Kansas City Concrete Contractor
Driveways, garage slabs, patios and footings across the metro. Five-inch slabs as standard, rebar rather than mesh, and our own crew on every pour — we have never subbed a job out.
What We Pour
Flatwork and footings. We don't do asphalt and we don't do pavers.
Every Slab Cracks. The Job Is Choosing Where.
Concrete shrinks as it cures, and shrinking concrete cracks. That is not a defect and no contractor alive can pour a slab that never cracks. Anyone who promises you one is either lying or has not poured much.
What a good contractor actually controls is where it cracks. Control joints, cut at the right depth and the right spacing, give the slab a weak line to fail along — so it opens there, straight and hidden, rather than wandering across the middle of your driveway.
- ✓Joints cut within 12 hours, at a quarter of the slab depth
- ✓Spacing at roughly 2.5× the thickness in feet — 5" slab, ~12ft grid
- ✓We show you the joint layout before the truck arrives
- ✓Random cracking inside 3 years is on us, in writing
Work Around the Metro
Stamped Concrete Has an Ongoing Bill
We install a lot of it and it looks superb. It is also the one product we sell that we make a point of talking people out of when the maintenance doesn't suit them.
It needs resealing every 2-3 years
Roughly $0.50-$0.90 a square foot each time in this market. On a 600 sq ft patio that's $300-$550 every couple of years, forever. Skip it and the colour goes chalky and flat.
Sealer is slick when wet
A sealed stamped surface around a pool or on a slope needs grit additive in the sealer. We add it as standard; plenty don't, and you find out the first wet morning.
Repairs never match
If a section has to come out, the new colour will not match the weathered old one. Plain broom-finish concrete is far more forgiving to patch.
When we'd still say do it
A patio you'll look at every day, a pool surround, an entry — somewhere the appearance earns the upkeep. For a driveway that carries a truck and gets salted, we'd talk you out of it.
We Won't Pour Cold Without Blankets
Below about 40°F, cement hydration slows to a crawl and effectively stops near freezing. A slab poured into a cold snap without protection can end up at a fraction of its design strength — and it will look completely fine on the day.
So from November to March we either protect the pour with insulated blankets and a hot-water mix, or we tell you to wait. It costs us jobs every winter to the outfit that just pours it.
- ✓Blankets and hot water in the mix from November through March
- ✓We'll postpone rather than pour into a hard freeze
- ✓Summer pours start at 6:30am to stay ahead of the heat
How a Pour Runs
Most residential jobs are three days on site, spread over a week.
On-site estimate
We measure, dig a test hole to see what's under it, and check drainage. Written price in two days with the thickness, the steel and the base spelled out as separate lines.
Tear-out & base
Day one. Old concrete out and hauled, grade cut, four to six inches of gravel in and plate-compacted in lifts.
Forms & steel
Day two. Forms set to the fall we agreed so water runs away from the house, rebar tied on chairs. You'll see the joint layout marked before anything is poured.
Pour & finish
Day three, early. Placed, screeded, floated, broom or stamp finish, joints cut the same day, then cured under compound or blankets.
Back on it
Foot traffic at 24 hours, cars at seven days, heavy vehicles at 28. We come back at the end of week one to check the joints have opened where they should.
What People Say Three Winters Later
They turned up in March, looked at the forecast and told me they weren't pouring that week. Another outfit would have taken my deposit and poured it. Two weeks later it went down in the right weather and it's perfect.
Asked why theirs was more than the other quote. Answer was five inches instead of four, rebar instead of mesh, and a real base. He drew it on the back of the estimate. Nobody else even mentioned it.
There are two control joints across my patio and I know exactly why they're where they are, because he explained it before they poured. Three winters later the only cracks are in those joints. That is apparently the point.
Cleanest job site I've had. They washed the chute out into a tub they brought and hauled it off. My neighbour's contractor rinsed his straight into the storm drain last summer.
Straight Answers
How long before I can park on it?
Walk on it after 24 hours, park a car at seven days, put anything heavy on it at 28. Concrete keeps gaining strength for years, but 28 days is where it hits its design number.
Will it crack?
Yes — every slab does. The joints are there so it cracks along them instead of across the middle. Random cracking within three years is covered by our workmanship warranty; joint cracking is the system working.
Why is your quote higher?
Usually five inches instead of four, rebar instead of mesh, and a compacted gravel base. Ask the cheaper bidder to write those three lines on their quote — that's normally the whole gap.
Can you match my existing concrete?
Not exactly. New concrete cures lighter and takes a year or two to weather in. If matching matters, replacing the whole area beats patching a section.
Do you do repairs, or only replacement?
Both, but we'll tell you honestly which one your slab wants. Resurfacing a driveway with a failing base is money spent twice.
What happens to the washout?
It goes into a tub we bring and leaves on our truck. Rinsing a chute into a storm drain is illegal in Kansas City and it is also just a poor way to treat somebody's street.
Come and Stand on It With Us
We price flatwork off the square footage and what's underneath, so we need to see it. Fifteen minutes on site, written price in two days.
Get an Estimate
Tell us what you're thinking about and we'll come and measure. No charge, and no deposit until the forms are ready to set.