Concrete Contractor in San Mateo, CA - Driveways and Patios Built on Solid Ground
Premier Atherton Concrete is a concrete contractor based in Atherton, and we build driveways, patios, walks, steps and foundations for homes and businesses in San Mateo.
Concrete work on San Mateo homes
We're based in Atherton, and San Mateo is one of the cities up the Peninsula where we work, the same as we do in San Carlos and down in Sunnyvale. Most calls here are for flatwork, which is driveways, patios and walks, and on those jobs we mostly find older concrete on established lots, sloped yards toward the hills and lower, flatter bayside ground.
Before I quote a San Mateo job, I look into whether it needs a permit. The city requires building permits to build, alter or repair a structure, houses and garages included, and for a driveway or patio a permit technician at (650) 522-7172 can tell you whether yours needs one. When a job does, we handle the application and meet the inspector on site. Contractors also have to pay the city's business tax before working here, which is separate from any permit. What moves your price is how much old concrete comes out, how much base the ground needs, how far we carry concrete from the street and the finish you choose. The schedule turns on the permit, the weather and curing, the wait while new concrete hardens before you walk or drive on it. I walk the job first and give you the estimate in writing. On a sloped yard that usually means more digging and forming, and near the bay it means more care with the base and with where the water goes.
What we build in San Mateo
Concrete driveway building
Older San Mateo driveways often crack where the base was only raked level, so we dig out, pack fresh base and pour a new slab.
Concrete patio construction
Patios here often go into small, fenced backyards, so we plan access, forms and the pour around what's already planted before we start.
Stamped concrete services
Stamped concrete gives a patio or walk the look of stone or brick in one pour, which suits the older brick and stucco homes around San Mateo.
Concrete sidewalk building
Root-heaved front walks are a common call here. We replace the raised sections and cut control joints, shallow grooves that tell a crack where to go.
Garage floor concrete
When an older garage slab has cracked or sunk at the door, we break it out, firm up the subgrade, the dirt it sits on, and repour.
Decorative concrete
Color, exposed aggregate and saw-cut patterns let a plain slab match the house, and we plan the design around the trees and drainage on your lot first.
Concrete retaining walls
On San Mateo's hillside lots, a wall holds the yard back, and the footing and drain behind it matter more than its face.
Concrete floor installation
Workshop, studio and backyard unit floors get a vapor barrier under the slab, which keeps ground moisture out of the room once it's finished.
Concrete pool decks
Pool decks around here take splash water all summer, so we slope them to drains away from the house and finish them to grip under bare feet.
Concrete steps construction
Front steps on older homes often settle away from the porch, so we tie new steps to solid footings and keep each rise the same height.
Slab foundation building
Near the bay, an addition slab starts with the soil, so we dig to firm ground, pack the base and set rebar, the steel that keeps cracks tight.
Foundation installation
New foundations under additions and rebuilt older homes are planned around the trees, the slope and the street, and I walk the site before anything is dug.
Concrete parking lot building
For small lots behind downtown San Mateo shops, offices and apartments, we grade for drainage and pour thicker concrete where delivery trucks turn.
Concrete footings
Hillside decks and walls here ride on their footings, so we dig to solid soil before we pour, because nothing above can fix a weak one.
Foundation raising
When an older house has settled and doors stick, we find out why the ground moved before lifting anything, so the fix goes after the cause.
Concrete cutting
We saw-cut openings, trenches and clean edges in existing slabs, which helps when you're replacing one section of an older driveway instead of the whole thing.
What signs mean your San Mateo concrete needs work?
Many San Mateo slabs have been through a lot of winter rain and growing tree roots, and a small problem usually grows once water starts getting under the concrete.
- Cracks that keep getting wider
- Slab sinking at the garage door
- Water pooling against the house
- Edges lifted by tree roots
- Chipping or flaking on the surface
- Steps pulling away from the porch
If you're seeing one of these, call or send the form, and I'll come look at it and tell you what's causing it and whether it needs work yet.
Repair the slab or pour a new one?
On a San Mateo home, the choice comes down to what's under the concrete, because a slab on a sound base can usually be fixed and one on failed ground can't.
When a repair is enough
If the slab is still level and the cracks are thin and holding steady, a repair makes sense. We can seal cracks, cut out and replace one bad section or fix a step, and you keep the concrete that's still doing its job.
When it's time to replace
If the slab has sunk, tips water toward the house or keeps cracking across, the base underneath has usually given out. Patching won't hold on that, so we break it out, dig down to firm ground, rebuild the base and pour new.
What San Mateo ground asks of new concrete
I still walk every job myself, and on San Mateo jobs I spend most of that time on the parts you won't see later, the ground, the base and where the water goes.
Base work comes first
If the budget gets tight, I'd rather simplify the finish than thin the base, because the base decides whether the slab settles.
Water sent away from your house
Before we form anything, we check where rain runs on your lot and slope the slab away from your walls.
Straight talk about cracks
Concrete shrinks and can crack, so I'll tell you where the joints go and why, instead of promising it never will.
Licensed in California, insured
The state requires a license once a job needs a permit or reaches $1,000 in labor and materials, and we carry one.
Me at the estimate, our crew on the job
I walk the job and write the estimate myself, and our own crew does the work from the dig to the cleanup.
Call about your San Mateo concrete job
I answer the phone myself, seven days a week from 6 AM to 11 PM, so you can describe the job and set a time for me to walk it.
Don't see your city? Call us
We work across the Peninsula and into the South Bay, so if your city has a page, start there, and if it doesn't, call (650) 516-3703 and ask.