Concrete Contractor in Lakeville, MN - Driveways and Patios Built on a Packed Base
Truegrade Owatonna Concrete is a concrete contractor based in Owatonna, MN. We pour driveways, patios, steps and slabs for homeowners and small businesses in Lakeville, from tearing out the old concrete to the finished surface.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
Lakeville homes and the concrete work they need
In Lakeville, like everywhere we work, most of our calls come from homeowners, and the jobs look a lot like the ones we do at home in Owatonna. There's a driveway that's cracked or dropped by the garage, a patio out back, or front steps that have started to lean. We also hear from small business owners and from folks putting up a new garage or a new home, and those jobs start with footings and a slab instead of a tear-out.
We do the same work next door in Elko New Market and down the road in Northfield. When we're replacing a slab, the old one usually sat on dirt that was raked level and never packed, so the real job starts below the surface, digging out to firm ground before any concrete shows up.
Concrete work we do for Lakeville homes and businesses
When a driveway has sunk at the garage or cracked across the middle, we tear it out and pack a new base before the pour.
A patio here usually replaces a worn patch of lawn or an old cracked slab. We pack the base and slope it away from your house.
Stamped concrete gives a patio or front walk the look of stone or brick, pressed into the slab while it's still soft, on the same packed base.
We pour front walks and side paths that run from the driveway to the door, with joints cut so cracks land where we planned them.
A garage floor that's cracked, pitted or sloping the wrong way gets broken out and repoured, so water runs out the door instead of pooling under the car.
Decorative concrete covers color, exposed stone and borders for homeowners who want more than plain gray, and we'll tell you honestly where it's worth the money.
On a sloped yard, a poured retaining wall holds back the dirt so you get a flat patio or a level spot beside the driveway.
We pour floors for basements, shops and outbuildings, with the base packed and leveled first so the floor stays flat under whatever you put on it.
Around a backyard pool we pour a deck with a textured finish for grip and a slope that sends splash water away from the pool and the house.
Front steps that have tipped away from the house or crumbled at the edges get torn out and repoured on solid footings, with every step the same height.
For a new garage, addition or outbuilding, we form and pour the slab it sits on, with the base packed and the steel set before the pour.
Folks building a new home or an addition call us for the foundation, poured to the plans so the framing crew starts on something square and level.
Small business owners call us for parking areas and drive lanes that carry steady traffic, built on a deeper packed base than a home driveway needs.
Footings are the concrete under a wall, a porch post or a garage edge, and we dig and pour them so what's on top stays put.
When a slab or a corner of the house has settled, we lift it back toward level, after telling you whether lifting or replacing makes more sense.
We saw-cut concrete for a wider driveway, a new door or a utility trench, and cut clean lines so the old slab and the new pour meet neatly.
Get a free on-site concrete estimate in Lakeville
We reply within one business day to set a time, then I come out myself to look at the spot and write up a free estimate. There's no obligation and no pressure to book.
(507) 599-0098- Based in
- Owatonna, MN 55060
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–10 PM
Working in Lakeville: permits, licenses and what moves the price
Permits in Lakeville come from the city's Building Inspections department, which approves drawings and issues permits to build, alter or repair a structure. Concrete work isn't on the city's short list of projects that need no permit, so whether your driveway, patio or footing needs one is the city's call, and when it does, the permit and its inspections help set the pour date. Two things are worth checking on any contractor, too. The state requires a contractor license for anyone doing more than one kind of skilled work directly for a homeowner, though a contractor who sticks to a single specialty doesn't need one, and the city licenses only certain types of business, so a type that's not on its list gets licensed through the state. We're fully licensed and insured, and our work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
I check with the city early on every Lakeville job, and when a permit is needed we help with the paperwork and plan the forming and the pour around the inspections. The price moves mostly with what's under and around the slab, like old concrete that has to be broken out and hauled off, how much digging and packing the base takes and how close the trucks can get, while the schedule turns on the permit and an open pour day. Lakeville's a straight run up I-35 from Owatonna, past Faribault, the same road that takes us south to Albert Lea, so getting our crew there is the easy part. Your estimate puts your own number on it.
What wears out Lakeville driveways, patios and steps
Sinking and uneven slabs are some of the most common calls we get, and the cause is usually under the concrete, not in it. When the subgrade, the dirt and gravel a slab sits on, was raked level instead of dug out and packed, it settles and takes the slab with it, so a driveway drops at the garage or a patio tips back toward the house. We dig to firm ground and pack the base in layers before any forms go up, because you can't see that work on pour day and you can't fix it later without tearing the slab out.
A slab that falls toward the house sends rain at your foundation and leaves puddles, and a top poured in midday heat can turn weak and dusty and start chipping. We check where the water runs before the forms go in, slope the slab away from the house and pour in the cooler hours when we can.
How a concrete job runs when you call us from Lakeville
From your side it's a phone call, one visit at your house and then pour day, and here's what each one looks like.
Call or send the form
You call (507) 599-0098 or send the form with a few lines about the job, and we get back to you to pick a time for me to come out. You don't need anything measured or decided yet.
I come out and look
I come out myself to look at the spot, ask how you'll use it and talk through your options, so it helps if you can be there. Your written estimate spells out the prep, the reinforcement and the finish, and we work out the permit side and a pour date together.
We form, pour and finish
I'm on site with our crew from setting the forms to finishing the surface. If your job has a permit, the state's rules keep the forms and steel open for the inspector until the work is approved, so we pour after the sign-off.
Go over care before leaving
Before we pack up, I go over how to look after the new concrete, what to keep off it and for how long. Then the forms come out and the cleanup's on us.
Questions about concrete work in Lakeville, MN
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Lakeville, MN?
The cost depends on the size of your driveway, how thick it needs to be for what parks on it and the finish you pick, along with the tear-out and base work. A plain broom finish, the light texture swept across the top for grip, costs less than stamped or colored concrete. If the budget's tight, I'd rather you go plain on top than cut corners on the base, because the base is what keeps it from sinking, and I'll price your own driveway when I come out.
What causes a new concrete driveway to crack?
Most cracks in a newer driveway come from a base that settled or from control joints that were cut late or skipped. Control joints are the straight grooves cut into fresh concrete so that when it shrinks and cracks, as concrete usually does, it cracks along the groove instead of across the middle. We cut joints while the slab is fresh and set rebar, steel bars inside the slab, to help keep a crack that does show up tight instead of spreading.
How long does new concrete need before I can drive on it?
You can usually walk on a new slab well before you can drive on it, because the concrete keeps gaining strength for days while it cures. I'll give you both dates for your pour, since the mix and the conditions that week move them, and keeping cars off until then is the easiest way to protect a new driveway.
Who applies for the building permit in Lakeville, me or my contractor?
Your contractor should, because Lakeville checks the contractor's license on every building permit application. The city's building inspections FAQ says that when a contractor asks the homeowner to apply, chances are they aren't licensed, so it's a fair question to ask anyone bidding your job.
Do I need a permit to pour a slab for a small shed in Lakeville?
The shed itself may be exempt from a building permit, but the slab under it is a question for the city's inspections office, because the city's list of work exempt from permit speaks to the shed and not the concrete. That list covers one-story detached sheds up to 200 square feet, and even those still need a zoning permit. Give me the shed's size when you call and I'll start there.
How do I get utility lines marked before digging in Lakeville?
Call Gopher State One Call at 800-252-1166, the free service Lakeville says anyone digging for a building project has to call to get buried lines marked. The city advises calling at least 48 hours before you dig. When we're the ones digging, that call is ours to make.
Owatonna, MN
Plan your Lakeville concrete project with us
Call (507) 599-0098 or send the form while the project's still in the planning stage, and we'll sort out the size and the permit step before you're locked into a date.