Concrete Contractor in Atwater, CA

Driveway replacement for Atwater's older homes

Atwater grew up around the railroad, which reached town in the 1870s, and incorporated in 1922. Most of its homes came much later, and the 1970s were the biggest building decade at 19.2 percent. Another 13.2 percent date from the 1950s. A 1970s house is now 47 to 56 years old, and a 1950s house is older still.

The City's General Plan notes wide, tree-lined streets in many of Atwater's older neighborhoods. Over the years, roots can lift a walk or the edge of a driveway. A driveway that has cracked through or sunk at the edges is a replacement job.

We break out the old slab, rebuild and compact the base and pour new concrete over rebar. You can pick a broom finish or a stamped or colored one. Widening the driveway or adding an RV or boat pad beside it can be part of the same job.

Only about half of Atwater households own their home, 52.1 percent in the Census Bureau's latest five-year estimates. With close to half renting, we also work for landlords and property managers. We replace cracked driveways and handle sidewalk and walkway replacement for homeowners and landlords alike.

Stamped patios, slabs and walkways for newer Atwater homes

About 1 in 4 Atwater homes went up in 2000 or later. The 2000s alone added 18.0 percent, the city's second biggest building decade. Atwater grew from 28,168 people in 2010 to 31,970 in 2020, a 13.5 percent gain.

A newer home's back patio is often a small plain slab. A patio extension or a covered patio slab adds room to sit out of the sun. We stamp ashlar slate, flagstone, wood plank and cobblestone patterns, with integral or antiqued color.

A side-yard walkway can go in on the same trip, with a channel drain where water collects. We also pour slabs for garages, sheds and shops. For an ADU or an addition, we pour footings and stem walls or a slab-on-grade to the engineer's plans. Our own crew forms and pours each job.

Atwater's sandy soil and summer heat

The USDA's Atwater soil series takes its name from the town. It is a very deep, well drained soil that formed in old dunes, and its top foot is loamy sand. Water soaks in fast, and little of it runs off. The USDA maps about 89,000 acres of it in Fresno, Merced and Madera counties.

The Delhi sand drains even faster, and its USDA reference site sits beside Highway 99 south of Delhi. Soils vary from lot to lot, but sandy ground runs along this side of the Valley.

On sand, the job is compaction and edge support, unlike the slow-draining clay subsoil of the USDA's Modesto series. We compact the base well and set firm edges so sand cannot settle or wash out under the slab. Every pour still slopes away from the house.

The Merced airport weather station, about 7 miles southeast, averages about 100 days a year at 90 degrees or hotter. About 23 of those reach 100 degrees, and the normal July high is 96.3 degrees. Summer pours start early, and we keep fresh concrete damp or covered while it cures.

About 79 percent of the station's 11.80 inches of yearly rain falls from November through March. It averages about 28 nights a year at 32 degrees or colder. The City's posted building design requirements list weathering as negligible and the snow load as 0. So heat, more than frost, is what we plan a pour around.

Permits and places around Atwater

The City of Atwater Building Division reviews plans and inspects work, and permits are applied for online through Cloudpermit. Its handouts include a patio cover sample plan and a detached carport detail. So the cover over a covered patio goes through the Building Division. Ask the Division what your project needs before work starts.

The City's Engineering Division manages the public right of way and issues encroachment permits. That permit covers work at the street, such as a driveway approach, a curb cut or a sidewalk. We help you sort out the permit. For a site outside city limits, check permits with Merced County.

Downtown runs along Broadway and Atwater Boulevard, and the Bloss House Museum stands at Broadway and Second Street. Bellevue Road crosses the north side of town out to Castle Airport. Castle Air Force Base opened there in 1941 and closed on September 30, 1995. The site is now a public airport in unincorporated Merced County, with Castle Air Museum beside it.

Atwater Boulevard is the Highway 99 business route, and Applegate Road heads toward Winton. The City's General Plan places industrial areas south of the boulevard and Highway 99, including the Applegate Business Park. For shops and small businesses, we pour commercial concrete: slabs, equipment pads, loading areas and dumpster pads.