Concrete Contractor in Chesapeake, VA - Driveways and Patios Built to Shed Water
Advantage Portsmouth Concrete is a concrete contractor based in Portsmouth that pours driveways, patios, steps, garage floors and foundation work for homes and properties in Chesapeake, VA, with the base and drainage planned before the truck arrives.
Concrete work across Chesapeake's neighborhoods
Our Chesapeake jobs run from older houses around South Norfolk to newer neighborhoods with wide driveways and two-car garages. Most of them are flatwork, which is our word for driveways, patios, walks and garage floors. We're based next door in Portsmouth, and we work here the same way we do in Virginia Beach and the other cities around us.
Many of the yards we see here are fairly flat, so rain doesn't always have an obvious place to go. That's why I look at where the water runs before anything else, because a slab that drains toward the house, or holds a puddle, wears out well before it should.
How the job works when you call us in Chesapeake
Call us or send the form
Please call (757) 731-7248 or send the form, and we'll set a time for me to come out. It helps if you can be home for the visit so we can walk the yard together.
I look over the site
I look at the old concrete, the slope of the yard and how you'll use the slab, and you'll have a price before anything is scheduled. The price turns mostly on the size, how much old concrete comes out and how much base work is needed, and the schedule turns on any permits and on curing, which is the wait while new concrete gains strength before you use it.
We prepare, pour and finish
If you go ahead, I run the job with our own crew and take care of any permits and inspections, then we dig out and pack the base, set the forms and pour. We cut control joints, which are grooves that give the slab a straight place to crack instead of one it picks itself, and we give driveways and walks a broom finish, a lightly brushed texture that helps shoes and tires grip.
Walk the finished work together
When the work is done, I walk it with you and go over when you can walk on it and when you can drive on it. We haul away the old concrete and clean up before we leave.
Concrete services for Chesapeake homes
Most of the calls we get from Chesapeake are for driveways that have settled, patios for back yards, front steps and garage floors, along with some foundation and footing work for property owners. Homeowners who want a patio that looks like stone or brick often ask about stamped concrete, which goes on the same packed base as a plain slab.
- Concrete driveway building
- Concrete patio construction
- Stamped concrete services
- Concrete sidewalk building
- Garage floor concrete
- Decorative concrete
- Concrete retaining walls
- Concrete floor installation
- Concrete pool decks
- Concrete steps construction
- Slab foundation building
- Foundation installation
- Concrete parking lot building
- Concrete footings
- Foundation raising
- Concrete cutting
Is your Chesapeake driveway or patio showing these signs?
On flat Chesapeake yards, a slab that has settled or tilted often shows it first in standing water and cracks, so these are worth a look before they spread.
- Cracks that keep getting wider
- One slab sitting lower than another
- Water pooling after a rain
- Patio sloping toward the house
- Chipped or flaking surface
- Steps pulling away from the house
Should you repair or replace concrete in Chesapeake?
If the slab is still level and the cracks are thin and holding steady, a repair usually makes more sense than a new pour, and I'll tell you so. We can cut out one bad section of a driveway or walk and replace just that piece, though the new concrete won't match the old color exactly at first.
When sections have sunk, water sits against the house, or cracks keep coming back after patching, the trouble is usually underneath, in a base that was raked level instead of dug out and packed. A replacement lets us start again at the subgrade, which is the ground the slab sits on. If the budget has to give somewhere, I'd keep the base and choose a plainer finish, because the base can't be fixed later without tearing out the slab.
Why hire a local concrete crew in Chesapeake
A crew that's close by can come back to look at something without it being a long trip, and it already knows how the city's permit office works. We're based in Portsmouth, a short drive from most of Chesapeake, and I come out to every estimate myself, then run the work alongside our own crew instead of handing it off to someone you've never met.
I learned concrete on a municipal crew, pouring sidewalks, curbs and steps to city standards, and I started this business in 2013 to bring that discipline to homes. We still plan the base, the slope and the joints before a truck is ordered, because those are the parts you can't see once the concrete is down.
Our commitment to Chesapeake homeowners
We treat your yard the way we'd want ours treated. We protect the lawn and beds we have to cross, park the trucks where we agreed, clean up before we leave each day and show up when we said we would. If the plan has to change, I'll call and tell you why.
I'd rather explain something twice than have you surprised later. Before we start, I go over what's going under the slab and where the joints will be, and please ask the same question again on pour day if you like. We're licensed and insured, and our promise is a simple one. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
You can count on a straight answer, a planned base and a clean site, and on me being there from the estimate to the final walk.
Call about your Chesapeake concrete project
Please call (757) 731-7248 and tell us what the slab is for, so I arrive ready to talk through base and finish.
Get a free on-site concrete estimate in Chesapeake
Tell us your address, what you'd like poured or fixed and when to reach you. We reply within one business day, and I come out myself for a free estimate with no obligation.
Chesapeake concrete questions
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Chesapeake, VA?
The price depends on the size of the driveway, whether an old slab has to be broken out and hauled away, and how much digging and packing the base needs, and I give you a figure for your own job after I've seen it. Extra thickness, rebar, which is steel set inside the slab to hold it together, and a decorative finish such as stamping all raise it, while a plain broom finish keeps it lower. If you need to trim the budget, we can talk through which of those to change.
Do I need a permit for a concrete driveway or patio in Chesapeake?
The city's Department of Development and Permits is the office to ask, since it issues permits for renovations, additions, accessory structures and building work on private property, and we check with it before work starts whenever a job isn't clearly covered. If a permit is needed, we pull it and schedule the inspections, and it's issued in our name because the city issues permits to the person or firm doing the work. The work itself follows the building codes the department applies.
Do I need a permit for a shed and its concrete slab in Chesapeake?
Yes for the shed, since the city's residential permit guide calls for one at any size. A shed over 256 square feet, or of any size in a flood zone, needs a building permit, plans and a site plan, while one of 256 square feet or less needs a zoning permit and a site plan. When we pour the slab, we set it where that site plan shows the shed.
How do I check a concrete contractor's business license in Chesapeake?
Ask the contractor for their City of Chesapeake business license, which the Office of the Commissioner of the Revenue issues. Contractors who apply for one also file a certificate of workers' compensation insurance, so it's fair to ask about that coverage too. We're licensed and insured, and I'm glad to answer those questions at the estimate.
Who approves changes to the outside of a house in South Norfolk, Chesapeake?
The city's Historic and Architectural Review Board reviews exterior changes to structures in the South Norfolk local historic district. If your house is in the district and the job changes its outside, such as new front steps, please check with the board before we schedule it.
How long until I can drive on a new concrete driveway in Chesapeake?
You can walk on a new driveway well before you can drive on it, and I give you both dates for your own pour, because the curing wait changes with the weather and the mix. Plan on parking somewhere else for a stretch after the pour, and keep heavy vehicles like moving trucks off it longer than the family car, since an early load can crack a slab that hasn't gained its strength yet.
Other cities we work in, and more
Please choose another city below to see how we work there, or call (757) 731-7248 if yours isn't listed, since we work in many of the cities around Portsmouth.