Concrete contractor in Imperial, CA - driveways and slabs that stay put
Advanced Imperial Concrete is a concrete contractor based in Imperial, CA. We pour driveways, patios, garage floors, foundations and small commercial lots for homeowners and builders here, with the ground prep done before anything gets poured.
Your concrete contractor in Imperial
Imperial is home for us. I started Advanced Imperial Concrete here in 2021 after years on an old-school crew, and we're best known for flatwork, the driveways, patios and walks that sit flat on the ground, and for slabs that stay put. Most calls come from homeowners, with builders and a few owners of small business lots mixed in, and we also pour next door in El Centro and up the road in Brawley. Your price turns on the size of the job, how much old concrete comes out, how much base work the ground needs and the finish you pick. The schedule turns on any permit the city wants and on curing, the stretch a new slab needs to harden before you walk or park on it. I walk the job, ask my questions and put the price in writing.
People settled here because of irrigation, and without the water this land would go back to desert. On our jobs that water shows up right at the edge of the slab, in lawns and sprinklers soaking the dirt next to driveways and patios, so before we talk finishes we look at where the water runs and how firm the ground is.
What we pour in Imperial
Most driveway calls here start with a sunken corner or a crack by the garage, so we tear out, dig down to firm ground and pack the base.
Patios here usually sit beside a watered lawn, so we slope the slab away from the house and keep sprinkler runoff from pooling at your wall.
Stamped concrete gives a patio or front entry the look of stone or brick. The pattern goes on top, and it lasts only as long as the base underneath.
A walkway from the driveway to the door gets the same ground prep as a driveway. We set it to drain off the sides, not toward your step.
On older houses here the garage floor is often cracked and oil-soaked, so we break it out and pour new over rebar, steel that holds the slab together.
If you want more than plain gray, we color, stain or score porches, entries and patios, and we'll tell you which finishes stay grippy when the sprinklers run.
Where a raised bed or a grade change holds back watered soil, a concrete wall needs a footing and drainage behind it, or the water pushes it over.
Shops and sheds on bigger lots around Imperial need a floor that stays level, so we grade and pack the subgrade, the dirt the slab sits on, first.
Many Imperial backyards have a pool, and its deck takes splash water and bare feet, so we texture it for grip and slope it away from the house.
Cracked or settled steps are a trip waiting to happen. We form new ones with even step heights on a packed base, so they stay tight to the porch.
New homes and additions going up in Imperial start with the slab, and we dig, form and pour it to your plans with the base packed underneath.
For garages, shops and additions that need more than a flat slab, we set forms and steel to the engineer's plans and pour on ground we've checked.
Small business lots around Imperial carry delivery trucks as well as cars, so we plan a heavier base, a thicker slab and where the water goes.
Patio covers, block walls and shade posts sit on footings, the buried concrete that spreads their weight. We dig them as deep as the plans call for.
When a corner of a slab or foundation drops, water under it is often why, so we find where it's coming from before we raise anything.
We saw-cut openings, trenches for new lines and clean edges where old concrete meets new, so a patch doesn't leave a ragged seam.
What an Imperial slab has to handle
Concrete only holds up as well as what's under it. I learned that from a boss who made me tear out anything that was close enough, and we still work that way.
I walk the job myself
I come out to look before we price it, and I'm on site running the crew when we pour.
Base dug out and packed
We dig out soft dirt and pack the base, because a slab settles right along with loose ground.
Water sent away from the house
We check where your sprinklers and roof runoff go and slope the slab away from your walls.
Joints cut where we choose
We cut control joints, grooves that tell concrete where to crack, early enough that the cracks land in our lines.
Licensed, insured, permits checked
We're licensed and insured, and we check with the city before we start and help you through the permit paperwork.
Imperial concrete questions we hear
How much does a concrete driveway cost in Imperial, CA?
There's no single price, because it turns on your driveway's size and thickness, how much old concrete comes out and how much digging and packing the base needs. The finish moves it too, from a plain broom finish, a light brushed texture for grip, up to stamping and color. The base is where people want to cut, and it's the last place I would, because a nice surface on loose dirt cracks just as fast as an ugly one. I'll put your number in writing after I walk the job.
How do I know if my driveway needs a permit in Imperial?
Check the city's list of work exempt from a building permit, which includes driveways and sidewalks no more than 30 inches above the ground next to them, as long as they're not over a basement or lower story and not on an accessible route, the paths kept clear for people with disabilities. Any work in the city's right of way, the public land along the street, needs an encroachment permit, and patios, walls and foundations aren't on that list. The Building and Safety Division issues permits, and we check with them before we start and help you with the paperwork.
What happens if concrete work starts before the permit in Imperial?
The city doubles the permit fees when work that needs a permit starts before the permit is in hand. The only exception is emergency work as the city's code defines it, and paying double still leaves every code requirement and penalty in place. That's why we check with the city first and don't pour until the paperwork is settled.
When does a concrete contractor need a California license?
Under the state licensing board's rules, a contractor needs a license when the job needs a building permit, uses any extra workers or costs $1,000 or more for labor and materials together. Splitting a bigger job into smaller contracts doesn't get around it, because the board counts the whole project. The city also requires any business working in Imperial to get a city business license first. We're licensed and insured.
How do I keep a new concrete slab from cracking in Imperial?
Pack the ground under it, keep water away from it and cut the joints on time, because those decide whether a slab holds up. Here the water usually comes from lawns and sprinklers right at the edge, so we slope the slab away from the house and keep runoff out of the base. We pour early in the day so the top doesn't dry too fast in the heat and turn weak and dusty, and we cut control joints before the slab picks its own crack lines. Concrete still cracks a little, but it shouldn't crack where nobody chose.
Does Imperial require recycling concrete debris from a project?
On bigger jobs, yes. Projects valued at more than $65,000 have to reuse or recycle a required share of their construction and demolition debris by weight, and the contractor turns in a waste plan with a deposit of $50 per estimated ton, at least $500. Old concrete from a tear-out is heavy, so on a large project we plan the hauling around that from the start.
Working outside Imperial? Give us a call
Choose another city for its own page, or call (760) 483-7530 if yours isn't listed, since we pour in plenty of places beyond the ones named here.
Get your Imperial concrete job priced
Call (760) 483-7530 until 10 PM on weekdays or 9 PM on weekends, or use the form, and I'll come out to look at your job.