Concrete contractor in American Fork, UT - new slabs built to fit your home

Most of what you pay for a driveway in American Fork goes into the tear-out, the base and the size of the slab, and the finish comes on top of that. A plain broom finish, the light brushed texture that gives tires and shoes some grip, costs less than stamped or colored concrete, and pouring where there was gravel or lawn costs less than breaking out an old slab first. A lot where the truck can back right up also costs less than one where we have to wheel concrete in, and I'll go over which of those apply to your driveway when I come out.

American Fork homes fall under the construction codes the Utah Legislature adopts for the whole state. In the earlier version of that law, since replaced, those standards covered alterations, remodels and repairs as well as new building, so the rules have reached well past brand-new houses. The editions named back then have since changed, so I check with the city before we schedule a job, and when a permit is needed we take care of the paperwork and the inspections.

It applies only where the local agency has adopted it, at least under the earlier version of the state law, which let a local agency take it on by ordinance or a similar action. That code covers building where homes meet wild land, so it's most likely to come up on a lot that backs onto open ground. I ask the city about it before we plan footings, walls or a foundation near that kind of edge.

Look your address up on the Utah Geological Survey hazard map, but treat a blank result as an open question, because most hazards have only been mapped inside specific study areas. The survey has also mapped fault traces along the Wasatch Fault Zone and marked special study zones where an earthquake can break the ground surface. If you're planning a foundation, footings or a retaining wall, it's a good map to pull up together at the estimate.

Most sinking comes from a soft or poorly packed base, and most cracking comes from shrinkage that nobody gave a place to go. Concrete shrinks as it dries, so we cut control joints, shallow grooves that tell the slab where to crack, early enough to do their job, and we use rebar, steel inside the slab that holds cracked pieces together, where the job calls for it. I'll be straight with you that a new slab can still get hairline cracks, but they should show up in the joints and stay tight instead of splitting the slab or letting it drop.

You can walk on a new slab well before you can park on it, because concrete keeps getting stronger as it cures. I'll tell you the walking day and the driving day for your pour when we plan the job, since the mix and the thickness of the slab change them. Heavy trucks and trailers need to stay off longer than the family car, and that's worth planning for if you've got a delivery coming.