Concrete Contractor in Rose Hill, VA - Slabs Built on Packed, Drained Ground

Fairfax County Land Development Services decides that for your address, because the county, not a city hall, issues building and land disturbance permits in Rose Hill. The county says the permit depends on the scope of the work, and other agencies may need to approve a job even when no county permit is required, so I check with Land Development Services before we dig. We take care of the permit work that goes with our part of the job, and if anything needs your signature, I'll tell you up front.

Yes. Foundation repair falls under the county's residential miscellaneous permit, and a wall holding back more than three but less than four feet of earth needs a residential retaining wall permit. That wall permit covers a simple wall with level ground behind it and no extra load on top, not a tiered or stacked one, so a wall on a slope gets a closer look with the county. Permitted work is built to Virginia's statewide building code, which the county's building inspectors enforce.

Ask for their state contractor license, because the Virginia Board for Contractors licenses businesses that build or repair on property someone else owns. A license has a class, A, B or C, that sets how big a job by dollar value the company can take on, plus a classification for the kind of work. A contractor also has to meet local licensing in each county it works in, which in Fairfax County means a county business license renewed every year. We're licensed and fully insured, so ask me about it at the estimate.

Most of the time it's the ground under the slab, not the concrete itself. A base that was raked level instead of dug out and packed settles with the dirt, a downspout softens it further, and on clay that swells and shrinks the movement gets worse. Joints matter too, because control joints are grooves cut on purpose so the slab cracks along them, and when they're cut late or skipped, cracks show up wherever they like.

The price comes down to the size of the driveway, how much old concrete we break out and haul away, and how much base work the ground needs. Stamped or colored finishes cost more than plain concrete, and a thicker slab with rebar, the steel bars that keep a cracked slab from pulling apart, adds to it. My written estimate lists what's included, so you can line it up against other bids without guessing.

You can walk on a new driveway well before you can drive on it, and I'll give you both dates for your pour. That wait is curing, the time the concrete needs to gain strength, and putting a car on it too early is how a good slab cracks young. Your schedule also turns on how much tear-out and base work the job needs, which I'll go over with you when we set the pour.