Concrete Contractor in Southside, AL - Slabs Built on Packed, Drained Ground
Oxford Concrete is a concrete contractor building driveways, patios, slabs and footings for homes and small businesses in Southside, AL, starting with the ground underneath and where the water will go.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Replies within 1 business day.
Southside concrete work, from new driveways to old slabs
Southside sits on the banks of the Coosa River, and most of what we pour there is for houses. That runs from a first driveway and patio at a newer place to a cracked front walk or a sunken back slab at an older one. Some calls come from small business owners who need a pad, a parking area or a set of steps out front, and those get the same look at the ground as a house does.
It's much the same work we do in Glencoe and back home in Oxford. Old house or new, we start by looking at how the yard falls and where rain will run once a slab is in its way, because that decides how much digging and base the job needs.
Concrete work we do for Southside homes and businesses
Concrete driveway building
New houses here need a first driveway and older ones need a cracked one replaced, so we dig out and pack the base to carry cars.
Concrete patio construction
A lot of newer houses come with little more than a back step, so a patio is a common first project. We pitch it so rain runs to the yard.
Stamped concrete services
Stamped concrete presses a stone or brick pattern into the slab while it's wet, which suits a front walk or patio people see from the street.
Concrete sidewalk building
A walk from the driveway to the front door gets used every day, so we slope it to shed rain and broom the top for grip.
Garage floor concrete
A garage floor carries a parked car and whatever drips off it, so we pour it thick enough for the weight and slope it toward the door.
Decorative concrete
Color, exposed stone or a scored pattern can dress up plain concrete on a porch or patio, and the base under it matters just as much.
Concrete retaining walls
Where a yard steps down or a driveway cuts into a slope, a concrete wall holds the ground back, with drainage behind it so water doesn't push it.
Concrete floor installation
Shops, sheds and basements need a flat, level floor, so we pack the base, add a vapor barrier when the floor calls for one and finish the top smooth.
Concrete pool decks
A pool deck gets wet feet and splashed water all summer, so we slope it away from the pool and give it a surface that isn't slick.
Concrete steps construction
Front and back steps on raised houses need even risers so nobody trips, and footings under them so they don't pull away from the house.
Slab foundation building
A slab foundation for a new house, garage or addition starts with ground that's dug out, packed and checked for level before we set a single form.
Foundation installation
For a house, shop or addition that needs a poured foundation, we lay it out to the plans and set it on dug-out, packed ground.
Concrete parking lot building
Small business owners call us for parking areas and pads that see delivery trucks, so we pour them thicker and plan where the runoff goes.
Concrete footings
Decks, porches, carports and additions all sit on footings, the concrete that spreads their weight into the ground, and they have to go deep enough to stay put.
Foundation raising
When a slab or porch has sunk on one side, we work out why first, usually water or a soft base, then lift and support it.
Concrete cutting
We saw through old slabs for a wider driveway, a new door or a drain line, cutting clean edges so the new concrete ties in neatly.
Get a free on-site concrete estimate in Southside
We'll reply within one business day to set up a visit. I come out to look at every job myself, and the estimate is free, done on site, with no pressure and no obligation.
(256) 649-5980- Based in
- Oxford, AL 36203
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–9 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–10 PM
Working in Southside: permits, licenses and what sets your price
In Southside, the city's Building Department issues the building permits for new construction and renovations inside city limits, and it holds the contractor responsible for having one before work begins. Its permit application has a line for driveways, and when a job needs a permit nothing starts until it's issued, so that date usually sets the calendar more than our crew does. Before you hire anyone, ask whether they hold a current Southside business license, and a state license from the Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board if the job is big enough to need one.
We check with the department about each job before we start and tell you plainly what it needs and who handles it, and we're fully licensed and insured. The price here mostly follows the ground, so how much we dig out and haul away, how much base goes back and how the lot slopes usually count for more than size, thickness and finish. The schedule turns on the permit and a dry day for the pour, and the estimate gives you the figure for your own job, worked out the same way we do it in Moody and around Oxford.
Southside slabs and what makes them crack or sink
The city calls itself one of the fastest growing in Etowah County, and new houses mean freshly graded lots. Dirt that's been pushed around for a foundation hasn't finished settling, so a driveway or patio poured on ground that was only raked level tends to sink with it and crack. We dig out the soft top, put back a packed base and check the subgrade, the ground the slab rests on, before any forms go up.
At older houses the call is usually a slab cracked across the middle or water pooling against the foundation. We look at where the water runs before we price anything, pitch the new slab away from the house and cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the concrete a straight place to crack, on the day of the pour.
How a concrete job runs when you call us in Southside
From your first call to the final walk-through, here's who you'll deal with and what happens at each step of a Southside job.
Call us or send the form
We get back to you and set a time for me to come out to the house. It helps if you can be there, since you know where the water goes when it rains.
Walk the site together
I walk the yard with you and ask a lot of questions about drainage, how you'll use the slab and how a truck gets in. The estimate I send lists what's in it and what isn't, so you know exactly what the figure covers.
Prep the ground and pour
We dig out, pack the base and set the forms, then I'm on site with the crew for the pour. When a city permit calls for an inspection, the city asks for the request at least 24 hours ahead, so we build that day into the plan.
Walk the finished job
Before we leave, we walk the slab with you and go over curing, the wait while the concrete hardens, and when it's ready for feet and for a car. The work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
Questions about concrete work in Southside
Does a renovation in Southside need a permit?
In most cases, yes, and a renovation can need more than one city permit. Southside asks property owners to get a Building and Zoning Permit before construction, including site prep and digging for new buildings or accessory structures and alterations or repairs, though painting, interior remodeling and repairs that don't change a structure's size, character or position are left out. Getting that one approved doesn't take the place of a building permit, so we go over which permits your job needs at the estimate.
When does a home builder need a state license in Alabama?
Alabama's home builder license applies when building, remodeling or repairing a home costs more than $10,000, counting labor and materials, unless the work falls outside the state board's reach. If you build or improve your own one- or two-family home for your own use and supervise the work yourself, you can claim the homeowner exemption, but a subcontractor you hire still needs a license when their part of the job tops $10,000. Selling that house within a year of finishing it breaks the state's licensing law, so the exemption is only for a home you plan to keep.
When do Southside business licenses renew?
Every Southside business license runs January 1 to December 31 and has to be renewed before February 1, with late penalties after that. City Hall takes new applications daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the fee is figured on the business's gross receipts.
What adds to the cost of a concrete driveway in Southside?
The ground prep under a driveway usually adds more to the cost than anything you'll see on top, and it's the last place I'd cut. Digging out soft dirt, hauling it off and packing a real base is invisible on day one, which is why a tight budget goes after it first, but a fancy finish on a poor base cracks just like a plain one. If you need to save, a plain broom finish on a solid base is the better buy, and we can price a stamped or colored option on the estimate so you can compare.
How long does a new concrete driveway take before you can drive on it?
You'll be walking on a new driveway well before you can park on it, and we give you both dates at the walk-through instead of a number off a chart. Concrete keeps getting stronger for days after the pour, so the mix and the weather that week set the wait, and a car's weight too early is one of the easiest ways to crack a good slab.
What causes a concrete driveway in Southside to crack?
Most cracks start under the slab or at the joints, not in the concrete itself. A base that was raked level instead of dug out and packed settles with the dirt, a slab that falls toward the house lets water work underneath, and joints cut late or skipped leave the slab to crack wherever it likes. We pack the base, pitch the slab away from the house, set rebar, steel that holds the pieces together if a crack opens, where the slab calls for it, and cut joints on time, so a crack that does show up runs where we put it.
Oxford, AL
Get your Southside concrete job on the calendar
Call (256) 649-5980 or send the form, since a crack that lets water under a slab usually keeps growing and it's easier to fix what's under it early.