Concrete Contractor in El Monte, CA - Driveways and Patios on a Packed Base
Covina Concrete is a concrete contractor based in Covina, CA that pours driveways, patios, walks, garage floors and foundations for El Monte homes, along with retaining walls, concrete cutting and small commercial lots.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
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Concrete work in El Monte, from driveways to footings
The short answer: Covina Concrete pours driveways, patios, walks, steps, garage floors and foundations across El Monte. We're a concrete contractor based in nearby Covina. I come out to look at the job and write the estimate myself, and a crew I've worked with for years does the forming, pouring and finishing.
On our El Monte jobs we mostly see single-family houses on flat lots, many with a long driveway running beside the house to a garage in back. We also see duplexes and small apartment buildings where a landlord needs walks or parking redone. Most of what we pour here is what we call flatwork: driveways, patios, walks and garage floors. The jobs look a lot like the ones next door in Baldwin Park and over in West Covina.
Side yards are often tight and the garage sits at the back, so how we get the old slab out and the concrete truck in shapes the plan for most jobs here.
Heat, flat lots and shaking ground in El Monte
Flat lots and hot summers shape most of our work here. On flat ground, water off the roof sits wherever the slab lets it, so we check where it runs before we form anything and pitch the new slab away from your house. In summer we start pours early, because concrete finished in the midday heat dries too fast on top and turns weak and dusty later.
The ground can move, too. The city's design criteria put El Monte in a high seismic design category unless a soils report for your property sets a different one. That's why foundations, footings and walls get the steel their plans call for. It's also why we usually lay rebar, steel bars inside the slab that hold it together if it cracks, even in a driveway.
Concrete services we offer El Monte homes and lots
Concrete driveway building
For a driveway that's sunk, split or holds water, we break it out, pack a new base and broom the surface so it isn't slick when wet.
Concrete patio construction
When the backyard is bare dirt or a cracked old slab, we pour a patio sized for your table and grill and tie it into the walks you have.
Stamped concrete services
If you want the look of stone or brick without loose pavers, we press a pattern and color into the concrete while it's still soft.
Concrete sidewalk building
When the walk to your front door has lifted into a trip edge or sunk into a puddle, we tear it out and pour it back level.
Garage floor concrete
A garage floor that's cracked or sloped the wrong way gets broken out and repoured, so the car and workbench sit on something flat and sound.
Decorative concrete
Colored concrete, a pebble finish or a border around a plain slab gives an entry or yard some character without the upkeep of pavers or tile.
Concrete retaining walls
Where a yard steps down or soil is pushing against a fence or driveway edge, a poured wall with steel and a footing holds the dirt back.
Concrete floor installation
For an addition, shop or backyard unit, we pour the inside floor flat and at the right height, so finish flooring goes down without extra leveling.
Concrete pool decks
Around a pool, the deck has to drain away from the water and stay walkable barefoot in summer, so we choose the finish and slope for that.
Concrete steps construction
When front or back steps have cracked, settled away from the house or have uneven rises, we form and pour new ones with every step the same height.
Slab foundation building
When a new garage or room needs a slab to sit on, we build it to the approved plans, from the packed base to the steel.
Foundation installation
When an addition or older raised-floor house needs a new foundation, we dig, form and pour it to the engineer's plans and line up each inspection.
Concrete parking lot building
For a small shop, office or apartment building with a broken-up lot, we pour concrete parking that drains properly and holds up to daily traffic.
Concrete footings
Before a block wall, patio cover or carport goes up, we dig and pour the buried concrete footings that carry its weight, sized to the plans.
Foundation raising
If floors slope or doors stick because part of the slab or foundation has dropped, we look at why it settled and lift it back where we can.
Concrete cutting
When you need a doorway cut in a wall, a trench for plumbing or a clean line where old concrete meets new, we saw-cut it instead of jackhammering.
Get a free written estimate for your El Monte concrete job
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to talk through the job. I'll come out to your place in El Monte, measure it and give you a written estimate that lists what's included. It's free, and there's no obligation.
What we deal with on concrete jobs in El Monte
Inside El Monte, the city's Building Department handles plan review, permits and inspections, and its counter staff say which other divisions a project needs. Work on public property is different. That usually includes the strip where your driveway meets the street, and Public Works has to issue a permit before any work starts there. To get that permit, a contractor has to show a valid contractor license, a City of El Monte business license, and liability and workers comp insurance that names the city, so those are fair things to ask anyone you're thinking of hiring. We're fully licensed and insured, and we pull the permit as the contractor and set up the inspections. We don't put your pour on the calendar until the permit is in hand. Before any of that, I check whether your address is under the city or the county, because that decides which office we work with.
Your price comes down to size and thickness, how much old concrete we break out and haul away, how deep we dig for the base, the steel, and the finish. Access matters too, because a pump costs more than chuting straight off the truck. If the budget gets tight, I'd cut the finish before I'd cut the base, since a nice surface on a bad base doesn't last. The schedule turns on the permit, the weather and curing, which is the time new concrete needs to harden before it takes your weight or your car. We work the same way out in Ontario and the other cities around Covina.
How a concrete job with us goes in El Monte
Here's how a job runs from your first call to the final walk-through, whether it's a patio or a new garage slab in El Monte.
- Step 01
Call and talk it through
Call (626) 412-8840 or send the form, and we'll talk through what's there now and what you want poured. Then we set a time for me to come out.
- Step 02
I measure and write it up
I walk the job, measure it and look at the base, the drainage and how we'll get the truck in. You get a written estimate that lists what's included, so you can see where the money goes before you decide.
- Step 03
Permits before the calendar
If the job needs a permit, we pull it and set up the inspections before anything gets scheduled. You don't have to go to the city yourself.
- Step 04
Pour day and walk-through
Our crew forms, pours and finishes the job, and I'm on site for the pour. When it's done, we walk the finished job with you before we call it done.
El Monte concrete questions homeowners ask us
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in El Monte?
There isn't one price for El Monte driveways, because the cost comes from your slab's size, the tear-out and haul-away, the base work, the steel and the finish. If part of the job is on city property, the Public Works permit fee is added, and it varies with the kind of work and the staff time the city needs to review and inspect it. I'll measure your driveway and put the price on a written estimate.
Do I need a permit to replace my driveway in El Monte?
For any part of the driveway on public property, yes. The city requires a Public Works permit before work starts there, and that usually takes in the apron where the driveway meets the street. For the part on your own lot, we check with the city and pull whatever permit the job calls for.
How do I find out if my El Monte address is under the city or the county?
Use the address check on the city's permit applications page, which tells you whether your address is within El Monte's jurisdiction. It's the first thing I check on any job, because it decides which office we work with.
Can I apply for a concrete permit online in El Monte?
No. The city's online permit portal only takes residential electrical panel upgrades and water heater change-outs in the same spot. Building applications go in person at the Building and Safety counter, with no appointment needed. When we're your contractor, that trip is ours.
Which building code applies to a new slab or footing in El Monte?
Anything submitted for a permit in El Monte now has to be designed to the 2025 California Building Standards Code, with Los Angeles County's amendments. If you filed an application before 2026, it can stay on the older code only while its plan check hasn't expired. After that, it needs a new application under the new code.
What causes a concrete driveway to crack and sink?
Usually it's what's underneath and when the joints went in, not the concrete itself. A slab poured on dirt that was raked level settles with that dirt, and if control joints, the grooves cut across the slab to tell it where to crack, go in late or get skipped, it cracks wherever it likes. We dig out and pack the subgrade, the soil the slab sits on, and cut the joints on time so any crack lands in a straight line we chose.
Call about your El Monte concrete job
We pick up from 6 AM on weekdays and 7 AM on weekends until 11 PM, so call (626) 412-8840 or send the form whenever you're out looking at that driveway.