T&M Norwalk Concrete CompanyT&M Norwalk Concrete Company

Concrete contractor in East Los Angeles - slabs built for tight, older lots

T&M Norwalk Concrete Company is a concrete contractor based in Norwalk, and we pour driveways, patios, steps and walls in East Los Angeles, starting with the ground under the slab so the new concrete has something solid to sit on.

Request a quote(562) 307-9138
Concrete pool deck with a blue speckled surface, dark rounded coping, and metal entry ladder.
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  • Free quotes on site.
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About East Los Angeles, CA

East Los Angeles is an older, close-built part of the county. It's mostly single-family houses on small lots, with busy commercial streets like Whittier Boulevard running between the residential blocks. A lot of these homes have been added onto over the years, and you can see it in the concrete, where a driveway was widened, a patio was poured next to an older one, or a walk was patched more than once. It reminds me of the older streets we work on in Downey and Pico Rivera.

Lots here don't leave much room. Driveways tend to be narrow and run back along the house, so how we get a truck, a pump or a wheelbarrow to the forms, and where the old concrete goes, shapes the job as much as the slab itself.

Services in East Los Angeles, CA

  • Concrete driveway building

    Narrow driveways here often have cracked, sunken sections from years of parking and patching. We break out the old slab, dig out and pack the base, then pour with steel in it.

  • Concrete patio construction

    Small backyards here lean on the patio, and many older ones tilt toward the house. We set the new slab to fall away from your walls so water runs off.

  • Concrete pool decks

    Where a pool sits close to the house and fence, the deck has little room to shed water. We slope our concrete pool decks away from the pool and your walls.

  • Concrete retaining walls

    Where a yard steps up from the street or the neighbor's, old walls start to lean. We build concrete walls on footings, with drainage behind so water doesn't push them over.

  • Concrete cutting

    Widening a driveway or adding a walk on a tight lot means cutting into concrete that stays. We saw straight lines so the new pour meets the old without a ragged edge.

  • Concrete steps construction

    Front steps on older houses here often settle and chip, and the step heights end up uneven. We tear them out and pour new steps with even rises and steel inside.

What changes when the job is in East Los Angeles

East Los Angeles is an unincorporated part of the county, so there's no city hall here, and permits come from LA County Public Works through its East Los Angeles Building and Safety Office. Before we set a pour date, we check whether the county wants a permit for your address, and if one's needed we pull it and handle the paperwork for our part of the job. When the application goes in, the office says whether the job also needs a Plan Check, a review before approval, and if it does, that review comes before we can dig. The other thing to check, with us or anyone else bidding, is the state contractor license, because the Contractors State License Board requires one when a job needs a building permit, uses any extra workers, or totals $1,000 or more in labor and materials, and the contractor has to hold it before bidding. We're licensed and insured.

What moves the price here is mostly what's under and around the slab, like how much old concrete comes out, how much base work the ground needs, how hard the spot is to reach, and whether the job needs steel, a pump or a decorative finish. The schedule turns on the county's answer about the permit, on getting a truck onto a narrow street, and on the cure, the stretch of time you stay off the new slab. We run jobs here the same way we do around Norwalk and in Garden Grove, and the written estimate lays all of that out for your property.

East Los Angeles, CA properties and local conditions

A lot of the concrete here is old, and much of it was poured thin, straight onto dirt that was raked level instead of dug out and packed. That ground under the slab, the subgrade, is what holds it up, so when it's soft or washes out, the concrete sinks, cracks and pulls away from the garage. A patch just covers that up. I like to look at the broken edges and what's underneath first to find out why it moved, and then we fix the ground before we pour.

On small lots the slab often runs right up to the house, so where the water goes matters. A driveway or patio that falls toward your walls sends water at the foundation, and we set the slope so it drains to the street or the yard instead.

Get a written estimate for your East Los Angeles concrete

Send the form or call (562) 307-9138, and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time. I come out to East Los Angeles myself, look at the slab and the ground, and send you a free written estimate with no obligation to go ahead.

What happens after you call us about an East Los Angeles job

  1. Call or send the form

    Tell us what's going on, like a cracked driveway, a new patio or steps that rock, and we'll set a time for me to come see it. Photos aren't required, but they help if you have them.

  2. I look at the site

    I walk the slab, check how water moves across your lot and how we'll get concrete in, and ask what you need the slab to do. You get the price in writing, with what it covers, before you decide anything.

  3. We prep, pour and finish

    Once any county permit is in hand, we dig out, pack the base, set the forms and steel, then pour and finish, and I'm on site with our crew when the work gets done. You don't need to be home for the pour as long as we can reach the work.

  4. We walk the job together

    When we're done, we walk it with you and go over how long to stay off it while it cures. If the permit calls for inspections, we keep track of them for our part of the job.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a permit to pour a concrete patio in East Los Angeles?

Usually yes, because patios and retaining walls are on the county's permit list as miscellaneous building permit items. A driveway isn't named there, so we check with the county for your address before we start. Even work that doesn't need a permit still has to meet the county building code and any approvals other agencies require.

When is the first inspection due on an LA County building permit?

The county wants the first inspection requested within 12 months of getting the permit. After that, follow-up inspections need to happen every 6 months to keep the permit active, and on a permit we pull, we track those dates for our part of the job.

How much does a concrete driveway cost in East Los Angeles?

I price each driveway after I've seen it, because the tear-out, the base work and how we get concrete to it vary a lot from lot to lot here. If something has to give in the budget, I'd keep the base work and pick a plain broom finish, a lightly brushed texture that grips under tires and shoes, over a stamped one, because a nice top on a bad base still cracks. Your written estimate shows exactly what's in the price.

How do I keep a new concrete driveway from cracking like the old one?

Give the cracks a place to go and build the slab to hold together, because all concrete shrinks a little as it sets. We cut control joints, shallow grooves that make the slab crack along lines we chose, and lay rebar, steel bars that keep the pieces from separating. We also time the pour so we're not finishing the top in the afternoon heat, which leaves the surface weak and dusty later.

How long does it take before I can drive on new concrete?

You can usually walk on new concrete within a few days, but you'll wait longer before parking on it, because it keeps gaining strength as it cures, the slow hardening that goes on after the pour. Driving on it too early can crack a slab that would have been fine, so I give you the dates for your pour when we finish.

What is the best way to get concrete into a tight backyard in East LA?

It's usually either a pump, a hose that carries concrete from the truck over or around the house, or wheelbarrows through the side gate. A pump costs more, but it saves your lawn and gets the concrete placed faster on a long run. Which one fits your yard is part of what I look at on the estimate visit.

Service areas

Explore the services

Norwalk, CA

Get your East Los Angeles slab looked at

Calling early leaves room for any county permit review before the date you need your driveway or patio back.

Request a quote(562) 307-9138
(562) 307-9138Request a quote