Concrete contractor in Downey, CA - driveways and patios built from the base up
360 Los Angeles Concrete Construction is a concrete contractor based in Los Angeles, and we pour driveways, patios, walks, garage floors and slabs for homes and properties in Downey, with the base dug out and packed first.
Mostly houses with driveways, and plenty of shared walks
Downey is mostly houses on their own lots, each with a driveway along the side, a walk to the front door and usually a slab or patio out back. The city's older housing records put single-family homes at most of what's here, with apartments and condos making up the rest, and that matches what we see on our jobs. Flatwork, the trade's word for driveways, patios, walks and floors, is most of what we pour here, much like in Huntington Park.
That mix decides who we're working with. On a house it's usually you and your driveway, and on an apartment or condo property it's an owner or a board, with the work fitted around people who still need to reach their doors.
Working in Downey: permits, licenses and what sets the price
In Downey, the city's Building and Safety Division issues the permits for this kind of work, checks the plans and does the inspections, so when a job needs a permit, its review and inspections are what the start date waits on. Every contractor doing business in Downey needs a city business license, including ones based outside the city like us, and whoever pulls the permit has to have a current one, so it's a fair thing to ask before you sign. We're fully licensed and insured.
If your job needs a permit, I work out which office covers your address and we handle the application and inspections, so you're not the one at the counter. The price moves mostly with the slab's size, what has to come out to reach firm ground and the finish you pick, and the schedule turns on the permit, the dig-out and curing, the days the concrete needs to harden before you use it. Your own figure comes in the written estimate. Downey's driveways mostly open straight onto residential streets, so I check where the truck can park and whether we'll need a pump to reach a back patio, the same as we do across the cities around Los Angeles out to West Covina.
Concrete services in Downey
- Concrete driveway building
- Concrete patio construction
- Stamped concrete services
- Concrete sidewalk building
- Garage floor concrete
- Decorative concrete
- Concrete retaining walls
- Concrete floor installation
- Concrete pool decks
- Concrete steps construction
- Slab foundation building
- Foundation installation
- Concrete parking lot building
- Concrete footings
- Foundation raising
- Concrete cutting
The slabs here usually fail from underneath
I've run this business since 2013, and on houses like these the trouble usually starts below the surface, with a base that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so the slab settles with the dirt, cracks and starts to tip back toward the house. We tear out the old concrete, dig to firm ground and pack the subgrade, the layer the slab sits on, then set the slope so water runs away from your walls instead of pooling by the garage. We lay rebar, steel bars that hold the slab together if it cracks, and cut control joints, shallow grooves that give it a straight place to crack instead of wherever it wants. If the budget gets tight, I'd rather you give up a fancier finish than the base, because nobody sees the base on day one but it's what decides whether the new slab cracks like the old one.
On apartment and condo properties the calls lean toward shared walks, steps and garage floors, and on hot days we pour early, because midday heat leaves the top weak and dusty later. For garages and interior slabs, that's our concrete floor installation work.
Get a free on-site concrete estimate for your Downey property
Send the form with a few words about your Downey job and we'll reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out. The estimate is free, done on site, and there's no obligation to go ahead.
What happens when you call us about a Downey job
Tell us about the job
Call (213) 329-1820 or use the form and tell us what you're seeing, whether it's a cracked driveway, a sinking patio or water pooling by the garage. Photos help, but they don't replace the visit.
Meet me at the site
I come out myself, look at the ground and where the water runs, and ask how you'll use the concrete. It helps to know where you park, whether anything heavy ever sits on it and where your downspouts drain.
Review the written plan and estimate
You get the plan and the estimate in writing, with the base work spelled out alongside the finish. That way you can see what's underneath before you decide.
Settle the permit before work
Any permit steps get sorted out with the city before the crew shows up. The city's plan review and inspections are the part of the schedule we don't set, so we start once they're in place.
We pour, finish and walk it
I lead the crew that forms, pours and finishes your job. Then we walk it with you and go over curing, how long to stay off it on foot and with the car, and how to care for it.
Driveways, patios and slabs
Downey concrete questions we hear
Do I need a permit to replace a concrete driveway or patio in Downey?
Usually, yes. The city's building permit information says that generally any new construction, alteration or repair needs a permit, and hardscapes, the paved outdoor work like driveways and patios, are on that list. "Generally" is the city's own word, so if your job is small or unusual, ask the division before anyone breaks ground.
Can I pull my own concrete permit as a Downey homeowner?
Yes, if you live in the single-family house the permit covers, because the city issues permits to a California-licensed contractor or an owner-builder living there. Duplexes, condos, apartments, townhomes and commercial jobs are different, and the city only issues those permits to California-licensed contractors. Pulling it yourself makes you the one answering to the inspector, so weigh that before you take it on.
How do I apply for a building permit in Downey?
You can submit the application and plans online through the city's permit portal, and permits are issued at the Building counter in Downey City Hall. On our jobs, we take care of the filing, so you don't need to go in.
How long does a Downey building permit stay valid before work starts?
A permit becomes invalid if work doesn't start within 12 months of being issued, or if work that started is abandoned for 180 days. On a driveway or patio that rarely comes up, but it matters if you want to pull the permit now and pour later, so we time the filing to when you actually want the crew there.
What building code does Downey use for slab foundations and footings?
Downey builds to the current California Building Code along with its own local amendments, changes the city makes to the state code. That matters most on structural work like slab foundations and footings, where the plans and inspections are checked against it. On driveways and patios, the bigger questions are usually the base, the slope and the joints.
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Downey?
The price comes down to your site: the slab's size and thickness, whether an old driveway has to be broken out and hauled off, how deep we dig to reach firm ground, and the finish. A broom finish, light grooves dragged across the top for grip, costs less than stamped or decorative work, and a pump adds cost when the truck can't reach. You get your figure in the written estimate after I see the site.
Tell us about your Downey concrete job
A description of what's cracking, sinking or pooling lets me bring the right questions to your site, so call (213) 329-1820 or use the form.