Concrete contractor in Tallassee, AL - slabs built on packed ground for hilly lots
Keystone Montgomery Concrete Company builds driveways, patios, walks, steps and slabs for homes and small properties in Tallassee, AL. We're based in Montgomery and come out to dig, form, pour and finish the work ourselves.
Concrete work in Tallassee's hills and mill villages
Tallassee sits on the lower Tallapoosa River in thick, wooded hill country, and a good part of the older town was built by the mill company more than a century ago, with mill villages on the east and west sides. We come out from Montgomery for this work, just as we do in Wetumpka and Tuskegee.
On the older streets, we usually find a cracked or sunken driveway or walk that was poured on dirt nobody packed, and it has to come out before we can see what the new slab will sit on. On the newer lots cut into the hills, the first thing I look at is where the rain runs, because a patio or driveway that falls toward the house sends water straight to the foundation. Either way, the ground decides more about the job than the concrete does, so that's where we start.
What we build in Tallassee
On a sloped lot, a driveway has to shed water to the side instead of into the garage, so we set the grade before we pack the base.
Patios under the shade trees here stay damp longer, so we pitch them away from the house and pack the dirt underneath before we pour.
Stamped concrete gives a walk by an older house the look of brick or stone, but the pattern only holds up as long as the base under it.
Front walks in the older parts of town are often heaved by tree roots. We take out the broken sections, deal with the roots and pour on packed ground.
Garage floors on older Tallassee houses are often thin and cracked. We break out the old slab, check the ground under it and pour a floor that carries a truck.
Color, borders and textured finishes can dress up an entry or patio, and I'll tell you plainly which ones are worth paying for on your house.
Hillside lots here often need a wall to hold back the bank behind a driveway, with drainage behind it so water pressure doesn't push it over.
Shops, barns and sheds on the bigger lots around town need a floor that stays flat under equipment, which is the kind of slab I learned on.
Wet feet and hot summers call for a broom finish on a pool deck, a brushed texture for grip, plus control joints, cuts that tell a crack where to go.
Houses set up on a slope often need new front steps, and we form each riser the same height so nobody catches a toe coming down.
Hill country means a building pad usually has to be cut and filled, so the subgrade, the ground a slab foundation rests on, gets packed in layers.
Foundations for new homes and additions around Tallassee get poured to the plans, with the steel set and checked before the truck shows up, because you can't fix it once it's buried.
For a small business or rental property in town, we build parking with a thicker slab where trucks turn and grading that keeps water from standing.
Porches, carports and garden walls sit on footings, the buried concrete that carries the weight, and we dig them until we reach ground that won't give.
When a slab or older house has settled on one side, we can often lift it back toward level, but I'll look at what caused it first.
We cut openings, saw out cracked sections and cut joints in old slabs, so you can replace part of an older driveway instead of the whole thing.
What Tallassee's hills ask of concrete
I answer the phone and do the estimate myself, and I'll explain why we do each step so you can judge the work for yourself.
An estimate built around your use
I measure and ask how you'll use the slab, because a truck pad and a grill patio need different builds.
A base dug out and packed
We dig out soft dirt and pack the base firm, because on these hills that's where most concrete trouble starts.
Water sent away from the house
We check where the rain runs before we set forms, so the slab drains away from your foundation.
Joints you see before the pour
I'll show you where the control joints go ahead of time, so you know where any cracks should run.
Licensed, insured, owner on site
We're fully licensed and insured, and I'm on site running our crew from the first dig to the cleanup.
Tallassee concrete questions we hear
Do I need a permit for a concrete driveway or patio in Tallassee, AL?
Ask the City of Tallassee's building department, which takes building permit applications at 334-283-6571, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tallassee sits partly in Elmore County and partly in Tallapoosa County, so before we start, we check with the city or county office that covers your address. If the job needs a permit, we pull it and plan the work around any inspections.
How do I schedule a building inspection in Tallassee?
You text the city's inspection line at 334-452-5504, which the city now asks people to use for all inspections. That number only handles inspections, so permit questions still go to the building department line. On a job we've pulled a permit for, we plan the pour around the inspections so nothing gets covered up early.
When does a concrete job in Tallassee need a state-licensed home builder?
When someone builds, remodels, repairs or improves a home and the job costs more than $10,000 with labor and materials counted together, the Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board treats them as a residential home builder, unless the work falls outside the board's jurisdiction. You can reach the board at 334-242-2230, and it requires its licensees in home building to work under a valid written contract. The city also issues business licenses, and a business in an occupation the state licenses should show its state board paperwork before getting one.
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Tallassee?
The price comes down to the size of the slab, how much tear-out and digging it takes to reach firm ground, any grading or wall a sloped lot needs, and the finish you pick, so I give you a figure after I've looked at your site. If the budget is tight, I'd keep a plain broom finish and spend the money on the base, because the base is buried the day we pour and it's the one part you can't fix later without tearing everything out. Call (334) 215-4466 and I'll come take a look.
How long until I can drive on a new concrete driveway in Tallassee?
You can walk on it well before you can drive on it, because new concrete needs time curing, the slow hardening that gives it its strength, and I'll give you the dates for your pour before we start. When we start depends mostly on the weather, any permit and inspection, and how much old concrete has to come out, and in summer we pour early in the day so the heat doesn't leave a weak, dusty top.
What causes concrete driveways to crack and sink in Tallassee?
Most cracking and sinking start under the slab, where the dirt was raked smooth instead of dug out and packed, or where water runs off the hill and under the edge. We dig down to firm ground, pack the base, slope the surface away from the house and cut control joints the same day, so the cracks concrete does make should follow the joints instead of running across the middle.
Near Tallassee? Ask if we come out
Pick another city below to see what we do there. If yours isn't listed, call (334) 215-4466 and ask, because these aren't the only places we work.
Get a concrete estimate in Tallassee
We pick up evenings and weekends too, so call (334) 215-4466 after work or use the form to tell us about your job.