Concrete Contractor in Bermuda Dunes, CA - Slabs Built for Wind and Sand

Ask the Riverside County Building and Safety Department, which issues building permits in Bermuda Dunes because the community is unincorporated. Its permit rules are written around building, altering, repairing or demolishing a building, so for flatwork like a driveway, patio or walk, the department is the place to ask. When a job needs a permit, we handle the application, set up the inspections and keep you posted.

A wall up to 4 feet tall, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, is exempt under the county ordinance text. That exemption doesn't hold if the wall carries extra weight above it, such as a driveway or a slope, or holds back certain liquids. The building department keeps the list in force, so confirm with them before you plan around it.

A contractor needs a state license when the job requires a building permit, uses any additional workers or totals $1,000 or more in labor and materials. The Contractors State License Board doesn't allow splitting a bigger job into pieces under $1,000 to get around that, and contractors working in unincorporated Riverside County, licensed ones included, also have to register with the county's business stormwater registration. We're fully licensed and insured.

A driveway here is priced on its size and thickness, how much old concrete has to be broken out and hauled away, and how much digging and packing the base needs. Rebar, the steel bars that hold a slab together if it cracks, adds to the cost, a plain broom finish costs less than stamping or color, and tight access for equipment adds time. After I've seen the site, your written estimate spells out every part.

Most cracks start under the slab, from a base that wasn't packed or water that soaks in beside it, or from joints cut too late. Concrete shrinks as it dries, so soon after the pour we cut control joints, shallow grooves that give it a chosen place to crack. No slab is crack-proof, but a firm base and timely joints usually keep the cracks in the joints instead of across the middle.

Earthquakes are a real concern for buildings here, since the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults cross Riverside County and the county expects a substantial share of its buildings to be affected by them. The county enforces the California building codes on permitted work, so we build footings and slab foundations to the approved plans and set up the inspections the permit calls for.