Concrete contractor in El Monte, CA - driveways and patios built from the base up
360 Los Angeles Concrete Construction is a concrete contractor based in Los Angeles, CA, building driveways, patios, walks, garage floors and retaining walls in El Monte, starting with the ground underneath so the work holds up.
Flat lots, long driveways and older slabs
Most of the El Monte jobs we get called to are single-story houses on flat lots, a lot of them older, with a long driveway running back to a detached garage and a patio or slab out back. Mixed in are small apartment buildings and the shops along the main boulevards, and the older concrete across all of it shows the same wear we see everywhere around here, cracks, sunken sections and puddles that sit after a rain. It's the same kind of housing we work on across this part of the San Gabriel Valley, from Alhambra out to West Covina.
Flat ground is easy to build on but slow to drain, so on these lots the slope we build into the slab decides where the water goes, and a long driveway means a long run of base that all has to be dug out and packed.
What we've learned working concrete jobs in El Monte
For concrete work inside El Monte, the city's Building Department handles plan review, permits and inspections, and its counter staff tell you which other departments your project touches. Work on public property, like the sidewalk out front, can't start until Public Works issues a permit, and to get one a contractor has to show a valid contractor license, a City of El Monte business license and insurance naming the city, so those are fair things to ask anyone you're thinking of hiring. We're fully licensed and insured, I've run this business since 2013, and when your job needs a permit I find out which office covers your address and handle the application and inspections, so the permit sets the earliest day we can start.
Most of what we pour here is flatwork, the driveways, patios, walks and garage floors you use every day, and the price moves with the size and thickness of the slab, how much old concrete we break out and haul away, how deep we dig to reach firm soil, and the finish, from a plain broom finish, a light brushed texture that gives your shoes grip, up to stamped. If something has to give in the budget, I'll tell you to save on the finish and not the base, because nobody sees the base on day one but it's what decides whether the slab stays flat. The schedule turns on permits, weather and curing time, and you'll see your own figure in the written plan and estimate, the same way we lay it out for homeowners in Downey and the other cities we work in.
Our concrete work in El Monte
- 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
Older slabs here usually fail from underneath
When we break out an old El Monte driveway, the slab is usually sunk at the joints or cracked across the middle, and the cause is often a subgrade, the soil the slab sits on, that was raked smooth instead of dug out and compacted, so it settled under the weight and took the concrete down with it. We dig down to firm soil, bring in base rock and pack it in layers before any concrete goes in, so the new slab has something solid under it.
The city sets an earthquake design category for El Monte that a soils report on your specific property can change. That matters most on structural work like footings, slab foundations and concrete retaining walls, where we build to the approved plans and any soils report your property has.
Get a free on-site estimate for your El Monte concrete
We respond within 1 business day, and the estimate is free and obligation-free. After you send the form, I come out to your El Monte property myself, look at the ground and the drainage, and give you the plan and the estimate in writing.
How a concrete job goes when you call us in El Monte
Call us or send the form
Reach us at (213) 329-1820 or through the form and tell me what you've got, whether it's a cracked driveway, a new patio or a walk that's lifted. A few photos of the old concrete help me get ready for the visit.
I come out and look
I come to your property myself and look at the soil, how water moves across the lot and where the slab meets the house. I'll ask how you'll use it, because a driveway that takes a work truck gets built differently than a patio for a table and chairs.
You get it in writing
You get the plan and the estimate in writing, so you can see what goes under the slab as well as what's on top. Take your time with it, and ask me anything as many times as you need.
We sort out the permit
If your job needs a permit, we find out which office covers your address and take care of the application and the inspections. Work starts once those permit steps are done.
We pour it and walk it
The crew I lead forms, pours and finishes the job, and then we walk it with you. We'll go over curing, the stretch while the concrete gains strength, and when it's ready for feet and then for cars.
Driveways, patios and walks
El Monte concrete questions, answered
Can I apply for a concrete permit online in El Monte?
No, El Monte's online permit portal only takes residential electrical panel upgrades and same-spot water heater swaps. Other applications are submitted in person at Building and Safety, which is open to the public with no appointment needed. When your concrete job needs a permit, we handle the application and the inspections for you.
How do I check if my property is inside El Monte for building permits?
Use the address check on the city's permit applications page, which tells you whether your address is within El Monte's jurisdiction. If it isn't, the work goes through a different office, and I sort out which one before anything is filed.
Which building code applies to a new concrete project in El Monte?
A project submitted for a permit now has to be designed to the 2025 California building codes, which El Monte enforces along with Los Angeles County's amendments. If you filed an application before the switch, it can stay on the older code as long as its plan check hasn't expired, and after that it needs a new application under the new codes. We build to whichever code your permit falls under.
How much does a concrete driveway cost in El Monte?
It comes down to the size and thickness of the slab, the tear-out, the base work your ground needs, and permit fees when the job needs a permit. Public Works fees for work on city property vary with the kind of work and the staff hours it takes to review and inspect it, and the city posts its current building fee schedule. Your own figure comes in the written estimate after I've seen the site.
How do I keep a new El Monte driveway from cracking like the old one?
Build it on a packed base and give it control joints, shallow grooves cut into the slab so it cracks along a line we chose instead of across the middle. Concrete moves a little as it dries and the ground shifts, so we cut the joints early and add rebar, steel bars that hold the pieces together, where the load calls for it. Then keep cars off until it's cured.
What is the best way to pour concrete during a hot El Monte summer?
Pour early in the morning, before the heat builds, because concrete finished in midday sun can dry too fast on top and turn weak and dusty later. On hot days we start the pour in the cool hours and keep the surface damp while it cures, so the slab gains strength evenly instead of drying out at the top.
Call us about your El Monte concrete job
Call (213) 329-1820 or send the form, and bring every question, because I'd rather answer one twice than leave you guessing about your property.