Concrete contractor in San Clemente, CA - driveways and patios on a solid base
Advanced San Clemente Concrete Company is a concrete contractor based in San Clemente, CA. We pour driveways, patios, steps, retaining walls and foundations for homes here, and we put most of our effort into the ground prep underneath.
Sloped lots and older slabs near the coast
San Clemente is where I started this business, and most of the concrete calls I get here come from houses on a grade. Up in the hills, plenty of homes sit on stepped lots with steep driveways, retaining walls holding the yard in place and side yards barely wide enough for a wheelbarrow. Closer to the beach the lots get smaller and the houses older, and we often find original driveways and patios that have cracked, sunk at one corner or started tipping water back toward the garage. It's mostly homes here, so most of our work is residential, though we pour for small property owners too, and we work the same way up the coast in Dana Point and the cities around it.
All of that shapes the job before we pour anything. The slope decides where the water goes, a narrow side yard decides how we get new concrete in and old concrete out, and an older slab usually tells us the base under it was never packed right.
Before work starts on a San Clemente concrete job
When a concrete job here needs a permit, it comes from the city's Building and Safety Division, which issues permits for new construction, additions, alterations and remodels, while grading and encroachment permits go through the city's engineering permits office. A permit job waits on the city, and on the big commercial jobs I came up on, nobody mixed a yard of concrete until the paperwork was straight, so I still run it that way and we get the permit as your licensed contractor. Before you hire anyone, check two things. The state contractors board requires a license for any job that needs a building permit, uses extra workers or runs $1,000 or more in labor and materials, which covers nearly every concrete job, and the city requires a business license for anyone doing business in San Clemente. We're fully licensed and insured, and any contractor you talk to should be able to show you both.
Price comes down to the size of the slab, whether we're breaking out and hauling off old concrete, how much base work the ground needs, how much reinforcement goes in, the finish you pick and how easy the site is to reach. A broom finish, the light brushed texture that gives shoes and tires some grip, costs less than stamped work. The schedule turns mostly on permits, the weather and the cure afterward, and steep drives off narrow hillside streets mean we plan the truck or pump route at the estimate. We do the same kind of work in San Juan Capistrano and the other cities nearby, and your written quote lists what's included, like reinforcement and hauling, so you can see your own figures.
Our concrete services in San Clemente
- 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
Slopes and tired bases are behind most calls here
Most of the sunken or cracked driveways I look at here have the same problem underneath. The subgrade, the dirt the slab sits on, was raked flat instead of dug out and packed, so it settled and took the concrete with it, and on a sloped lot the water running across it speeds that along. When we build a new concrete driveway, we dig out, pack the base and check where the water runs so the slab falls away from the house instead of toward it. That base is the part you never see once it's poured, and it's the first thing people want to trim from a budget. I'd rather you skip a fancy finish than skimp there, because a nice surface on a weak base cracks right along with it.
Yards here get used, so patios, steps and walkways near the house usually show their age first. On warm days we pour early, because concrete placed in midday heat can dry too fast and leave a weak, dusty top that wears away later.
Get a free on-site concrete estimate in San Clemente
We reply within one business day, and most of the time I'm the one calling you back to set a time to see your San Clemente project. The estimate is free, done at your property, and there's no obligation to go ahead.
What happens after you call us in San Clemente
Call or send the form
Call (949) 312-6327 or send the form with a few lines about the job. A couple of photos of the cracked or sinking spot emailed to team@sanclementeconcretecompany.com help me show up with the right questions.
Walk the job together
I come out myself to measure, look at the slope and the drainage, and ask what you're hoping for. If you've noticed where water sits after a rain, jot that down for me.
Get your written quote
Your quote spells out what's in it, and we line up any permits, engineers or scans before we book the pour. If the city needs anything from you, like an old soils report or property drawings, I'll tell you early.
Our crew pours the slab
Our own crew does the digging, base, forms and pour, with a crew lead running the site. City construction hours run Monday to Friday, 7 am to 6 pm, subject to your permit's conditions, and there's no work on Sundays or city holidays.
Go over the finished job
When it's done I walk it with you and explain curing, the wait while concrete gains strength before it can take weight. You'll be walking on it well before you're parking on it, and I'll give you the timing for your pour.
Ideas for driveways and patios
San Clemente concrete questions we hear
Do I need a permit for a new concrete driveway in San Clemente?
The city's list of work needing no building permit includes driveways up to 30 inches above the ground beside them, unless they sit over a basement or a story below or are part of an accessible route. That's the city's reference list, though, and the building division makes the call on your project. We check before we book the pour, and if a permit's needed, we get it.
Does a concrete retaining wall in San Clemente need a building permit?
Retaining walls are on the city's list of work that needs a permit, with an exemption for walls supporting four feet of earth or less, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall. That exemption ends if the wall carries extra load above it, like a driveway or a slope, or holds back flammable or combustible liquids. Extra load is common on hillside lots, so I look at what sits above the wall at the estimate.
Who can pull the permit for my concrete project in San Clemente?
You can, or a California licensed contractor can. If you're doing the work yourself, the city issues an owner-builder permit once you complete its owner-builder verification. When we do the job, the permit is ours to handle.
How do I find out what concrete work was permitted on my San Clemente house?
Ask the city for your property's permit history, which lists permits, inspection records, square footage notes and the builder's or contractors' names. It shows what earlier work went through permits, which matters before we pour against an old addition or rebuild a wall someone else put up. If you have it, bring it out when I come look.
How much does a concrete driveway cost in San Clemente?
Your price comes from the written quote after I've seen the site, because slope, access and what's under the old slab change the number more than square footage alone. Steep drives often need extra base work and forming, and a tight street can mean pumping concrete instead of chuting it from a truck at the curb. Rebar, the steel bars that hold cracks tight, adds to it too.
What causes new concrete driveways and patios to crack in San Clemente?
Concrete shrinks as it dries, so some cracking is normal, and the real job is deciding where it happens. We cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the slab a straight line to crack along, before it picks its own spot, and we pack the base and keep the surface damp while it cures. A slab on loose dirt, or one that dries too fast, cracks where nobody chose.
Tell us about your San Clemente concrete project
Call (949) 312-6327 or send the form and ask which permits your project needs, since that's often what sets the calendar.