Concrete Contractor in Irvine, CA - Driveways and Patios Built on a Solid Base
All Star Aliso Viejo Concrete is a concrete contractor pouring driveways, patios, walks, steps and foundations for homes in Irvine, CA. We're based in Aliso Viejo, and we build every slab from the base up.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
Irvine homes and the concrete around them
Irvine is a planned city, and you see it on our jobs. Street after street has single-family homes and townhomes, each with a driveway, a walk to the door and a back patio sized to the lot, and the older tracts sit right beside newer ones. A lot of the work looks like what we do in Laguna Hills, though Irvine lots often sit closer together.
Most of what we pour here goes in around a finished house, so access shapes the job. Side yards are narrow, sprinkler lines and planting run right up to the old slab, and the driveway usually meets the sidewalk at the street, so we plan how the old concrete comes out and the new goes in before we make the first cut.
Concrete work we do for Irvine homes
Concrete driveway building
Older Irvine driveways often crack where the base settled or the joints were cut late. We tear out, dig to firm ground, pack a new base and pour.
Concrete patio construction
Small Irvine backyards get the most use from a well-placed patio. We ask how you'll use it, then size the slab and slope it away from the house.
Stamped concrete services
Stamped concrete gives a patio or entry walk the look of stone or brick. If you have an association, we check its color rules before picking a pattern.
Concrete sidewalk building
Side-yard walks and paths to the back gate take a beating from trash cans and sprinklers. We pour them with joints placed so a crack lands where we chose.
Garage floor concrete
Many Irvine garages double as gyms or workshops. We break out a pitted, cracked floor, rebuild the base and pour a smooth, level slab.
Decorative concrete
Color, a pebbly exposed finish and contrasting borders let a plain slab match your stucco and tile. We'll tell you straight which ones are worth the money.
Concrete retaining walls
Yards that step down a hillside often need a wall to hold a level patch of lawn. We build concrete walls on solid footings, with drainage behind them.
Concrete floor installation
For a new room, a casita or a converted space, we pour interior concrete floors flat and level over a packed base, ready for tile, polish or carpet.
Concrete pool decks
Pool decks take bare feet, splash water and lounge chairs. We slope them so water runs off, not toward the house, and give them a texture that grips.
Concrete steps construction
Front and patio steps chip at the edges and tip out of level when the base settles. We rebuild them with even risers and a solid landing.
Slab foundation building
An addition, a garage or a backyard unit starts with the slab under it. We dig, set the steel and pour to the approved plans.
Foundation installation
Some additions need more than a flat slab, like short concrete walls under a raised floor. We form and pour the foundation the engineer's drawings call for.
Concrete parking lot building
Shared lots at townhome complexes and small offices take daily traffic and need to drain cleanly. We pour new concrete lots and replace worn sections.
Concrete footings
Patio covers, pergolas, block walls and posts all sit on footings, the buried concrete that spreads their weight. We dig and pour them to the plans.
Foundation raising
When a slab or part of a foundation has sunk and doors stick or floors slope, we look at why it moved before we talk about raising it.
Concrete cutting
Running a new drain line, widening a driveway or adding a doorway often means cutting existing concrete. We saw clean, straight lines and haul the pieces away.
Get a free on-site concrete estimate in Irvine
We get back to you within one business day to set a time, and I come out to measure and write your estimate myself. It's free, and there's no pressure to book.
- Based in
- Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–9 PM
Permits, licenses and what sets the price in Irvine
Irvine's building permits come from the city's Community Development Department, which covers most construction and repair work the code regulates, and when your job needs one, the city's review comes before we dig, so it sets the start date. I check with that office on every job, handle the paperwork when a permit's needed and tell you up front whose name it goes under. You can check us, too. The state requires a contractor's license on any job that needs a permit, uses employees or runs $1,000 or more in labor and materials, the city requires every business working in Irvine to hold a city business license, and on home improvement work the state caps a down payment at $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less. We're licensed and fully insured, so go ahead and ask.
Price here turns more on what's under and around the slab than on the finish on top, though the finish you pick counts too. The big ones are how much old concrete we break out and haul, how much base work the ground needs once it's open, the size of the slab, the steel in it and how close we can get the truck. Out front, Irvine's wide planned streets usually give the truck room, but a backyard behind a narrow side gate is another story, same as we find in Lake Forest. The schedule turns on the permit review if there is one, then the prep and the curing, the wait after the pour while the concrete gains strength, and your written estimate lists the tear-out, hauling and finish so nothing's a surprise.
Why Irvine driveways and patios wear out
Plenty of Irvine driveways and patios were poured when the neighborhoods went up, and the trouble we see most starts with the base, the packed layer the slab sits on. When it was raked level instead of dug out and compacted, the slab settles with the dirt, cracks run off the corners and some patios end up tipping toward the house so water pools by the wall. We dig down, pack a new base and slope the slab away from the house, because a nice finish on a weak base just cracks again.
A lot of homes here also back up to slopes or open space, since the city has tried from its start to balance building with natural land. Those yards tend to step, so a patio often comes with steps or a short wall, and we work out the levels and where the water goes before we pour any of it.
How a concrete job in Irvine runs, start to finish
From the first call to the last walk-through, you deal with me, and here's how it usually goes.
Call and set a visit
When you call (949) 619-8302, you talk to me, and we pick a time for me to come out. It helps if you're home so you can walk me around and show me how you use the space.
I measure and write it up
I measure, look over the old slab, where the water runs and how a truck gets in. You get a written estimate that spells out tear-out, hauling and the finish, so you can lay it next to other bids.
We form, pour and cure
If the job needs a permit, the city's review comes first, then our crew digs out, packs the base, sets the forms and steel and pours, with me working right alongside them. Once it's poured we let it cure, and we tell you when it's ready to walk on and when it's ready to drive on.
Walk the finished job together
Before we pack up, I walk the job with you, and we leave the place cleaner than we found it. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
Questions about concrete work in Irvine
Does a concrete driveway or patio need a permit in Irvine?
It may, since Irvine requires permits for most construction and repair work the code covers. The city answers permit questions at (949) 724-6313, and you can also read its list of work that doesn't need a permit. Anything on that list still has to meet code and city, county and state rules, so we build it the same way either way.
Does a concrete retaining wall need a permit in Irvine?
A wall no taller than 4 feet, measured from the bottom of its footing to the top of the wall, is on the city's exemption list, unless it holds back extra load like a slope, a driveway or a building above it, or holds back flammable liquids. Taller walls, or ones carrying that load, fall outside the exemption, and exempt walls still have to meet code. A wall at the foot of a sloped yard is often holding back that kind of load, so I check with the city before we dig.
Does a shed or patio cover in Irvine need a permit?
A one-story detached shed or playhouse on a single-family lot is exempt from a building permit up to 120 square feet of floor area, but a patio cover needs a permit no matter how small it is. Wiring or plumbing run to the shed still needs its own permit unless the city exempts that too. We pour the pads and footings these sit on, and I'll tell you at the estimate whether the city needs to see plans first.
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Irvine?
It comes down to measuring your driveway, because size, tear-out and base work set most of the price. A plain broom finish, the light texture that keeps tires and shoes from slipping, costs the least, and stamping or color adds to it. If the budget's tight, I'd rather you go plain on top than cut the base, because my dad was right that nobody sees the base on day one and everybody sees it a few years later when the slab sinks.
How do I apply for a building permit online in Irvine?
New online permit applications in Irvine now go through PermitsDIRECT!, the city's system run by Symbium. Once a permit is issued for work on a home, it lapses after 18 months unless the city's Building Official extends it in writing. When we're the ones pulling it, we schedule the work well inside that window.
How do I keep a new concrete driveway in Irvine from cracking?
Pack the base, cut the control joints on time and let the slab cure slowly, because that's where most cracking gets decided. Control joints are the straight grooves across a slab that give it a place to crack where it won't wander, and rebar, the steel set inside, holds the pieces tight if it does. After that, keep heavy trucks off until we say it's ready and keep sprinkler water from running under the edges.
Get your Irvine concrete job on the calendar
We take calls seven days a week and into the evening, so call (949) 619-8302 or send the form whenever it suits you.
Aliso Viejo, CA