Concrete contractor in La Cresta, CA - slabs that drain right and stay put
Shafter Concrete is a concrete contractor pouring driveways, patios, walks and slabs in La Cresta, CA. We dig out and pack the ground first, then pour with the slope running water away from your house.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Replies within 1 business day.
La Cresta, with Bakersfield on most sides
La Cresta is a community in Kern County, not a city of its own, with Bakersfield around most of it and East Bakersfield along its southeast side. The calls we get from here are mostly homeowner jobs: a driveway that's cracked and dropped at the street, a patio that holds water after the sprinklers run, a front walk lifted enough to catch a toe, and steps pulling away from the porch.
Most bad slabs I've seen went wrong under the surface, not on top. On an established yard that means working around fences, sprinklers and trees, and digging out whatever soft fill the last pour sat on before we pack a new base.
Concrete work we do on La Cresta properties
Concrete driveway building
When a La Cresta driveway has sunk at the street or split down the middle, we tear it out, pack a new base and pour again.
Concrete patio construction
A backyard patio that holds water after the sprinklers run usually has no slope to it. We pour new patios sloped away from the house.
Stamped concrete services
Stamped concrete gives a La Cresta patio or walk the look of stone or brick, poured as one slab so there are no pavers to sink or shift.
Concrete sidewalk building
Front walks often lift and crack where a tree root or downspout works on them. We pull the bad sections and repour them on a packed base.
Garage floor concrete
A garage floor that's cracked, stained or settled toward the door can be broken out and poured again, with a smooth finish that's easy to sweep.
Decorative concrete
Decorative concrete covers color, exposed stone and patterned edges, for La Cresta homeowners who want a patio or entry that looks like more than plain gray.
Concrete retaining walls
Where a yard steps down or a slope keeps washing onto the patio, a poured retaining wall holds the dirt back and gives you flat ground.
Concrete floor installation
For a shop, a room addition or a storage building, we pour interior floors flat and level, on a base we've dug out and packed ourselves.
Concrete pool decks
A pool deck takes summer heat, splash water and bare feet, so we slope it toward drains and give it a finish that isn't slick when wet.
Concrete steps construction
Steps that have cracked, tipped or pulled away from the house get repoured with every step the same height, so nobody trips on the odd one.
Slab foundation building
Builders call us to pour slab foundations for new homes, additions and garages, and the work under the slab gets as much time as the pour.
Foundation installation
When an addition or a detached garage goes up on a La Cresta lot, we form and pour the foundation to the drawings for it.
Concrete parking lot building
Small parking lots for shops, churches and offices fail where the base gives out under traffic, so we build the base for the weight it will carry.
Concrete footings
Footings are the concrete under a wall, a post or a block fence, and we dig them to the depth and width the drawings call for.
Foundation raising
When part of a slab or a footing has dropped and doors start sticking, raising it back up can save tearing out concrete that's otherwise sound.
Concrete cutting
We saw-cut concrete to take out a damaged section, open a doorway or trench for a pipe, so the rest of the slab doesn't have to come out.
Get a free on-site estimate for your La Cresta job
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time. I come out, look over the job and write you a free estimate, with no obligation to go ahead.
Call (661) 776-8737- Based in
- Shafter, CA 93263
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
Working in La Cresta: permits, licenses and price
The first thing I settle on a La Cresta job is the permit, because some concrete work needs one and I'd rather know before we order a truck. I check with the building office for your address before we start, and Kern County keeps a permit counter and phone line at its Public Services Building. If a permit's needed, we handle the application and line up the inspections, so plan on some wait before the pour. The one thing worth checking yourself is that your contractor holds a California state contractor's license, which I cover in the questions below, and we're licensed and insured.
What moves the price is the size of the job, how much old concrete comes out, how much digging and base the ground needs, and the finish you pick. The schedule turns on the permit, the weather and how long the slab has to cure. Getting to the work matters too, because a mixer truck can't always reach a backyard on a built-out street, and a pump or wheelbarrows add time and cost. The written estimate spells all of that out for your job. Our crew comes over from Shafter, where I opened the business in 2013, and we do the same work in Hillcrest and Oildale.
Why concrete cracks and settles on La Cresta lots
Kern County says parts of the county are known for expansive soil, which swells and shrinks with water, and collapsible soil, which can drop when it gets wet, and both can settle a slab unevenly or push on footings. That's why we don't rake the dirt flat and pour on it. We dig down to firm subgrade, the ground the slab really rests on, pack a base over it, and add rebar, steel bars that hold a slab together if it cracks, where the job calls for it.
Heat is the other one. Concrete poured in the middle of a hot afternoon dries too fast on top and turns weak and dusty later, so in summer we pour early and keep the slab damp while it cures, the slow hardening that sets how strong it gets.
How a concrete job runs when you call us in La Cresta
Here's how a job runs once you get in touch, from the first call to the last walk-through, and who you'll be dealing with along the way.
Call and set a visit
Call (661) 776-8737 or send the form, and we'll set a time for me to come out. You don't need measurements or a plan, just an idea of what you want.
I measure and write it up
I look at the job, measure, check where your water runs and ask how you'll use the slab, so it helps if you're home to point out the trouble spots. You get a written estimate that says what's included, and we sort out any permit before anybody digs.
Our crew does the work
Our own crew digs out, packs the base, sets the forms and pours, and I'm on the job with them. We clean up as we go so you're not left with a mess.
Walk it together at the end
When we're done, I walk the job with you and point out the joints and the drainage. I'll tell you when it's ready for foot traffic and when you can drive on it, since a fresh slab needs time to cure first.
Questions about concrete contractors in La Cresta
Call (661) 776-8737Does a concrete retaining wall in La Cresta need a permit?
It can, and the City of Bakersfield's building guides list installing a retaining wall as work that needs a permit and a permit fee at addresses the city serves. We check with the office for your address before we set a form, the same as any other job.
When does a contractor need a CSLB license in California?
A contractor needs a license from the Contractors State License Board when the project needs a building permit, when employees do the work, or when the contracts add up to $1,000 or more for labor and materials together. That line used to be $500, and the small-job exception only covers work that needs no permit, done by someone with no employees on it. Ask whoever you hire for their license before you sign anything.
How can I keep the cost of a concrete patio down in La Cresta?
Go with a plain broom finish, the light brushed texture that keeps the surface from getting slick, and a simple shape, because stamping, color and curves all add labor. Don't save on the base. It's buried the day we pour, so it's the first thing people want to cut, and it's the part that decides whether the patio stays flat. Your written estimate lists each piece, so you can see where the money goes.
What causes cracks in a concrete driveway in La Cresta?
Most driveway cracks come from the ground moving under the slab, or from concrete shrinking as it cures with nowhere planned for the crack to go. We handle the ground with the dug-out, packed base I described above, and we cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the slab a straight line to crack along, before it picks its own spot. A new slab can still show a hairline crack, but it usually stays in a joint where you'll hardly notice it.
How do I keep water from pooling against my house after a new patio?
Have the patio and the ground beside it slope away from the house, so rain and sprinkler water run off instead of sitting at the wall. Kern County's amendments to an older edition of the state code required just that, with the ground falling away from the building and swales, shallow ditches in the yard, sloped to carry water off. At the estimate I look at where your water goes now, and we set the forms so the slab drains away from you.
Does earthquake risk in Kern County change how a footing or foundation is built?
It can, because Kern County says the county sits in a high seismic area with many major faults crossing the region. On foundations and footings, we build to the drawings and the inspections the permit sets. On flatwork, the rebar and the packed base do most of the work of keeping a slab in one piece.
Shafter, CA
Book your La Cresta concrete estimate
Water that gets under a cracked slab keeps washing out the dirt it sits on, so the sooner I look at it, the more of it we can usually save.