Concrete Contractor in Ellensburg, WA - Slabs Built on a Base That Holds
United Yakima Concrete is a concrete contractor based in Yakima, WA, and we pour driveways, patios, walks, steps, garage floors and foundations for homes and small businesses in Ellensburg. We've been doing this work since 2013.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Ellensburg homes, from old blocks to new lots
Ellensburg gives us a little of everything. There are older houses near downtown, some of them in the city's historic districts, rentals around the Central Washington University campus, newer homes at the edge of the city and small businesses that need walks and parking that hold up. It's a short drive up from our base in Yakima, and we work from here all the way down to Grandview.
On the older houses the concrete is usually decades old. The driveway's narrow, the front steps have settled and the walk is lifting, so a lot of the job is breaking out the old slab carefully around porches, trees and lines in the yard. On newer lots the dirt a builder pushed around often was never packed, so we dig deeper and build the base back up before we pour anything.
Concrete work we do on Ellensburg properties
Concrete driveway building
Older Ellensburg driveways are often narrow, cracked and sunk toward the garage, so we tear them out, dig to firm ground, pack the base and pour new.
Concrete patio construction
A backyard patio gives you a flat, dry spot for a table and grill, and we set its fall away from the house so water runs off.
Stamped concrete services
Stamped concrete presses a stone or brick pattern into the slab while it's wet, which suits patios and front walks on older houses with brick or stone trim.
Concrete sidewalk building
Front walks near downtown and around rentals take a lot of foot traffic, and when a panel lifts or sinks we replace it so nobody catches a toe.
Garage floor concrete
A cracked, oil-soaked garage floor in an older house can come out and go back in smooth, with a slight fall toward the door so water drains out.
Decorative concrete
Color, exposed stone and saw-cut patterns let a walk or patio match the house, and on older Ellensburg homes that usually means keeping the look simple.
Concrete retaining walls
Sloped yards and lots that drop toward the street sometimes need a concrete wall to hold the dirt back, built on a footing wide enough to carry it.
Concrete floor installation
Shops, barns and outbuildings on the acreage around the city need a solid floor, and we pour it thick enough for whatever you'll park on it.
Concrete pool decks
A pool deck needs a surface that isn't slick when wet and a slope that sends water away from the pool, and we finish it for bare feet.
Concrete steps construction
Front steps on older houses often pull away from the porch or tip as the dirt settles, and we replace them with even risers and a solid footing.
Slab foundation building
New houses, additions and garages on newer lots at the city's edge often sit on a slab foundation, and the base under it decides how it holds up.
Foundation installation
We form and pour foundation walls for additions on older houses and for new builds, working with your builder so the concrete is set before framing starts.
Concrete parking lot building
Small businesses downtown and along the main roads need parking that stands up to daily traffic, and concrete laid on a packed base does that.
Concrete footings
Porches, decks, sheds and additions need footings, the concrete pads that carry the weight down to firm ground, and we dig them as deep as the job calls for.
Foundation raising
When a corner of an older house has settled, raising the foundation can bring it back up, and I'll tell you straight if it's worth doing.
Concrete cutting
We saw-cut openings, trenches and clean edges in existing slabs, so a broken section can come out without wrecking the good concrete around it.
Get a free estimate for concrete work in Ellensburg
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set up a visit. I come out myself, and the written estimate is free with no obligation.
Call (509) 452-5002- Based in
- Yakima, WA 98901
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–10 PM
What we deal with on Ellensburg jobs
Inside Ellensburg city limits, building permits go through the city's Building Division, which is part of Community Development, and you can reach the city at 509-962-7204. The city's permit list names roofs, windows and siding, not driveways or patios, so I don't guess either way, and the city asks owners to check with Community Development before starting any work. Even work that's exempt from a building permit still has to meet the city's setback, lot coverage and critical areas rules. I check which office covers your address and what it asks for on your job, we handle the paperwork for our part, and I tell you plainly where things stand before we set a pour date, because that answer can move the start more than anything else. We're licensed and fully insured.
The price moves with the size and thickness of the slab, how much ground prep it needs and the finish you pick, and the schedule moves with the city's answer, the prep days and the cure wait. Ellensburg is the north end of the cities we cover, and it gets the same crew and the same prep we bring to Selah and everywhere else. Your written estimate spells out the mix, the prep and what's included, so you can see where the money goes.
Ellensburg slabs and what wears them out
On a lot of older Ellensburg houses, the driveway or walk was poured on dirt that was raked flat and never packed, so over the years it settled and the slab went with it. That's where the sinking, the tipped panels and the water pooling against the foundation come from. We dig down to firm subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, pack a gravel base in layers and set the fall so water runs away from the house instead of toward it.
Rentals and newer houses get a different problem, because when a budget gets tight the base is the first thing cut and nobody sees it on pour day. I'd rather spend your money on the base than on a fancy finish, since a stamped top on a bad base cracks just the same.
How a concrete job runs when you call us in Ellensburg
Here's what happens from your first call to the day you use the new slab, and where you'll need to be part of it.
Call or send a message
We get back to you to set up a time for me to come out. Tell us what you want poured and roughly where, and that's enough to get started.
I measure and look it over
I come out myself, measure, check where the water runs and ask how you'll use the concrete. You get a written estimate, so there's no guessing about what you're paying for.
We sort permits, then prep
Once you say go, we take care of the permit side and any review the city needs before a pour date goes on the calendar. Then our crew digs out, packs the base and sets the forms, and you don't need to be home for that.
Pour, finish and clean up
I'm on site for the pour, our crew finishes the surface and cuts the joints, and we clean up before we leave. Then the slab cures, and I'll tell you when it's ready for feet and when it's ready for a car.
Questions about concrete work in Ellensburg
Call (509) 452-5002The city's permit exemptions list exempts a retaining wall no taller than 4 feet, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, from a building permit. That exemption ends if the wall holds up extra load above it, like a driveway or a slope, or holds back flammable liquids, and exempt work can still face other local, state and federal requirements. I check where your wall falls before we dig.
If your house is on the Ellensburg Landmarks Register or in one of its districts, you may need an approved certificate of appropriateness before the project starts, and you can check on the city's permit page. The Landmarks and Design Commission reviews outside changes you can see from the street, whether or not a city permit is needed, so a new front walk, steps or driveway can fall under it. Repairs in kind with the same materials that keep the historic features are exempt.
I can't give you a fair number without seeing the site, so the price comes in a written estimate after I measure and look at the ground. The biggest swings come from breaking out and hauling off an old driveway, digging out soft dirt that won't hold a slab, how close the truck can get, and picking a stamped or colored finish over a broom finish, the light texture that keeps tires and shoes from slipping. If the city wants a permit or review, its fees are part of the cost too.
Usually a day or two before you walk on it and about a week before you drive a car on a new driveway. Curing is the wait while the concrete hardens and gains strength, and driving on it early is how edges chip and cracks start. I'll give you the day for your slab before we leave.
It can still get a hairline crack, because concrete shrinks as it dries, but it shouldn't sink and break up like a slab poured on loose dirt. We cut control joints, straight grooves that give the slab a place to crack where you won't notice, soon after the pour, and the packed base keeps it from settling. Rebar, the steel set inside the slab, holds the pieces together if a crack does open.
It may be allowed, but the city requires a permit before work starts, a thorough plan review and inspections, and a garage conversion carries more code requirements than finishing a basement. If the old floor has to come out as part of it, we pour the new slab and handle the paperwork for our part of the work.
Yakima, WA
Tell us about your Ellensburg concrete job
Call (509) 452-5002 or send the form early, so I can sort out the city's side before we pick a pour date instead of after.