First Choice South Whittier Concrete is a concrete contractor based in South Whittier that pours and replaces driveways, patios, walks, garage floors and slab foundations for homeowners and small property owners in Santa Fe Springs, CA.
Santa Fe Springs has more industry and commercial property than most of the cities around it, so our calls here come from homeowners in the residential neighborhoods and from small property owners with a rental, a shop or a lot out back. The houses are mostly older single-story homes, and their driveways, walks and patios have usually been there about as long as the house has, which is the same thing we see next door in West Whittier-Los Nietos and back home in South Whittier.
Most of it is flatwork, the slabs that lie flat on the ground, and on slabs that old the trouble is usually underneath. A lot of them went down over dirt that was raked level instead of dug out and packed into a firm subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, so they've sunk and cracked right along with it, and that's why most jobs here start with the base.
We tear out the settled, split driveways common on older lots here, fix the subgrade, and pour a new slab sized for the cars you park on it.
Explore serviceYou want a patio that drains away from the house, not toward it, so we check where the water runs and set the slope before the pour.
Explore serviceStamped concrete is pressed with a pattern while it's wet to look like stone or brick, and getting the timing right decides how crisp the pattern comes out.
Explore serviceFor the walk from the street to your door, we pour it with a broom finish, a light brushed texture that gives shoes grip when it's wet.
Explore serviceA garage floor carries the car, the jack and the oil drips, so we set rebar, steel rods that hold the slab together if it cracks.
Explore serviceDecorative concrete covers color, exposed stone and special finishes, and we'll talk through which ones hold up on a driveway and which are better kept to a patio.
Explore serviceWhere a yard changes level, we build a retaining wall on a proper footing with drainage behind it, because trapped water is what pushes most walls over.
Explore serviceInterior concrete floors for shops, rooms and additions need to come out flat and level, so we set the forms and the base carefully before any concrete arrives.
Explore serviceA pool deck has to shed water and give wet feet some grip, so we slope it away from the pool and choose a texture that's kind to skin.
Explore serviceSteps that have pulled away from the porch usually sank at the bottom, so we rebuild them on a solid footing with even step heights.
Explore serviceFor a new garage, addition or backyard unit, we pour the slab the building sits on, built to the plans the city approves.
Explore serviceFoundation installation is the whole job under a new structure, from digging and forming to setting steel and pouring, sized for the weight above it.
Explore serviceA broken-up lot behind a rental or a shop gets torn out and repoured thick enough for the delivery trucks and daily traffic it actually carries.
Explore serviceFootings are the buried concrete that carries a wall, a post or a porch, so we dig them to firm ground before anything gets built on top.
Explore serviceWhen a floor has dropped or doors start sticking, we lift the settled section back toward level, once I've found out why it sank in the first place.
Explore serviceWe saw-cut concrete to open a clean line for a new walk, a drain or a repair, so the slab you're keeping isn't cracked by a jackhammer.
Explore servicePermits here come from the city's Building and Safety Division, which handles new construction, alterations, repairs and demolition. When a job needs one, its fees and inspections become part of the schedule, because the work usually can't move on until the inspector has signed off. Before you hire anyone, ask for two things and check both: a contractor license from the State of California and a current Santa Fe Springs business license. We're licensed and insured, and you're welcome to ask to see it.
When a job calls for a permit, we help you find which office handles your address, help with the paperwork and plan the work around the inspections. Price mostly moves with how much old concrete comes out, how much base work the ground needs, the size and thickness of the slab, and the finish you pick, while the schedule turns on the permit and on curing, the days a new slab needs to harden before it takes your weight and later your car's. If the budget is tight, I'd rather you spend it on the base than on a fancier finish, because the base is buried on day one and it's what decides whether the slab stays put. I come out myself and write the estimate on site, so your own numbers come from that visit, the same way we price jobs in Norwalk and Whittier.
Tell us whether it's a cracked driveway, a sinking walk or a new slab out back, by the form or at (562) 358-3037, and we'll reply within one business day. I come out myself to look at it and write the estimate, which is free and carries no obligation, and if you go ahead, our own crew does the work.
(562) 358-3037The city's guidance doesn't settle it for driveways and patios, so call the city's permit line at (562) 868-0511 ext. 7560 and ask about your address. Its list of work that needs no construction permit names things like painting, fences six feet high or lower, decks 30 inches or less above the ground and structures under 120 square feet, and concrete flatwork isn't on it.
Yes, city guidance says a homeowner can get a permit, the same as any contractor licensed by the State of California. If you pull it and hire someone to do the work, you may have to buy workers' compensation insurance, and if you hire no one, you sign an owner-builder statement saying so, because the permit needs one or the other. If we're doing the work, ask me about it at the estimate and I'll explain what each choice means for you.
The city uses the 2025 California building codes, including the residential, green building and existing building codes. That matters most for structural concrete like slab foundations, footings and retaining walls, which are built to plans that go through the city's plan check.
Some cracking is normal because concrete shrinks as it hardens, but a new driveway shouldn't break up the way an old one poured over raked dirt does. Along with the packed base, we try to pour in the cooler part of the day, since midday heat can leave a weak, dusty top, and we cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the slab a straight place to crack, before it picks a spot on its own. After that it comes down to patience through the curing, which is the part most people want to rush.
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.
We're open 6 AM to 9 PM on weekdays and 7 AM to 9 PM on weekends, so you can call (562) 358-3037 after work or send the contact form whenever it suits you.
If you've got a cracked driveway or a sinking walk you're not sure about, tell us what you're seeing and I'll explain what it really needs.
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