Serving our Community since 2012

As a concrete contractor, we continue to grow as a company through research & education and apply it to our work to bring the absolute best product & practices to our clients. At the end of the day, everyone that comes in contact with our company has a better understanding of the industry standards, giving them the upper hand when making a purchasing decision.

Our Concrete Work Process

Customized Approach

Educate

Installing Utility Lines

Design/consult

Installing Utility Lines

Plan

technician

Prep

Placement

Durability Concrete Parking Lots

Cure

About Our Concrete Construction

When we partner with a client, our goal is to give them peace of mind. We make sure they understand every step of our process outlined in our contract.

  • New driveways and driveway replacement 
  • Decorative concrete
  • Stamped concrete
  • Integral colored concrete
  • Custom stamping and color
  • Backyard patios and porches
  • Driveway extensions & add-ons
  • Concrete retaining walls
  • Sidewalks
  • Wheelchair/ADA ramps
  • Concrete ditch liners
  • Footings, stem walls, slabs, & pads
  • Foundations for homes or shops
  • Garage floor replacement
  • Driveway approach
  • French drains, trench drains, ditch liners (water control for most applications)
  • Mechanical soil modification or chemical when required
  • Soil density testing
  • Structural aggregate base (ODOT)
  • Base modification by compaction
  • Rebar required size based upon application, tied 100%
  • Curing compound
  • Admixtures enhancements per the project’s contract
  • Follow American Concrete Institution (ACI) protocols on ALL projects

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Planning & Preparation

Before you begin your project, it is important to properly plan and prepare. Proper planning will save time in the end, and helps to assure your satisfaction with the finished product.

Sidewalks Finished

Thickness

For common household projects – driveways, walkways and patios – 4 inches thick should do the trick. You may require a thicker pour should the area see large amounts of traffic.

Base

We recommend using a ¾ minus crushed gravel or crusher run compacted base 2 inches thick. Never pour over organic material as it will decay and leave a void.

Drainage

Industry standard calls for a slope of 1 inch fall per 10 feet away from structures.

Planning your drainage at the time of installing concrete can greatly improve your property’s usability and safety while reducing future cost.

 

Excavation

First we call OKIE811 (800-522-6543) to locate any utility lines in the area. While taking care to only dig as deep as necessary (keeping an eye out for power lines), ensure you remove tree roots, leaves, wood and any other organic matter in the desired area, as they will decay causing voids.

Compaction

To ensure your slab doesn’t settle or vary in thickness, make sure to compact the soil/gravel base in the desired area.

Forming

Take care to stake your forms securely to the ground, while paying close attention to the slope (for proper drainage). 2x4s are adequate for use as forms. Never use particle board or wafer board as the water from the concrete will break down the glue that holds them together. Check the accuracy of your base by pulling a string very tight across the top of your forms and measuring down to the base in several different areas.

Colored concrete curbs

Expansion

All concrete expands and contracts with heat and cold. The forces are enough to cause buckling, cracks and can even collapse brick walls. Install premolded expansion joint material anywhere concrete will come into contact with existing slabs, steps, or buildings. You can get this material from Lowe’s and Home Depot. However, most people prefer the shredded rubber type over the fiberboard type. You can get that at M&M Lumber at 46st and Mingo. The joint must cover the entire contact area where the concrete meets any other structure to ensure the new slab will be completely isolated. This allows for heat expansion to occur without causing damage.

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Placing & Finishing

Placing

Concrete delivery should be closely coordinated with placing and finishing operations. Concrete should not be poured faster than it can be spread and screeded. Instead, concrete should be poured continuously as near as possible to its final position. You should never dump concrete into separate piles and work them together.

Consolidation

Using a concrete vibrator is recommended for optimum consolidation. The consolidation process uses vibration and gravity to consolidate fresh concrete within the forms and around embedded items and reinforcement. This process eliminates unwanted pockets of trapped air and stone while maintaining significant amounts of entrained air. The vibration temporarily suspends the natural friction between the aggregate particles, causing the concrete to behave as a liquid. Internal friction resumes as the vibration is stopped.

Finishing

Slabs exposed to the elements, driveways, patios, etc. – will need to be finished. You can finish your concrete in many ways, including color tinting and texturing. Patterned and stamped finishes are very popular on projects of all sizes.

Most surfaces will require strike-off or screeding to proper contour and elevation. In this process a straight edge (2X4 on edge) is moved across the concrete with a sawing motion.

Bull-floating eliminates high and low spots and embeds large aggregate particles immediately after strike-off. Jointing is required to eliminate unsightly random cracks.

Relief Joints

Can be made with a hand groover while the concrete is wet enough to work. The grooves should be at least 1/2-inch to 3/4-inches deep.

Another method of making relief joints and a bit cleaner look is to saw-cut joints after the concrete is hard enough to prevent chunking along the cut line.

After the concrete has been jointed, it should be floated with a wood or magnesium float or with a finishing machine using float blades. This embeds aggregate particles just beneath the surface; removes slight imperfections, humps, and voids; and produces the grout layer at the surface in preparation for additional finishing.

Where a smooth surface is desired, floating should be followed a short time later with steel troweling. A slip-resistant surface can be produced by brooming before the concrete has completely hardened, but it should be sufficiently hard to retain the scoring impression from the bristles. If the surface grout moves in front of the broom, it is too soon.

Curing

Curing is an important step in concrete construction. Proper curing greatly increases concrete strength and durability. Concrete hardens as a result of the process of hydration: the chemical reaction of the components of cement after the addition of water. However, hydration occurs only if water is available and if the concrete’s temperature stays within a suitable range. During the curing period-from five to seven days after placement for conventional concrete – the concrete surface needs to be kept moist to permit the hydration process. The most common method of curing (and one of the simplest) is to utilize a liquid membrane which is sprayed or rolled on the surface of a slab after finishing to prevent premature drying of the surface. Water sprinklers may be used when you are able to insure constant wetting for at least 3 days.

Curing in Extreme Weather

Temperature extremes make it difficult to properly cure concrete. On hot days, too much water is lost by evaporation from newly placed concrete. If the temperature drops too close to freezing, hydration slows to nearly a standstill. Under these conditions, concrete ceases to gain strength and other desirable properties. In general, the temperature of new concrete should not be allowed to fall below 35°F during the curing period. Membrane curing does not keep the concrete warm enough in freezing temperatures. Only adequate insulation or heating will maintain proper curing temperatures during extremely cold weather (32 degrees F and below).

Curing Shortcuts to Avoid

Avoid any curing method that lets the surface dry in a short time. Quick drying stops the hardening process, thus making a weak surface that is likely to scale.

Other Tips

Colored Concrete

Sealing

Water-repellent coatings or sealers can help prevent damage from freeze/thaw cycles and salting. They keep water from getting into the surface pores. Newly cured concrete should have a period of air-drying before being sealed. Follow the sealant manufacturers directions.

First Winter

Do not use salt or other deicers during the first winter. Use sand instead to improve traction. Even light applications of salt, or salt carried on cars may cause severe scaling of newly placed concrete. Fertilizers are not an acceptable deicer at any time.