Concrete Contractor in Okemos, MI - Driveways and Patios Built on a Packed Base
Benchmark Lansing Concrete Company builds and replaces concrete driveways, patios, walks, steps and garage floors for homeowners in Okemos, MI, with the base under each slab dug out and packed before anything is poured.
Okemos homes and the concrete around them
Most of our work in Okemos is for homeowners. The calls are about the driveways, patios, front walks and steps that come with a house on a residential street, plus the odd garage floor or backyard project. We get the same calls nearby in East Lansing and Haslett, and the first questions are nearly always the same: what it'll cost, how long you'll be without the driveway and whether the new slab will crack like the old one.
Most of these jobs replace concrete that's already there, and the old slab usually shows us why it failed before we break it out. That's why the work here starts underneath, with the base.
Working in Okemos: who issues permits and what to check
In Okemos, permits and inspections go through the Building Division of Meridian Charter Township. Its permit list covers electrical, mechanical and plumbing work, so I confirm with the township whether your concrete job needs one before we plan it. When it does, we handle the application and the inspections, keep you posted and build the review into your date. The township doesn't require a business license, so there's no township license to ask a contractor for. The license to ask about is the state's, because anyone building a house, or a building that's part home and part business, has to be licensed as a Residential Builder with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, with some exceptions set in state law. We're fully licensed and insured.
The price here mostly comes down to how much old concrete comes out and how deep we have to dig to reach firm ground. The schedule depends on any permit review and on the season. Your written estimate after my visit gives you your own figure. As a concrete contractor in Lansing, MI, we do the same work in Charlotte, Mason and plenty of other cities nearby, and the base comes first on every one of them.
Services in Okemos, MI
Concrete driveway building
Okemos driveways often sink at the garage because the old base was never packed. We dig out to firm ground, pack new stone and pour.
Concrete patio construction
Older patios here are often too small for a table and a grill. We size the new slab to how you actually use the yard.
Decorative concrete
Guests see the front walk and the patio first. We add color and texture with decorative concrete poured over the same packed base.
Concrete steps construction
Front steps tend to pull away from the house, leaving a gap that catches water and toes. We break them out and pour new steps on solid footings.
Garage floor concrete
Garage floors in Okemos are often cracked or sunk at the door. We break out the old slab and pour a new one flush with the driveway.
Concrete sidewalk building
Walks from the driveway to the door settle until a slab edge sticks up. We replace the bad sections on packed stone and match the heights.
What Okemos lots ask of new concrete
The biggest thing we see on Okemos properties is water that runs toward the house instead of away from it. A driveway or patio that has settled even a little can tip back toward the garage or a basement wall. Water pools there, then works under the slab and softens what it sits on. Before we set a single form, I walk the yard to see where the water goes after a rain, and we pour the new slab so it carries water off to the lawn or the street.
Most new concrete here goes in next to concrete that's staying, like a garage floor, a stoop or the public sidewalk, so the new slab has to meet it at the right height. We match those edges and leave a joint between old and new, so each can move without cracking the other.
Get a free on-site concrete estimate in Okemos
We reply to every call and form within one business day and set a time for me to come out to your Okemos property myself. I'll look at the old concrete, ask how you'll use the new slab and answer your questions. Then I'll send you a written estimate, with no pressure to book.
Your Okemos job, step by step
Call or send the form
Tell us whether it's a sunken driveway, cracked steps or a new patio, and we'll set a time for me to come out. It helps if you're home for the visit, so you can show me what's bothering you.
Walk the site together
I look at the old concrete and the ground around it, ask how you'll use the new slab and answer your questions on the spot. Then I send a written estimate that spells out the base work, the finish and what's included, so you can see where the money goes before you decide.
Check permits and pick a date
Once you're ready, we confirm with the township whether your job needs a permit, and if it does, we handle the application and inspections and keep you posted. We set a pour date that suits the job and the season, with any permit review built in.
Dig, pour, finish, clean up
I work the job with our crew, from digging out and packing the base to the pour, the finish and the joints. We clean up before we leave and tell you when it's safe to walk on the new concrete and when you can drive on it.
Okemos concrete questions, answered
Does a concrete repair need a permit in Okemos?
Under the state's permit guidance, ordinary repairs don't need a permit. That exemption doesn't cover cutting away walls, partitions or structural beams, or changing a required exit from the house. We check before we plan a repair, the same as we do for a new pour.
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Okemos?
Your price comes from the size of the driveway, how much old concrete we break out and haul away, how deep we dig to reach firm ground and the finish you pick. A broom finish, the light brushed texture that gives shoes and tires grip, costs less than color or stamping. The base is the last place I'd cut, because it's hidden on day one and it decides whether the slab stays flat, so a plain slab on a well-packed base is a better buy than a fancy top on a thin one.
What causes a concrete driveway to sink and crack in Okemos?
Most of the time it's the subgrade, the dirt and stone the slab sits on, which was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so it settled and took the concrete with it. Water getting underneath speeds that up. When we replace a driveway, we dig to firm ground and pack stone in layers before the forms go in.
How long does a new concrete driveway in Okemos take before I can drive on it?
You can walk on new concrete well before you can drive on it, and I give you both dates when we set the pour, because the wait depends on the mix and the weather that week. What you're waiting on is curing, the stretch after the finish when the concrete keeps hardening, and a car on it too early can crack a slab that would otherwise have lasted. Plan on parking somewhere else for that time.
Will a new patio in Okemos crack like the old one?
Concrete can still crack, but on a packed base with control joints cut on time, a crack usually shows up as a hairline along a line we chose. Control joints are grooves we cut into the slab, so that as it shrinks while it cures, it breaks along those straight lines instead of across the middle. The old patios we tear out usually had their joints cut late or not at all, which is why their cracks wander.
How do I get rid of old concrete after a driveway replacement in Okemos?
When your job includes tearing out old concrete, we break it out and haul it away as part of the work, so you're not left with a pile in the yard. That matters here because the township doesn't run curbside garbage, recycling or yard waste pickup. Household garbage goes through Granger Waste Services or Waste Management, so there's no township pickup to fall back on for leftover debris.
Talk through your Okemos slab before it's poured
A drainage or base problem is easy to fix before the forms go in and hard to fix after, so call (517) 246-3566 any day from 8 AM to 9 PM or send us the form.
