puddles by the garage? We dig it out, pack the base and pour a new slab that drains and grips.
What does it take to build a new concrete driveway?
Concrete driveway building in Mission Viejo means digging out and compacting the ground, setting forms and steel, then pouring and finishing a new slab that slopes water away from your house and keeps its grip when it's wet. Plan on the job running past pour day, because new concrete has to cure, a stretch of staying damp and off-limits while it gains strength, before you park on it.
Most people call us when the old driveway has cracked across the middle, dropped at one corner or started holding a puddle by the garage, and the fix that lasts is usually a new slab on a properly packed base. The price moves with the size, how thick it has to be for what you park, whether it gets mesh or rebar, whether there's an old driveway to break out and haul off, and how fancy a finish you want. The schedule turns on how much digging and packing the ground needs, the weather on pour day and the cure time afterward, and if the walk to your front door is in the same shape, it's easy to fold into the same visit. When I come out for the estimate, I measure it, talk through those choices with you and give you the figure for your driveway.
How our concrete driveway building works
I start by asking what you park, a car, a truck or an RV, because that decides how thick we build the slab and how we reinforce it. Our crew breaks out the old driveway if there is one, then digs down and compacts the subgrade, the soil the slab sits on, so it doesn't settle later the way loose dirt does. We set the forms with the slope built in so water runs away from your house instead of back toward the garage, and we lay the mesh or rebar, steel that holds the slab together if it cracks, all before the truck shows up, because concrete sitting in a truck while someone finishes the prep makes a weaker slab. I'd rather pour in the cool of the morning than in the midday heat, which can leave a weak, dusty top, and once it's down we float it smooth, give it a surface with grip and cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the concrete a straight line to crack along as it shrinks instead of wherever it likes.
If the budget gets tight, the base is the last place I'd cut, because nobody sees it on pour day and everybody sees it a couple of years later when a corner sinks. Spend on the dig and the packing first, then on looks. When you do want more than plain gray, stamped concrete adds a pattern and color to the same slab, and if the back of the house needs a place to sit, we can plan a concrete patio with the same careful base and a slope that keeps water off both.
Why Mission Viejo homeowners hire us for their driveways
I'm at every estimate and pour
I come out to look at every job myself, and our crew does the work with me on site. The person who walked your driveway with you is standing there when the truck backs in, so nothing you asked for gets lost in between.
Building flatwork here since 2017
I learned this trade hauling wheelbarrows and watching good finishers, then started this business in Mission Viejo in 2017, and flatwork, the driveways, patios, walks and steps that sit on the ground, is what we're known for. Nine years in, it's still most of what we pour across south Orange County and the cities around it.
Licensed and insured on your job
We're licensed and insured. That counts on a driveway, where a concrete truck and heavy equipment are working a few feet from your house and your neighbor's.
Washout kept out of storm drains
The city says construction sites under one acre fall under the construction part of its stormwater permit, and its storm drain rules for crews working on site name cement mixing and cutting. The county's guidance says truck washout and leftover concrete go into a watertight washout so none of it reaches the storm drain, so we set that up before the truck comes. When a job needs a permit, we file the application, book the inspections with the city and keep you posted.
Call (949) 619-8245 or send us a few details with the rough size of the driveway, whether there's an old one to tear out, what you park and the finish you have in mind, and we'll take it from there.
Get a free estimate for your new driveway
Tell us the rough size, whether there's an old driveway to remove, what you park and the finish you're thinking about. We'll get back to you within one business day to set a time, and I'll come out to look at it and give you a free estimate on site. There's no obligation.
A look at driveway finishes
Questions before you book a concrete driveway
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Orange County?
A new concrete driveway in Orange County usually runs about $7 to $14 per square foot, according to one local cost guide, and that doesn't include removing an old driveway. The same guide says reinforced concrete costs more per square foot than unreinforced concrete, and tearing out the old slab adds to the total. Your estimate gives you the figure for your own driveway, size and finish included.
How thick should a concrete driveway be for a truck or RV?
One Orange County cost guide calls four to five inches the standard for everyday cars and says owners with trucks or RVs may want six to eight inches. The same guide says wire mesh is common for standard vehicles, while rebar may be the better choice for heavy vehicles or a lot of traffic. That's why the first thing I ask is what you park.
How long does a new concrete driveway take to cure?
Curing typically runs 3 to 7 days, starting right after the concrete is placed and finished, according to national trade guidance. Keeping it moist matters, because concrete that cures in dry conditions can lose as much as 50 percent of its potential strength compared with concrete kept damp. I'll tell you when it's ready for feet and when it's ready for the car, so you can plan your week around it.
Who is allowed to build a concrete driveway in California?
A licensed concrete contractor, the trade California's contractors board describes as forming, pouring, placing, finishing and installing pavement and flat concrete work. The state does let unlicensed people take small jobs, and that limit went up from $500 to $1,000, but only when the work needs no permit and the person has no employees. Anything bigger, or anyone with a crew, calls for a licensed contractor.
What causes a new concrete driveway to crack?
Most cracks in a newer slab trace back to a base that was raked flat instead of dug out and packed, or to control joints cut late or skipped. Concrete shrinks as it dries, so a hairline crack running down a joint is normal, but one wandering across the middle usually points to the prep. That's where I put most of my attention on every driveway.
What is the best finish for a concrete driveway?
For most driveways it's a broom finish, a brushed texture pulled across the concrete after it's floated, because it gives tires and shoes grip when the slab is wet. Exposed aggregate, color and stamped patterns give a decorative look, but they take much more care and experience to get right, so the crew's skill with that look matters more. If you're leaning decorative, ask any contractor to show you work in that exact finish.
Other concrete work that goes with a new driveway
- Concrete patio construction
A patio gives you a flat spot for a table and grill, and planning it with the driveway lets one crew handle the dig and the drainage for both.
- Stamped concrete services
Stamped concrete presses a stone, brick or slate pattern into the fresh slab, for when you want your driveway to suit the house better than plain gray.