Concrete contractor in Grand Ledge, MI - slabs that drain away from your house
Benchmark Lansing Concrete Company is a concrete contractor building driveways, patios, walks, steps and walls for homes in Grand Ledge, MI. We dig out and pack the base, set the slope for water, then pour.
Family homes and small shops across Grand Ledge
Grand Ledge sits on the Grand River a short drive west of Lansing, where we're based. Most of our calls here come from homeowners, some in older houses on the blocks near downtown and some in newer houses farther out, along with the odd shop owner who needs a walk or a back lot redone. It's the same kind of work we do in Waverly, just to the east.
The river and the bluffs along it leave plenty of yards here less than flat, and older driveways and walks have had a long time to settle. So most jobs start with the ground, not the finish.
What we know from working in Grand Ledge
Inside Grand Ledge city limits, building permits come from the Eaton County Construction Codes Department, and the county's rule covers residential buildings over 200 square feet and commercial ones over 120. When your concrete is part of a building that size, like a garage, an addition or a new foundation, the pour waits on that permit, and the city wants its own forms done before the county application goes in. Before we plan anything, we check which office covers your address, and when a job needs a permit we take care of the application and the inspections and keep you posted. If your job builds a residential structure, the state requires the person building it to hold a Residential Builder license from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, with some exceptions, so it's worth checking whoever you hire. We're fully licensed and insured.
On the tighter lots near downtown, where the mixer truck can park and how the concrete gets to a back yard can shape the day as much as the slab does. Price turns on the size of the slab, whether an old one has to be broken out, how much dirt we dig out before we pack the new base, any fix for where water runs, the finish and that access. The schedule turns on any permit, the season and the cure, which is the wait while the concrete gains strength before it takes weight. We plan jobs the same way up in Saint Johns, and the written estimate I send after the visit puts your own figure and plan on paper.
Services in Grand Ledge, MI
Concrete driveway building
Older driveways here often sink or crack where the base under them was raked flat instead of packed. We dig out, pack a firm base and pour new.
Concrete patio construction
A patio tipped toward the house sends rain against your foundation. We slope new patios away from the walls and finish them for how you'll use them.
Concrete sidewalk building
Front walks on older lots here are often heaved and uneven. We replace the bad sections and cut joints so new cracks land where we choose.
Concrete steps construction
Front steps on older houses often pull away from the house or crumble. We rebuild them on a firm base, with every step the same height.
Concrete retaining walls
Sloped yards near the river can slump and wash out after heavy rain. We build concrete walls with drainage behind so water drains instead of pushing on them.
Concrete pool decks
Pools here need a deck that drains and stays grippy under wet, bare feet. We pour concrete pool decks sloped away from the water, with a textured finish.
What Grand Ledge rain asks of your slab
After rain and snow, some houses and yards in Grand Ledge end up under water, and the city says it's unlawful to change the natural flow of water so that it's diverted, blocked or bunched up onto another property. A new driveway or patio changes where water goes, so before we set a single form board we walk the lot and look at how water runs off it now. Then we slope the slab away from your house and toward the way water already leaves the lot, not at your neighbor's yard.
When old driveways and walks here crack and sink, the cause is usually the base, which is dirt raked level instead of dug out and packed, so the slab dropped as the dirt settled. The base is the first thing people want to cut from a budget because nobody sees it once the pour is done, and it's the one place I won't cut, because a good broom finish, the light grooves that give your shoes grip, does nothing for a slab that's sinking. Concrete still cracks, so we cut control joints, shallow lines that give it a place to crack where you won't notice, soon after the pour.
Get a free on-site estimate for your Grand Ledge project
We reply to every call and form within one business day to set a time, and I come out to Grand Ledge myself to look at the site and hear how you'll use it. After the visit you get a written estimate, with no obligation and no pressure to book.
How a Grand Ledge job goes
Call or send the form
Tell us what's going on with the slab you have now, or what you'd like built, and we'll set a time for me to come see it. You can reach us any day from 8 AM to 9 PM.
I walk the site with you
I look at the ground, the slope and where water runs, ask how you'll use the concrete, and answer your questions, twice if you need. Then I send a written estimate, free, so you see the price and the plan before you decide anything.
We check permits and set a date
We find out which office covers your address, and if the job needs a permit, we file the paperwork and handle the inspections. The pour date is set to suit the job and the season, after any permit clears.
We pour, finish and clean up
I work the job alongside our crew from the base through the pour and the cleanup, and you don't need to be home for it. Before we leave, I tell you when it's ready for feet and when it's ready for your car.
Grand Ledge concrete questions answered
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Grand Ledge?
The price comes down to things I need to see in person, mainly how thick the slab has to be for what you park on it, how much digging the base takes and whether the apron at the street needs its own city permit. A plain broom finish costs less than stamped or colored concrete, and a longer or wider drive costs more simply because it's more concrete. The free estimate visit gets you a written number for your driveway.
Do I need a permit to replace my driveway apron in Grand Ledge?
Most likely, because the City of Grand Ledge requires a Right-of-Way Permit for work in the right-of-way, and that includes the grassy strip between the sidewalk and the curb that your apron crosses. When it applies, the city wants it in hand before any county building permit application goes in. We take care of it as part of the job.
What city forms do I need before a building permit in Grand Ledge?
The city wants a Zoning & DPS Referral Form before you apply to the county for a residential permit on new construction, an accessory building, an addition, or a deck or porch, and on any outside change that alters a building's footprint. Every commercial building permit needs it too, while demolitions don't. On a concrete job that's usually a garage, an addition or a new porch, and we file it for you.
How do I check if my address is in Grand Ledge city limits?
The city points people to Eaton County's online mapping to see whether an address falls inside Grand Ledge city limits. It matters because the city forms and the county permit process apply inside those limits, and we check it ourselves before we plan any job.
How long does a new concrete driveway take to cure before I can drive on it?
You can walk on new concrete well before you can drive on it, and I give you both waits for your slab on pour day, because they change with the mix and the weather that week. Concrete keeps gaining strength after it looks dry, so a car on it too soon can mark or crack a slab that seemed ready. Plan on parking somewhere else for a while, and we'll talk it through at the estimate.
What causes water to pool against my house in Grand Ledge?
Usually it's a driveway, walk or patio that has settled or was poured sloping toward the house, so rain runs back to your foundation instead of away from it. We fix it by breaking out the part that dropped, packing a new base and pouring it back sloped away from the house, with the city's rule on runoff that we covered above in mind.
Plan your Grand Ledge concrete job today
Call (517) 246-3566 or send the form, even if you only want to know why your old slab cracked, because knowing that is the first step in planning the new one.
