Every job below is one we do ourselves across Jersey City.
We pour driveways with a compacted gravel base and air-entrained concrete rated for freeze-thaw, because a driveway that can't handle winter salt and plow blades doesn't last. We reinforce with rebar or wire mesh depending on soil and slab thickness. Plan on staying off it for about a week before you park a car on it.
Patios get the same base prep as a driveway, just usually a broom or exposed aggregate finish instead of a smooth one. We pitch the slab away from the house so water doesn't pool against your foundation. Stamped and colored finishes are an option if you want something other than plain gray.
Stamped concrete gets you the look of brick, slate or cobblestone without individual pavers that shift and grow weeds between them. We color and stamp it while the mix is still plastic, which means the timing has to be right or the pattern doesn't take. It needs to be sealed every couple of years to keep the color from fading.
Not every cracked or sunken slab needs to come out. Small cracks get routed and filled, and a sunken section can often be raised with mudjacking or polyurethane foam instead of a full replacement. If the slab's base has washed out completely, though, we'll tell you honestly that a repair won't hold and a replacement is the better money.
Sidewalk work in Jersey City usually means matching the township's width and slope requirements, since a lot of towns will cite you for a walkway that doesn't meet code. We form and pour to spec and finish it with a broom texture for grip in the rain and snow.
Steps take a beating from foot traffic and de-icing salt, so we build them with the right rise and run and reinforce the nose of each tread where it tends to chip first. We match the finish to your existing walkway or patio so it doesn't look bolted on.
We pour slab foundations for additions, garages and sheds, starting with footings dug to frost depth so the slab doesn't heave in January. Vapor barrier goes down before the concrete, not after somebody notices moisture coming through the floor.
If your existing slab is sound underneath but the surface is pitted, spalling or just ugly, we can resurface it with a bonded overlay instead of demolishing it. It's a fraction of the cost of tear-out and repour, though it won't fix a slab that's cracked all the way through.
Retaining walls hold back soil on sloped lots, which are common enough around here that drainage behind the wall matters as much as the wall itself. We install weep holes and gravel backfill so water doesn't build up and push the wall out over time.
Exposed aggregate finish washes away the top layer of cement paste to reveal the stone underneath, giving you a textured, slip-resistant surface that works well for pool decks and patios. It costs a bit more than a broom finish but holds up just as long.
Four steps, and no surprises in any of them.
You tell us what you want doing, we look at what is actually there, and we ask the awkward questions early.
In writing, itemised, free. If something might add cost later we flag it now rather than at the end.
Same crew throughout. We cover your floors, keep the dust down and tidy up before we leave each day.
You point out anything you are not happy with and we fix it before the invoice, not after.
Concrete work is scheduled across Jersey City and the surrounding towns.
Questions that come up once a project's underway.
Describe the problem and we will tell you what it probably is. No obligation.
