Cracked, heaved or sinking walk to your door? We dig out the soft ground, pack the base and pour a walk that sits even.
Concrete sidewalk building in South Lake Tahoe means taking out the old walk and the soft ground under it, packing a firm base, then forming, pouring and finishing a new walk so it sits on even support for years.
Most calls start with a walk that's cracked across, tipped up at a joint, or sunk low enough to hold water by the front step. The concrete is rarely the whole story. Usually the old walk sat on dirt that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so it settled with the dirt, or it was pitched so water ran back toward the house.
Price moves mostly with what's underneath: how long and wide the walk is, how much old concrete and soft ground comes out, whether a car crosses it, and the finish you pick. The schedule turns on the weather and the permit side, because I won't pour if it could freeze right after, and work in the City's right of way needs a permit first. Your written estimate spells out what's included and what isn't.
Most sidewalk failures we're called about trace back to three things nobody sees once the concrete is down. Here's what we check on every walk, and why it matters to yours.
The subgrade is the ground the walk sits on, and it decides more than the concrete does. We dig out topsoil, roots and soft fill, then pack what's left so every foot of the walk has the same support. Skip that, and the walk sinks in patches as the loose dirt settles.
Water that sits under or beside a walk softens the base and, when it freezes, can push the slab up. We check where your yard drains before we set forms, and pitch the walk slightly so water runs off toward the yard instead of back at the house.
Concrete shrinks as it dries, so some cracking is normal. Control joints are shallow cuts we put in on purpose, so when the walk cracks, it cracks straight down a joint instead of wandering across a panel. Cut them late or skip them and the cracks land wherever they like.
Here's how a sidewalk job goes from your first call to the walk-through at the end, and who does what along the way. You deal with me from start to finish.
Call (530) 307-5972 or send the form. I still answer the phone myself, so you're talking to the person who comes out to look at the job. Tell me roughly where the walk goes.
I come out, ask what the walk has to carry, and check what's around it, like the driveway, the street edge and where water drains. You get a written estimate showing what's included and what isn't.
Once you say go, we sort out the permit side and get buried lines marked before anyone digs. Then we pick a pour date the weather allows, dig out, pack the base, form, pour and finish, with me on site.
When it's done, we walk the job with you and leave plain care instructions, mostly about staying off it while it cures, the slow hardening that gives the surface its strength.
We start under the walk. We dig out the soft stuff and pack the base so the whole walk sits on even support, because a walk raked level over loose dirt settles with that dirt. Nobody sees the base on pour day, which is why it's the first thing people try to cut from a budget. I won't cut it. A nice finish on a sinking walk is still a sinking walk.
Any spot where a car crosses the walk gets built for that, with a thicker section and rebar where it's needed. Rebar is the steel set inside the slab that holds cracked pieces tight together. If the walk touches the City's right of way, I raise it before I bid, so the permit and the extra steps are in the estimate and not a surprise later.
If the walk ends at the garage, look at that slab while I'm there, because garage floor concrete gets the same base-first treatment and it's simpler to plan together. If you want more than a plain gray walk, color, a stamped pattern or exposed stone come under decorative concrete. Those are finish choices we make once the base is right, not instead of it.
A broom finish is the light texture we drag across the top so shoes grip it when it's wet. It's the practical choice for most walks and costs the least to finish.
Color or a pattern dresses up a walk to the front door, but it adds finishing time and cost. I'd rather you spend on the base first and add looks only if the budget still has room.
We get back to you within one business day. After you send the form, I set a time to come out, look at the walk and what's around it, and write you a free estimate on site that shows what's included and what isn't. No pressure, no obligation.
(530) 307-5972If any part of your walk sits in the City's right of way, the public land along the street, it needs an encroachment permit from the City's Public Works Engineering Division before we dig. The City has every applicant hire a licensed land surveyor first to pin down what kind of work it is, so build that into your timeline early. The City's permit applications page is where that starts.
The City's Building Division issues building permits for construction work, so that's the other office we check with. When it's unclear what applies to your job, we ask the City instead of guessing, then work out which office it goes through and help you file before work starts. The City's application also has you agree to call 811 before digging, so buried lines get marked first.
We're based in South Lake Tahoe and work in the cities around it. A lot of the walks we pour here run from driveway to front door, and the crossing is where a thin walk breaks first. Pervious concrete lets water soak through, but Tahoe project guidance says it needs fairly frequent upkeep, suits a limited set of low-traffic sites, can be damaged by snowplows and may cost more, though less drainage work can offset that.
I came to concrete later than most and learned it on a finishing crew before starting this business in 2021, so we're five years in. I still answer the phone. I come out to look at the job and write the estimate myself, and I'm on site for the pour with a small crew of experienced form setters and finishers.
We're licensed and insured. Our work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee. We're known for straight answers on cost and timing, and that includes the bad news, like telling you to wait for a better week instead of pouring into one that will cost you later.
If your walk is cracked, sinking or needs to go in new, call me at (530) 307-5972 or send the estimate form, and I'll come out and take a look at what's under it and around it.
If your walk runs to the garage, a cracked or sunken garage slab beside a new walk stands out, and it's easier to plan both on one visit.
When a plain gray walk to the front door isn't what you're after, color, stamped patterns or exposed stone can give it a finished look.
We're based in South Lake Tahoe, CA, and build sidewalks there and in the cities around it. If your house is nearby and you don't see your city listed, call and ask.
Across the US, installing a concrete sidewalk usually costs about $12 to $14 per square foot, so treat that as a national ballpark rather than our price. Your number moves with the walk's size, how much old concrete and soft ground come out, any driveway crossing and the finish. The written estimate shows exactly what's in it.
Pour when freezing soon after placement is unlikely. Concrete industry guidance urges caution about pouring outdoors in late fall, winter or early spring if fresh concrete could freeze while it's still saturated. We pick the date by the weather and I'll say so if your week isn't good. The same guidance says to skip deicing chemicals the first winter.
Have the walk's rough length and width, whether a car crosses it, and whether it reaches the street or the City's right of way. Those three things decide how deep we dig, where the walk gets thicker and whether a permit comes first, so with them in hand the estimate visit goes quicker.
Yes, if any part of the walk sits in the City's right of way, you need an encroachment permit, with the surveyor step first. For the rest of the job, we check with the City's Building Division rather than guess. Tell me where the walk meets the street when you call, and I'll work it into the bid.
A licensed contractor, unless the job is very small. California's contractor license board classes forming, pouring and finishing flat concrete as concrete contractor work. An unlicensed person can only do minor work up to $1,000, and only when it needs no permit and they employ no one, so ask every bidder for their license.
Ask for good quality air-entrained concrete. That's what a concrete industry group advises for concrete facing severe freezing and thawing, and air-entrained means the mix carries tiny air bubbles that give freezing water room to expand. Ask each bidder whether their quote uses it, so you're comparing the same walk.
The sooner I've seen your walk, the more room we have to pick a good pour week, so call (530) 307-5972 or use the form.
