Concrete contractor in Spanish Fort, AL - slabs built for sloped, wet ground
Quickset Mobile Concrete Company is a concrete contractor based in Mobile, AL, building driveways, patios, foundations and steps in Spanish Fort with the base dug out, packed and drained right.
Concrete work for Spanish Fort homes
Spanish Fort sits across the bay from us in Mobile, on high ground that falls off toward the wetlands of the north bay and the delta. Most calls we get there come from homeowners in newer subdivisions who want a driveway widened, a patio out back or a slab for a shop, and from builders who need footings and foundations. We do the same work next door in Daphne and down the shore in Fairhope, and the dirt can change from one lot to the next.
The schedule turns on the weather and on curing, which is the wait while a new slab gains strength before it takes your weight or your truck. The price turns mostly on what's underneath. A lot of lots here slope, so how much soft dirt we dig out, how much base we pack back in and how we steer water away from the house decide the bill more than the finish does, and my written estimate lists each of those for your yard. If your property sits in one of the city's flood hazard areas, which its flood rules say flood from time to time, building there takes a development permit from the city before anything starts.
What we pour in Spanish Fort
Concrete driveway building
Driveways here often climb from the street on a slope, so we dig out soft dirt, pack a real base and pitch the slab to shed rain.
Concrete patio construction
A back patio is one of our most common calls in the newer subdivisions here, and we set its slope to carry water away from your house.
Stamped concrete services
Many homeowners here want a patio that looks like stone or brick, so we stamp it over a packed base, because a pattern cracks on soft ground too.
Concrete sidewalk building
Walks that run from the driveway to a front door on a sloped yard usually settle at the low end first, so we pack the base hardest there.
Garage floor concrete
When a garage floor cracks or sinks, we dig to see what's below it, because new concrete on the same soft dirt fails the same way.
Decorative concrete
Colored slabs, borders and exposed stone finishes still need grip underfoot when it rains, so we pick a texture with you at the estimate.
Concrete retaining walls
On sloped lots here, a retaining wall holds back the yard, and we pour it on a footing with drainage behind it so water doesn't build up there.
Concrete floor installation
We pour shop and sunroom floors over a packed base and a plastic sheet called a vapor barrier, because damp ground near the bay wicks up through concrete.
Concrete pool decks
Pool decks here see bare feet, splash water and summer sun, so we give them a texture that grips when wet and slope them away from the pool.
Concrete steps construction
Raised slabs and sloped yards mean a lot of front and back steps here, and we form each riser the same height so nobody catches a toe.
Slab foundation building
For a new house on a sloped lot, we pack the subgrade, the dirt the slab sits on, until it's firm before steel or concrete goes in.
Foundation installation
Where a lot falls away, we build a foundation that follows the ground, deeper on the low side, rather than piling loose fill under it.
Concrete parking lot building
Small businesses here get parking lots poured thick enough for delivery trucks, graded so rainwater runs to the drains instead of pooling at the door.
Concrete footings
Decks, additions and walls on soft or wet ground need footings, the concrete feet under them, dug to firm soil, and we check the bottom first.
Foundation raising
If a slab or foundation has dropped at one corner, we find out why the ground gave way before we raise it, so the cause gets fixed too.
Concrete cutting
We saw openings for doors and plumbing, and we cut control joints, the grooves that tell a slab where to crack, in new and old concrete.
What signs mean your Spanish Fort concrete needs work?
Heavy rain soaking into sloped yards here is what usually undermines a slab, so these signs tend to show up after a wet stretch, and they're worth a look.
- Cracks that keep getting wider
- One corner sinking lower
- Water pooling against the house
- Edges chipping or crumbling
- Dusty, flaking top layer
- Gap between the slab and steps
If you see one of these, call or send the form, and I'll come look at it and tell you whether it needs a repair or a new slab.
Should you repair the slab or replace it?
It comes down to what's underneath, because a crack on firm, packed ground is a surface problem, while a slab that's sinking on a sloped Spanish Fort lot usually has a base problem.
When a repair will do
If the slab is still level and the cracks are narrow and holding steady, the base is doing its job. We can seal those cracks, cut joints where the slab needs them or raise a section that dropped, and you keep using what you have.
When it's time to replace
If the slab has sunk, broken into pieces or tilts water toward your house, the trouble is in the ground below, and patching the top won't hold. We tear it out, dig out the soft dirt, pack a new base and pour again.
What Spanish Fort ground asks of a slab
I've run this business since 2013, I come out and write the estimate myself, and I'm on site with our crew while the work is done, so you know who's responsible.
Base work before finish work
If the budget gets tight, I'd cut the fancy finish before the base, because nobody sees the base until the slab sinks.
Water sent away from your house
On sloped lots we check where rain runs before we set forms, so the slab falls away from your house.
Permit paperwork handled when needed
Spanish Fort's Building Department requires a land disturbance permit and erosion control plan once a job disturbs 1,000 square feet of ground.
Licenses worth asking about
We're fully licensed and insured, and Spanish Fort requires a business license, renewed yearly, from anyone working inside city limits.
A bid you can judge
I explain each line of the written estimate, so you can judge any bid, ours included.
Call about your Spanish Fort slab
I return calls myself, so the person you talk to is the one who'll come look at your yard and run the crew.
Other cities we pour in
Choose another city below if it's yours, or call (251) 219-6382 if your city isn't listed, because we work across Mobile and Baldwin counties and into Mississippi.