Concrete Contractor in Cambridge, MA - Solid Slabs and Steps for Older Homes
Excel Newton Concrete is a concrete contractor based in Newton, MA, and in Cambridge we build driveways, patios, steps, walks and foundation work, from breaking out a cracked old slab to packing a new base and pouring.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Cambridge houses, lots and the concrete around them
Cambridge is a city of older houses set close together, a lot of them two- and three-family homes with a narrow driveway down one side, a short front walk and a set of concrete steps that have seen decades of use. When I come out here, the call is usually about steps pulling away from the house, a walk that heaves and catches toes, or a backyard slab that holds water after every rain. It's the same work we do next door in Watertown and Belmont, just with less room to move.
I learned this trade on new construction, with open lots and nobody living there yet, and Cambridge is the opposite. The truck often can't get near the back of the lot, and we're digging and setting forms a few feet from an old foundation or a neighbor's fence, so the prep takes more care than the pour.
Concrete services for Cambridge homes and buildings
- Concrete driveway building
Many driveways here are narrow strips between houses, so we tear out the cracked slab, pack a new base and pour one that drains toward the street.
- Concrete patio construction
A small backyard here gets a lot of use, so a patio has to drain away from the house and sit on a packed base.
- Stamped concrete services
Stamped concrete gives a patio or walk the look of brick or stone that fits older houses here, in one slab with no pavers to heave.
- Concrete sidewalk building
Old front walks here often heave into trip edges, so we replace them with a broom finish, a brushed texture that gives shoes grip when it's wet.
- Garage floor concrete
Older detached garages here often have a cracked, sunken floor, and a new slab gives you a flat, solid surface for a car or storage.
- Decorative concrete
Color and texture let a small yard or entry match the brick and trim of the house, over the same packed base any slab gets.
- Concrete retaining walls
Where a yard steps up to the neighbor's lot or the street, a concrete wall holds the ground back and gives you a level spot to use.
- Concrete floor installation
Basements and ground-floor rooms in older houses here sometimes still have a broken or patched floor, and we pour a new slab before you finish the space.
- Concrete pool decks
Pools are few on lots this size, but where there is one, we pour a deck with a grippy finish that drains away from the pool and house.
- Concrete steps construction
Front steps on older houses here often crack or pull away from the doorway, so we rebuild them on footings that keep them tight to the house.
- Slab foundation building
For a new garage, shed or small addition on a tight lot, we form and pour the slab foundation, the flat base the whole building sits on.
- Foundation installation
When an addition or a rebuilt garage goes up between close neighbors, we dig and pour the foundation walls while protecting the houses and fences beside it.
- Concrete parking lot building
Apartment buildings and shops here often have a small lot that takes cars all day, so we plan its drainage and thickness before the first truck arrives.
- Concrete footings
Decks, porches and additions on older Cambridge houses need footings, the concrete pads that carry the weight down into firm ground, set before anything gets built on top.
- Foundation raising
When part of an older house has settled and doors start sticking, we lift that section back toward level and set it on new concrete support.
- Concrete cutting
On tight lots we can cut out just the damaged section of a slab or an opening in a basement floor, rather than break out the whole thing.
Get a free written estimate for your Cambridge job
Send the form and we reply within one business day to set a time, then I come out to see the spot myself and give you a free written estimate, with no pressure and no obligation.
Call (617) 644-7325What Cambridge permit and license rules mean for you
In Cambridge, a building inspector at the city's Inspectional Services Department issues building permits, and the permit has to be in hand and posted at the job site before any work starts, so the start date waits on it. We pull it in our name and set up the inspections, and if we aren't sure a job needs one, we check with the city before we start. Work on an existing, owner-occupied home with one to four units calls for a contractor registered with the state as a Home Improvement Contractor, and anyone working in Cambridge under a name other than their own has to file a business certificate with the city, so those are the two things to ask any contractor about. We're fully licensed and insured.
The other thing that shapes a job here is the street. Narrow streets with cars along both curbs decide how close the concrete truck can get, and when it can't reach the forms we pump the concrete or wheel it in, which adds labor that a roomy driveway in Wellesley usually doesn't need. Past access, the price moves with tear-out, base depth and finish, and the schedule turns on the permit, any historic review and curing, the days of waiting while the concrete hardens before you can use it. Your written estimate puts all of that on paper for your own job, so you can compare it line by line.
Why Cambridge driveways, walks and steps wear out
Much of the flatwork around older houses here, the driveways, walks and patios that lie on the ground, was poured decades ago on dirt that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so it settled, cracked and tipped back toward the house. Once a slab falls toward the foundation, rain runs to the basement wall instead of away from it, and each winter the water in those cracks freezes and opens them wider. We dig down to the subgrade, the ground the slab really sits on, pack a proper base on it and set the slope away from the house before any concrete arrives.
On houses split into two or three units, one narrow driveway often carries several households' cars and a single walk serves every front door, so the wear adds up fast. Those slabs get rebar, steel bars set inside the concrete that hold it together if it does crack, so a hairline doesn't turn into a step.
What happens when you call us about a Cambridge job
Here's how a job at your Cambridge house runs, from the first call to the walkthrough, and what you'll have in hand along the way.
Call or send the form
Call (617) 644-7325 or use the form, and we'll set a time for me to come out to your house. It helps if you're home for the visit so we can walk the spot together.
Get a written estimate
I look at the spot, ask how you use it and walk you through your choices right there. Then you get a written estimate that spells out the mix, the prep, the cleanup and who handles any permits, so you can hold it next to another quote and see whether someone skipped the base.
Prep, pour and protect
Once any permit is posted, our crew digs out, packs the base and pours with me on site, inside the city's residential hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays, since Sunday and holiday work needs a special permit from the Police Department. We protect your yard and house as we go, and at the end of each day you'll have a clear way past the work.
Walk the finished work together
At the end I walk the work with you and show you how to care for it. I'll also tell you when it's ready for feet and when it's ready for your car, since a driveway needs longer than a walk before it takes weight.
Questions about concrete work in Cambridge
Do I need a building permit for concrete work in Cambridge, MA?
Work that builds, alters or repairs a structure needs a building permit from the city before it starts, and the exceptions the city names are ordinary repairs as the Building Code defines them and sheds under 120 square feet. The quicker short-form permit only covers things like windows, doors, insulation and interior remodels, so concrete work that does need a permit goes through the regular application described on the city's building permits page. I'll tell you which way your driveway, steps or slab falls before we price it.
Who can pull the building permit for a concrete job in Cambridge, me or the contractor?
The city issues building permits to construction supervisors licensed by the city or the state, and a homeowner can also get one for work on a one- or two-unit house they live in or plan to live in. On our jobs, the permit is ours to pull, as covered above, so the paperwork and inspections stay with us.
How do I know if my Cambridge house needs historic approval before concrete work?
If your house is in a historic district or a neighborhood conservation district, is a designated landmark or is under a preservation restriction, the work needs approval from the Cambridge Historical Commission. Tearing down a structure over 50 years old also needs the commission's approval, which can matter for an old garage. Tell me at the estimate if you think your house falls under one of these, and we'll plan the start date around that review.
Do I need a written contract for a concrete job in Massachusetts?
Yes, for home improvement work on a house like yours that's estimated at $1,000 or more, state law requires a written contract between you and the contractor with certain provisions in it. Read it before you sign, and if a contractor wants to start a new driveway on a handshake, keep looking.
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Cambridge?
There's no single price, because on a Cambridge lot the cost turns on access, tear-out and the base as much as on size. A plain broom finish costs less than stamping or color, so if you need to trim, trim the finish and keep the base, since the base is hidden the day we pour and it's what decides whether the slab settles. Your written estimate gives you the figure for your own driveway.
What causes concrete driveways and walks to crack in Cambridge?
Concrete shrinks as it hardens and moves with the seasons, so it will crack somewhere, and the real question is whether it cracks where you chose. Control joints, grooves cut into the slab, give it that place, and when they're cut late or skipped the cracks wander across the middle, while a pour in the midday heat leaves a weak, dusty top that chips. We cut joints on time and plan pours for the cooler part of the day.
Newton, MA
Start planning your Cambridge concrete job
Call (617) 644-7325 or send the form while the damage is still a section we can cut out and replace, before it turns into a full tear-out.