Concrete Contractor in Springfield, IL - Slabs That Drain and Stay Put
Allied Springfield Concrete Construction is a concrete contractor based in Springfield, IL. We pour driveways, patios, sidewalks, steps, garage floors and foundations for homes and small properties across the city, with the ground prepared and the drainage planned first.
Springfield as we see it on our jobs
Springfield is home for us, and most of our calls come from homeowners and small property owners here. On the west side, the established neighborhoods around Washington Park have well-kept older houses on large lots, which usually means long driveways, walks and back steps that have been patched more than once. The newer subdivisions farther out have younger concrete, and the questions there are more often about drainage behind the house than about age.
We also work in the cities around Springfield, including Chatham and Decatur, and we do the job the same way wherever we are. On an older Springfield lot, though, the first thing we usually learn is what the old slab was poured on, and that decides most of what follows.
Working in Springfield: permits, licenses and what sets the price
Building permits here come from the City of Springfield. Its permit application covers building, erosion control, fence and parking lot work among other things, and its Building Division enforces the building codes. Before your job goes on our calendar, I check what the city asks for at your address and we take care of the paperwork for our part of it, which can add a little time up front but keeps the pour from being held up later. If you'd like to check on a contractor, the city's Office of Business Licensing handles business licenses, and for our part, we're licensed and fully insured. When we work in Jacksonville or another nearby city, I make the same check with that city's office.
On a new concrete driveway, the price comes mostly from its size and thickness, how much old concrete has to be broken out and hauled off, how much soft ground has to be replaced with packed base, whether it needs rebar, the steel inside that holds a slab together if it cracks, and the finish you choose. If the budget is tight, I'd rather you keep the base and pick a plain broom finish, the light texture that keeps it from getting slick, because a fancy surface on poor ground cracks just the same. The schedule turns on whether a permit applies, how much the ground needs, and curing, the days the concrete is left to harden before it takes weight. Your written estimate spells each of these out for your job.
What Springfield houses and lots ask of new concrete
On the older houses, by the time we're called the driveway or walk is usually tipping toward the house, holding water after a rain or chipping where it's been patched. We break it out, dig down to firm ground and see what it was really sitting on, because putting a new top over a poor subgrade, the dirt a slab rests on, only starts the same clock again. Then we pack a new base and set the slope so water runs away from your foundation, not toward it.
In many newer subdivisions, underground sump pump pipes run through rear yard drainage easements, and those shared drains are private, kept up by the homeowners or the association rather than the city. Before a patio goes in out back, we find out where that line runs, so it isn't buried under a slab you'd have to cut later.
Get a free on-site estimate for your Springfield concrete job
Tell us a little about your driveway, patio or slab, and we'll reply within one business day. I'll set a time to come out to your Springfield address, look at the ground and give you a written estimate, and there's no obligation to go ahead.
(217) 210-0810How a concrete job in Springfield goes once you call
Call us or use the form
I set a time to come out to your house. If you know where any drain or sump lines run, it helps to have that handy.
Walk the site together
I look at the old slab, the ground and where the water goes, and I listen to what you have in mind. It's me who comes out, not a salesperson.
Read your written estimate
It spells out what's included, from the base work to the thickness and finish. That way you know exactly what you're paying for before anything starts.
Settle permits, then schedule
We sort out any permit paperwork with the city before the work goes on the schedule. If the city needs something from you as the owner, you hear it from me early.
Pour day and final walkthrough
I'm on site with our crew when the concrete goes in. Before we leave, we walk the finished job with you and go over how to care for it in its first months, including when it's ready for feet and when for your car.
What finished flatwork looks like
Concrete questions from Springfield homeowners
Do I need a floodplain permit to pour concrete in Springfield, IL?
If the work is in a floodplain, the City of Springfield's permit form has applicants certify they'll get a floodplain development permit before starting any development there. I check whether your lot is affected when I look up what the city asks for at your address. The city's forms are on its Office of Public Works page if you'd like to see them yourself.
What building codes apply to concrete work on a house in Springfield?
The city's Building Division administers and enforces the building codes in Springfield, so it's the office that says which ones apply to your project. Illinois hasn't adopted a state building code for repairs to existing single-family homes, which is why the city's rules are the ones to follow when you're replacing a slab.
Can I connect my sump pump to the storm sewer in Springfield?
Only with the city's approval, and the Office of Public Works reviews each request on its own. If the storm sewer is in the right of way, a street opening permit may also be needed. If a sump line will run under or beside new concrete, tell me at the estimate so we plan for it before the pour.
How much does a concrete driveway cost in Springfield, IL?
Most of the cost comes from the size of the driveway and what has to happen underneath it, and I put your figure in writing after I've seen the site. On older Springfield lots, breaking out a long, worn driveway and replacing soft fill with packed base can be a large share of the job, while a newer house often needs less tear-out. Stamped or decorative finishes add to it, and a broom finish keeps it lower.
What causes concrete driveways to crack and sink in Springfield?
Most of the cracked and sunken slabs we break out failed underneath, on a base that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so the concrete settled as the dirt did. Water running toward the house softens the ground further, and control joints, the grooves that give a slab a chosen place to crack, are often cut late or skipped. We pack the base, slope the slab away from the house and cut the joints on time, which is what keeps a new slab from going the way of the old one.
How do I know if the ground is solid enough for a new slab in Springfield?
A city permit won't tell you, because Springfield's permit form says a permit doesn't validate the land's suitability and puts soil compaction and mine subsidence research on the applicant and the owner. On our jobs, I check the ground when we dig out, and soft material comes out and gets replaced with packed base before any concrete goes down. If you know of old fill or past settling on your lot, please mention it at the estimate.
Plan your Springfield concrete project with us
Call (217) 210-0810 any day until 10 PM, or send us the form, and ask your permit and drainage questions up front, since they're far easier to settle before the estimate than after the pour.