Concrete Contractor in Framingham, MA - Driveways and Patios Built on a Packed Base
Excel Newton Concrete is a concrete contractor based in Newton that builds driveways, patios, steps, walls and foundations for homes in Framingham, plus parking lots and concrete cutting for property owners there.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Framingham concrete work on homes people live in
A lot of our Framingham calls come from homes with a family inside, for a driveway that's cracked across the middle, front steps pulling away from the door or a patio that's chipped and uneven. Property owners call us too, for parking lots behind their buildings and for cutting openings in slabs and walls.
It's the same work we do closer to home in Wellesley, and what shapes it here is that someone's living a few feet from the forms. Finished lawns, narrow side yards and the one path to the front door decide how the truck gets in and where the chute can reach, so I work that out at the estimate before anything else.
Concrete services we offer Framingham homeowners
- Concrete driveway building
When a driveway has sunk by the garage, we tear it out, rebuild the base and pour new with a broom finish, a swept texture for grip.
- Concrete patio construction
For a back door that opens onto bare lawn, we pour a solid slab for the table and grill, pitched so rain runs off toward the yard.
- Stamped concrete services
Stamped concrete presses a stone or brick pattern into the fresh slab, so a front walk or patio can match an older house without laying pavers.
- Concrete sidewalk building
We replace front walks and side paths that have lifted or tipped at the joints, so the trip hazard between the driveway and your front door is gone.
- Garage floor concrete
A cracked, pitted garage floor can be broken out and repoured with a slight pitch toward the door, so water off the car runs out instead of pooling.
- Decorative concrete
Color, exposed stone and saw-cut patterns can dress up the concrete people see first, like the front walk, the entry landing or the patio by the kitchen door.
- Concrete retaining walls
When a yard slopes down toward the house or the driveway cuts into a bank, a poured wall holds the dirt back and gives you flat ground to use.
- Concrete floor installation
We pour basement, shop and outbuilding floors, flat enough to set shelving and equipment on, with steel inside where the floor has to carry real weight.
- Concrete pool decks
Around a pool we pour a deck with a textured top for wet feet and a pitch that sends splash water away from the pool and the house.
- Concrete steps construction
Once front steps settle away from the door, we form and pour new ones with even risers, so nobody misjudges a step coming home with groceries.
- Slab foundation building
For an addition, garage or outbuilding on your lot, we pour the slab that carries it on a dug-out, packed base, because a slab only sits as well as what's under it.
- Foundation installation
When you're adding on, we set the footings and walls for the new space and work tight to the house your family is still living in.
- Concrete parking lot building
Property owners call us for lots behind shops and multi-unit buildings, where we build the base for traffic and plan the drainage before the first truck pours.
- Concrete footings
Decks, porches and small additions sit on footings, the concrete pads that carry the weight into the ground, so we pour them before framing starts.
- Foundation raising
When part of a house or garage has dropped and doors start to stick, we raise the low section and fix the support under it.
- Concrete cutting
We saw doorways, drain trenches and repair cuts in floors, walls and flatwork like driveways and walks, with dust and water kept away from the house.
Get a free written estimate for your Framingham concrete job
We reply within one business day to set a time for me to see the spot, and the estimate is free, done at your place and written out so you can compare it, with no obligation.
Call (617) 644-7325Working in Framingham: permits, registration and your price
Building permits here come from the Building Department in the city's Inspectional Services Division, which issues them for all construction that isn't an ordinary repair under the state building code, so when your job needs one, the city's review is part of your schedule. When it does, we pull the permit in our name and set up the inspections, and if I'm not sure, I check with the city before we start. We're fully licensed and insured, and you can check any contractor here, since the state registers home improvement contractors and a Framingham business working under a trade name files a business certificate with the city's Licensing Officer.
Past the permit, your price comes down to how big and thick the slab is, how much old concrete comes out, how deep we dig and pack the base, whether it needs steel and what finish you pick. We run Framingham jobs the same way we run them in Watertown, and your written estimate puts a number on your own job before you decide anything.
Water and settling on Framingham driveways and patios
A lot of what we see here starts with water, a patio that puddles after rain or a driveway that's tipped back so it drains toward the garage and the foundation. That usually goes back to nobody checking where the water runs before the forms went in, so before we set ours I look at how the yard drains and pitch the new slab to carry water away from your house.
Sinking is the other big one, and on older slabs it's usually the subgrade, the dirt and stone the slab sits on, that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so it settled and the concrete went with it. When a budget's tight, the base is where some contractors cut first, because you can't see it once the pour's done. I'd rather you pick a plainer finish and keep the base, since a fancy top over a soft base still sinks.
What to expect when you hire us for concrete in Framingham
Here's how a Framingham job runs from your first call to the day I hand the work back to you, so you know what's happening at each step.
Call and set a visit
Call (617) 644-7325 or send the form, and we'll set a time for me to come see the spot. It helps if you're home, so I can ask how you use the driveway or patio.
Walk the spot and price it
I look at the old slab, where the water runs and how the truck gets in, then walk you through your choices right there. Your free written estimate spells out the mix, the prep, the cleanup and who handles any permits, so you know what you're paying for.
Permit first, then the pour
If your job needs a permit, we wait for the city to issue it, then break out the old concrete, dig out and pack the base, set forms and pour. My crew and I protect your yard and house as we go and leave a safe way past the work each evening.
Walk the finished work together
At the end I walk the work with you and show you how to care for it while it cures, the wait while concrete hardens before it takes weight. I'll tell you when it's ready for feet and when it's ready for the car.
Questions about concrete work in Framingham
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Framingham, MA?
There isn't one price for every driveway, because the size, the tear-out and the base work I described above set it, so I price the one in front of me. The Framingham-specific cost is the building permit when the job needs one, which the city's posted fee schedule sets for one- and two-family homes at $15 per $1,000 of construction cost, with a $50 minimum.
What happens if concrete work starts in Framingham without a permit?
The city charges double the building permit fee when work that needed a permit starts without one. That's one reason we settle the permit question before the pour, so you're not the one paying twice.
How do I know if my concrete contractor needs HIC registration in Massachusetts?
If the work is on an existing, owner-occupied home with one to four units, the state requires the contractor to register as a Home Improvement Contractor. The law leaves out new construction, buildings with more than four units and investment, vacation or second homes, and the state lists driveways and some small jobs under $500 among its exemptions. For covered work of $1,000 or more you need a written contract with certain required terms, and the state's homeowner guide shows what to look for.
Do I need a permit for a pool and a concrete pool deck in Framingham?
The pool does, because the city treats anything holding water more than 24 inches deep, hot tubs and spas included, as a private swimming pool that needs a permit. It also needs a fence or barrier at least 48 inches high around it, so we plan the deck's edge around that barrier and check the deck itself with the city before we start.
Why did my old driveway in Framingham crack, and will a new one crack too?
Concrete shrinks as it dries, so some cracking is normal, and what matters is where it happens. We cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the slab a straight line to crack along, early enough to do their job, and we add rebar, steel bars laid inside the slab, where it carries weight so any crack stays tight. With a packed base under it, a new slab shouldn't sink and split the way the old one did.
How do I find out if my Framingham lot is in a flood zone?
You can look it up through the city's GIS, which carries the digitized FEMA flood map for Middlesex County, last revised in 2014, or download the map from FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, both listed on the city's flood map page. If your yard is in or near a mapped zone, tell me at the visit, because it changes how much attention I give the drainage and the slab's pitch.
Newton, MA
Plan your Framingham concrete job with us
Call (617) 644-7325 or send the form well before you need the space, so any permit is in hand before we break out the old slab.