Concrete Contractor in South Pasadena - Driveways and Walls Built for Older Homes
Masterwork Glendale Concrete Company is a concrete contractor based in Glendale, CA, and we pour driveways, patios, walks, steps and retaining walls for homeowners in South Pasadena, from the flat streets to the hillside lots.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- We respond within 1 business day.
South Pasadena's older homes, flat streets and hillside lots
South Pasadena is a small city of flatlands and hillsides on the west side of the San Gabriel Valley, right next to Pasadena and Alhambra, and most of our calls there come from homeowners in older houses. A lot of the flatwork, which is what we call driveways, patios and walks laid on the ground, went in decades ago, so we see plenty of cracked runs, sunken sections and steps that have pulled away from the porch.
On the flat streets the job is mostly tearing out tired slabs and rebuilding the base under them. On the hillside lots it's steps, walls and grading, and there I spend as much time on where the water goes as on the concrete.
Concrete services for South Pasadena homes and lots
Concrete driveway building
Many driveways here run narrow along the house to a garage out back, and we rebuild them on a dug-out, packed base instead of loose fill.
See the service Concrete driveway buildingConcrete patio construction
A backyard patio on an older lot usually means working around mature trees, so we check where the water runs before we set the forms.
See the service Concrete patio constructionStamped concrete services
Stamped concrete presses a stone or brick pattern into the surface, which can sit better beside an older house than a plain gray slab.
See the service Stamped concrete servicesConcrete sidewalk building
Front walks on older lots often crack and lift over tree roots, so we replace the broken runs on a packed base with control joints cut in.
See the service Concrete sidewalk buildingGarage floor concrete
Detached garages behind older homes often have thin, cracked floors, and we break them out and pour a new slab that sheds water toward the door.
See the service Garage floor concreteDecorative concrete
Color, exposed stone and borders let a new driveway or patio sit with the brick and stucco on a period house instead of looking bolted on.
See the service Decorative concreteConcrete retaining walls
Hillside yards here often need a wall to hold the slope, and we look at the footing and where the water drains behind it before anything else.
See the service Concrete retaining wallsConcrete floor installation
When an older house gets an addition, a converted garage or a workshop, we pour the interior floor flat and ready for the covering on top.
See the service Concrete floor installationConcrete pool decks
Older pool decks here often crack and pull away from the pool edge, so we rebuild them with a textured finish that gives wet feet some grip.
See the service Concrete pool decksConcrete steps construction
Front steps on raised and hillside houses take a beating, and we rebuild them with even risers and rebar, steel bars that keep cracks from opening up.
See the service Concrete steps constructionSlab foundation building
For a new garage, backyard unit or addition on a South Pasadena lot, we pour the slab on a prepared subgrade, the ground the slab sits on.
See the service Slab foundation buildingFoundation installation
Additions and rebuilds on older houses need foundations that tie into what's already there, and we work that out on site before we dig.
See the service Foundation installationConcrete parking lot building
Small apartment buildings and shops here need lots that drain and hold up to traffic, and we build them with the base and thickness the use calls for.
See the service Concrete parking lot buildingConcrete footings
Garden walls, fences, posts and small structures on sloped lots stand on footings, and we dig and pour them to suit the slope and the load.
See the service Concrete footingsFoundation raising
When an older house has settled and doors stick or floors slope, I want to find out why it moved before we raise it back toward level.
See the service Foundation raisingConcrete cutting
On older properties we cut out a damaged section or a trench for new lines, so you don't have to tear out the whole slab.
See the service Concrete cutting
Get a free estimate for your South Pasadena concrete job
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time. I'll come out myself, look at the site and give you a free written estimate, with no obligation to go ahead.
- team@glendaleconcretecompany.com
- Based in
- Glendale, CA 91205
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 6 AM–11 PM
Permits, licenses and access on South Pasadena jobs
On any South Pasadena job, the first thing I sort out is the permit, because the City of South Pasadena's Building Division issues permits for building and altering structures there, and when a job needs one, the work doesn't start until it's issued. It's worth checking us too, since the state requires a license from the Contractors State License Board whenever a job needs a building permit, uses any additional workers or totals $1,000 or more in labor and materials, and the city requires a business license from every company working inside its limits, including contractors based elsewhere like us. We're fully licensed and insured. Your schedule mostly turns on that permit and any design review the city asks for.
Getting concrete to the forms takes some thought on a lot of jobs here. Many older houses have a narrow driveway running alongside to a garage out back, and hillside lots can sit well above or below the street, so I work out whether the truck can reach or whether we pump or wheel the concrete in. That access, along with the size of the job and how much old concrete has to come out first, moves the price, and your written estimate spells each part out. It's the same kind of work we do next door in San Marino and back home in Glendale.
Why older South Pasadena slabs crack and sink
Most of the cracked, sinking concrete we're called about here was poured on dirt that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, and often without control joints, cuts made in the fresh slab so it cracks along a straight line instead of wherever it wants. Add years of tree roots and water running toward the house, and you get the uneven driveways and pooling walks we see. So we dig out to firm ground, pack the base, slope the slab away from the house and cut the joints while the concrete is still fresh.
Hillside lots bring their own work. The city's planning goal is for hillside building to keep severe reshaping of the land, flooding, erosion and slide damage to a minimum, and that fits how we like to work anyway, with modest grading, walls where the slope needs holding and drainage planned before we pour.
How a South Pasadena concrete job runs with us
Here's how a job goes from your first call to the final walk-through, and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call or send a request
Call (747) 372-8605 or send the form and tell us what the slab is doing. We get back to you to set a time for me to come out.
I walk the site with you
I look at the slab, the ground and where the water goes, and ask a lot of questions about why the old one failed. You get a written estimate that spells out what's included, so you know what you're paying for before anything starts.
Permits, then the ground work
When the job needs a permit, we pull it and line up the inspections, and the dig waits until it's issued. Then our crew digs out to firm ground, packs the base and sets the forms, and you don't need to be home for it.
We pour, finish and walk it
Our own crew pours and finishes with me running the job, and we cut the joints while the concrete is fresh. At the end I walk the job with you and tell you when you can walk and drive on it.
Questions about concrete work in South Pasadena
Do I need a permit for a new concrete driveway in South Pasadena?
Check before you pour, because South Pasadena requires building permits for most construction and its published examples don't spell out driveways either way. Ask me at the estimate, and if I'm not sure, I check with the city before we start.
Does a new driveway or patio need design approval in South Pasadena?
It may, because the city requires design approval for most exterior changes to homes, a step meant to keep the city's character. Depending on how big the change is and what kind it is, that review runs from a staff approval to a public hearing, which can add time before we pour, so I ask about it at the estimate.
How do I find out if my South Pasadena house is on the historic inventory?
Ask the city's Planning and Building department, which can tell you whether your house is one of the roughly 2,500 properties on its Cultural Heritage Inventory. Most homes 50 years or older are listed, and a listing affects only exterior changes, which then have to follow the city's standards and guidelines. I'd want to know before we design the job.
Does a retaining wall need a permit in South Pasadena?
Yes, if it holds back more than 3 feet of ground, because the city treats a wall that tall as a retaining wall that needs a permit. The city's guidance says garden walls retaining less than 3 feet don't need one, but I'd still confirm your wall with the Building Division before we dig.
What affects the cost of a concrete driveway in South Pasadena?
The biggest swings come from the parts you won't see, like how deep we dig out, how much base goes back in and whether a slope needs drainage, and then from the finish, since stamped or colored concrete costs more than a broom finish, a light brushed texture for grip. If the budget's tight, I'd rather keep the money in the base, because a nice surface over loose dirt cracks just the same.
How long until I can drive on a new concrete driveway in South Pasadena?
Usually about a week, and you can walk on it after a day or two, because the concrete needs that curing time, the wait while it hardens and gains strength, before it carries a car. The slab's thickness and the mix make a difference, so I'll give you your own dates when we finish.
Other service areas
Glendale, CA
Get your South Pasadena concrete job estimated
Call (747) 372-8605 or send the form and tell us what the old slab is doing, so I know what to look for when I come out.