Concrete sidewalk building in Yakima WA - a walk that holds up through winter
Cracked, sunken or uneven sidewalk that trips people up? We break it out and pour a new walk built for Yakima winters.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
What goes into building a new concrete sidewalk in Yakima?
Concrete sidewalk building in Yakima, WA means breaking out a worn walk or starting fresh, then forming and pouring a new one that drains right and stands up to winter. At United Yakima Concrete we do it for homes in Yakima and the cities around it.
Most calls start with a walk that's cracked, heaved or sunk, or a newer house with dirt where the walk should go. The price moves with the size of the walk, how much old concrete has to come out, how close we can get the truck and any finish beyond plain gray. The schedule turns on the permit side, the weather and the wait while the concrete cures before you use it. If the walk runs along the street, the city has a say, so we handle the permit paperwork for our part before anything gets dug. The written estimate from my visit spells out the mix, the prep and what's included, so you know what you're paying for.
How do you know your sidewalk needs replacing?
Panels heaved or sunk
One slab sits higher or lower than the next, and the lip catches toes and snow shovels. It usually means the ground under it moved from frost, roots or settling, so a patch on top won't hold and the lip keeps growing.
Tops flaking or pitting
The surface peels off in thin flakes, often after a hard winter, leaving rough patches and bare stones. That usually points to concrete that wasn't made for freeze and thaw or got salted too young, and once water gets into the open spots, each winter takes more.
Water pooling on the walk
Puddles sit on the walk after rain, or water runs toward the house instead of away. A walk that's sunk or was poured with the wrong pitch turns into an ice sheet in January and keeps sending water toward your foundation.
How we handle concrete sidewalk building
A lot of sidewalks run along the street, so I start by finding out what the city wants before we break ground, because that sets the layout. Then we mark it out and check where water runs, so the finished walk sheds rain away from the house. Our crew breaks out and hauls off the old concrete, does the prep work you won't see once it's poured and sets the forms. We pour an air-entrained mix, which is concrete with tiny air bubbles worked in that give freezing water room to go, and in summer we pour early so the top doesn't bake and turn dusty later. The surface gets a broom finish, a light texture that keeps your shoes from slipping when it's wet. We cut control joints, straight grooves that give the concrete a place to crack where we chose instead of across a panel. Then it cures, which means keeping it from drying too fast and keeping feet off it until it's gained its strength, and I tell you when it's ready to use.
Sidewalk work often runs into other jobs around the house. If the garage slab is cracked or flaking, we can pour a new garage floor while the crew is already at your place, and if you want the walk to your door to look like more than gray concrete, our decorative concrete work can give it a look that fits the house.
Public sidewalk along the street
This is the walk in the strip by the curb, and it usually comes up with a new house or when an old walk has heaved. The city's rules come first on these, so the layout and finish follow what the city asks for.
Front walk up to your door
This is the walk from the driveway or street to your porch, where you get to pick the route, the width and the finish. It's the first thing people see, so it's where a curve or a decorative finish makes the most sense.
Get a free written estimate for your sidewalk
Send the form and we get back to you within one business day to set up a visit. I come out, measure and write a free estimate, with no obligation to go ahead.
Call (509) 452-5002- Based in
- Yakima, WA 98901
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–10 PM
What happens when you call us about a sidewalk in Yakima?
Here's how a sidewalk job runs from your first call to the cleanup, and who you'll deal with at each step.
Call or send a message
Call (509) 452-5002 or use the form, and we get back to you to set a time for me to come out. It helps to know whether the walk runs along the street.
I measure and look it over
I measure, look at where the water runs and ask how you'll use the walk. You get a written estimate with the mix, the prep and what's included spelled out, so you know the price before anything starts.
We set the pour date
Once the permit side is settled, we pick a date. On jobs under a city Engineering permit, the city's inspector gets notice at least three working days before work starts, so that wait is built into the schedule.
We pour, finish and clean up
Our crew digs, forms, pours and finishes, and I'm on site for the pour and the cleanup. Before we leave, I tell you when you can walk on it and how to look after it.
Why Yakima homeowners call United Yakima Concrete for sidewalks
The owner comes to measure
I come out myself to look at the job and write the estimate, and I'm back on site for the pour. The person who priced your walk is the one watching it go in.
In business since 2013
We've been at this since 2013, and before that I poured flatwork for other outfits here in the valley. That's long enough to see which walks hold up and which ones flake apart.
Licensed and insured before we dig
We're licensed and fully insured, and I'm glad to show you that before you sign anything. If something goes wrong on your property, you shouldn't be the one covering it.
If you want a straight answer on your walk, even if it's that a repair isn't worth doing, call (509) 452-5002 or send us the details.
Sidewalks, city permits and winter weather in Yakima
A lot of sidewalks here sit in the right of way, the public strip along the street, and the City of Yakima requires an excavation permit for any work in that strip. The city also issues Engineering permits when private developments build new sidewalk there. So for a street-side walk, a permit is part of the job. For a walk that stays on your lot, I check which office covers your address, because some fall under the city and some under Yakima County, and I find out what it asks for. Either way, we handle the paperwork for our part and tell you plainly where things stand before we set a pour date.
The city's design rules rate Yakima's weathering as Severe, the level where a concrete trade group's guide calls for the air-entrained mix we pour. We see the same flaking tops and heaved panels on older walks in Selah and Terrace Heights, so we build for that weather there too.
Questions about sidewalk concrete in Yakima
Call (509) 452-5002Yes, if the sidewalk is in the right of way along the street, because the city requires an excavation permit for any work there. For a walk on your own lot, I check with the city or Yakima County, whichever covers your address, before we set a date.
Installing a concrete sidewalk across the US usually costs about $12 to $14 per square foot, so treat that as a national planning figure and not our price. Your Yakima price comes from the estimate I write after measuring your walk.
An older city excavation permit form says any work in the right of way has to be done by a fully licensed contractor, so check the current terms with the city before anyone digs. Washington also requires every construction contractor to register with L&I, the state agency that handles contractor registration.
Keep deicers off it that first winter, which is what a concrete trade group's guide advises for new concrete. If we pour in the fall, that means a whole winter of shoveling without salt, so it's worth weighing when you pick a pour date.
A concrete trade group's guide suggests a commercial sealer or a mix of boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits. Your estimate says whether sealing is part of our job or a step you'd take on afterward, so ask if you don't see it listed.
It can still crack, because concrete shrinks as it dries and moves with the ground, but cracks in odd places usually come from joints cut late or skipped and pours that went in under midday heat. Those are the mistakes we plan around, and I'd rather tell you that straight than promise a walk that won't ever crack.
Related concrete work for your home
Garage floor concrete
A garage floor that's cracked, sunk or flaking takes the same careful prep as a walk, and it carries your car's weight every day of the year.
Decorative concrete
For the walk from the driveway to your front door, color, a stamped pattern or an exposed-aggregate finish can make plain gray concrete fit the house.
Service areas for sidewalk work near Yakima
United Yakima Concrete is based in Yakima, Washington, and pours sidewalks across the cities around it. The eight areas below each have their own page, including Ellensburg and Grandview, and we work in plenty of places in between.
Yakima, WA
Get a price on your new sidewalk
Have the address, the rough length and width, and whether the walk runs along the street handy, and I can tell you early whether city permits are part of your job.