First Choice South Whittier Concrete is a concrete contractor working in Pico Rivera, CA. We tear out tired driveways, patios and walks and pour new ones, along with steps, garage floors, footings and retaining walls.
Pico Rivera is mostly blocks of single-story ranch houses on regular lots, many built a few generations ago, with a long driveway running beside the house to a garage out back and a patio slab behind it. A lot of that concrete is original or has been patched over the years. By the time someone calls us, we're usually looking at cracks, a section that has sunk, or water pooling by the garage door.
We're a concrete contractor based in South Whittier, CA, and we work the same kind of streets in Whittier and Santa Fe Springs. On houses this age, the job usually starts under the old slab with the subgrade, the ground the concrete sits on, because a driveway that settled once will settle again if the new one goes back on the same loose dirt.
We tear out the cracked or sunken driveway, dig out the soft dirt beneath, pack a firm base and pour a new slab sloped toward the street.
Explore serviceWant a backyard slab that stays flat and drains? We plan the patio around where the water goes, how it meets the house and how you'll use it.
Explore serviceStamped concrete presses a pattern and color into the wet slab to look like stone or brick, so pour timing and crew size matter more than usual.
Explore serviceFor a walk that tree roots have heaved or that has sunk, we take out the broken sections, fix the base and pour flat panels with clean joints.
Explore serviceA garage floor has to carry a car's weight and wash clean, so we plan the thickness, the slope toward the door and a smooth, sealed finish.
Explore serviceColor, exposed stone or a scored pattern can dress up a plain slab, and we talk through which finish suits your house before the pour.
Explore serviceWhere a yard steps down or a slope pushes against a driveway, we build poured walls on a footing with drainage behind so water doesn't tip them.
Explore serviceInterior floors for a workshop, addition or converted space need a level surface and a moisture barrier under the slab, and that's where we start the plan.
Explore serviceAround a pool you want a surface that isn't slick underfoot and drains away from the water, so we plan the finish and slope together.
Explore serviceWe pour front and back steps with every step the same height and a broom finish, a light brushed texture that gives shoes grip when it's wet.
Explore serviceFor an addition, ADU or garage, we follow the approved plans and inspections, packing the base and tying in rebar, the steel that holds the slab together.
Explore serviceWhen a house, addition or detached structure needs a new foundation, we dig to the depth the plans call for and pour footings and walls to carry it.
Explore serviceSmall property owners call us for lots and shared driveways that carry daily traffic, so we plan a thicker slab, firm base and drainage that moves water off.
Explore serviceFootings are the buried concrete pads under posts, walls and patio covers, and we dig and pour them so whatever sits on top doesn't sink or lean.
Explore serviceIf a slab or foundation has dropped and doors stick or floors slope, we look at why it moved before we talk about lifting it back.
Explore serviceWe saw-cut concrete for a clean edge when only part of a driveway comes out, or to open a slab for a plumbing repair or new joints.
Explore serviceHome construction permits in Pico Rivera come from the city's Building Division, and the city lists patios, porches and other accessory structures among the work that needs zoning review, plan check or both before a permit is issued. Plan check is the city reviewing your drawings, and it has to finish before we can pour, so on a job that needs it the city's calendar sets the start date more than ours does. For the quick Express Permits on its online system, the city asks contractors for an active California contractor's license and an active city business license, and those are fair things to ask any contractor for, us included. We're licensed and insured, and when a job calls for a permit, we help you confirm which office handles your address, help with the paperwork and plan the work around the inspections.
Most of what we pour in Pico Rivera sits on residential streets, so we plan the pour day around parked cars, shared driveways and narrow side yards the concrete has to reach, the same way we do in Downey next door. Your price comes down to how big the area is, how much old concrete comes out, how much base work the ground needs and the finish you choose. The schedule turns on any city review plus curing, the stretch after the pour when the concrete hardens enough to take weight. When I come out to write your estimate, you'll get the figure for your own job.
Tell us about the driveway, patio or slab in the form, or call (562) 358-3037. We reply within one business day, then I come out myself to look at the job and write the estimate, free and with no obligation. If you go ahead, our own crew does the work. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
(562) 358-3037Yes, the city's online permit page lists driveway approaches, the sloped strip that runs from your driveway down to the street, among the work that needs a Public Works plan check before a permit is issued. Grading goes through the same check, and the city may ask for a construction plan. We help you get that paperwork together and plan the pour around the inspections.
A Pico Rivera building permit expires one year after it's issued if construction hasn't started or the work isn't moving along, according to the city's permit FAQ. Approved plans expire six months after approval if no permit has been issued. So once plans are approved, we keep that clock in mind when we set your start date.
Concrete can still crack, but on a well-built slab the cracks stay small and run along the joints we cut instead of splitting the driveway. Most of the cracking we tear out comes from a base that was raked flat instead of packed, joints cut late or skipped, or a pour done in the heat of the day, so we pack the base, cut on time and pour early. Where the slab calls for it, rebar helps hold any crack tight.
You're off it until the concrete has cured enough to carry weight, and you can walk on it well before you can drive on it. Driving on a slab too soon is how a new driveway gets cracked or marked, so it's worth parking on the street a little longer. I'll go over the wait for your slab when I come out, since it depends on the size and what will sit on it.
We're based in South Whittier and work across the cities around it, including the ones listed here. If you don't see your city, call and ask.
Our phone hours run until 9 PM every day, weekends included, so you can call (562) 358-3037 after work or send the form on a Sunday.
If you're not sure yet what your slab needs, call or send a message and I'll explain what I'd look at first.
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