Concrete cracks. That is not a defect, it is a property of the material - it shrinks as it cures and it moves with the ground underneath it. What matters is whether the crack is cosmetic, whether the slab has displaced vertically, and what is causing the movement. Those three questions determine whether you need a $300 repair or a replacement.
A vertical displacement between two slabs is the most common serious liability on a residential or commercial property, and in Los Angeles a lifted public sidewalk slab in front of a property is a genuine exposure. Small displacements can be diamond ground to a compliant bevel in an hour. Larger ones can often be lifted back into plane with polyurethane slab jacking, which is dramatically cheaper and faster than removal and replacement, and does not require the area to be closed for a week. Where the slab is broken into multiple pieces or the subgrade has washed out, that section gets removed and repoured.
Tree roots, which is the leading cause of lifted walkways in Los Angeles and which will do it again unless the root is addressed, usually with root pruning and a root barrier. Water eroding the subgrade, typically from a downspout discharging onto the slab edge or from an irrigation leak. Poor original compaction. Missing or wrongly placed control joints. Reinforcing steel corroding and spalling the surface, common in coastal and older properties. If we repair the concrete without correcting the cause, you are paying for the same repair again in three years, and we will tell you that before you commit.
Section removal and replacement with proper subgrade preparation, compaction, reinforcement and control joints - matched in colour and finish to the adjacent concrete as closely as concrete allows, which we are honest about, because a new pour never matches an old one exactly. Crack repair with correct routing and flexible or epoxy fill, chosen based on whether the crack is moving. Spall and edge repair with a bonded repair mortar. Step and stoop rebuilds. Resurfacing and overlay systems where the slab is structurally sound but ugly, which is by far the best value option for a tired driveway. Sealing to slow water and stain penetration.
We correct grading, extend downspouts, add channel drains at garage aprons and low points, and route water off the property. This is the single most effective thing you can do to make new concrete last.
We do not pour new driveways as new construction projects, and we do not do decorative stamped concrete work - our focus is repair, replacement of failed sections, resurfacing and drainage.
Very often, yes. Small vertical displacements are diamond ground flush. Larger settled slabs can be lifted with polyurethane injection, which takes hours rather than days and costs far less than removal and replacement. Only badly broken slabs or washed-out subgrade genuinely need replacing.
No, not exactly, and any contractor promising otherwise is not being straight with you. Concrete colour depends on cement, aggregate, water content, weather and age. We match the finish and get as close as possible on colour, and it will blend more over the first couple of years. If an exact appearance matters, resurfacing the whole area is the answer.
Because something is still moving. Usually a tree root, subgrade erosion from water, or a missing control joint that means the slab is cracking where it wants to instead of where it was told to. Repairing the crack without addressing that guarantees a repeat.
If the slab is structurally sound and simply looks bad - stained, worn, hairline cracked - a resurfacing overlay is typically a third to a half the cost of replacement and looks new. If the slab is broken into moving pieces or has settled significantly, an overlay just cracks along the same lines and we will not recommend it.
We replace failed sections, rebuild steps and resurface existing slabs, and we handle the drainage that goes with it. We do not take on new decorative or stamped concrete construction - our work here is repair and restoration.
