Concrete & Demolition Contractor in Northbrook, IL

Concrete and demolition work in Northbrook

Northbrook has large-lot homes with mature landscaping. That shapes the work we do here more than anything else. The three things we get called for most in Northbrook are long driveways, stamped and exposed aggregate patios, and addition foundations.

We are based in Avondale at 3227 N Western Ave, which puts Northbrook well inside our normal working radius. Because we run demolition and concrete with the same crew, a tear-out and a new pour in Northbrook is one contractor and one schedule rather than two companies negotiating with each other over your driveway.

What Northbrook concrete is up against

Chicago is one of the hardest climates in the country on concrete. The freeze-thaw cycle runs from November into March, de-icing salt goes down on every driveway and public walk, and the clay soil underneath holds water instead of draining it. Concrete that survives here is air-entrained, poured on a compacted stone base, pitched so water leaves, jointed on a proper grid, and kept away from salt through its first winter.

The mature trees that make Northbrook worth living in are also the reason so much of the walk and driveway here has lifted. Roots do not negotiate, and a new flag over an unaddressed root lifts exactly the same way.

• Slabs poured on bad base. Most cracked driveways in the older neighborhoods were poured straight on disturbed clay with no compacted stone under them.
• Road salt damage. De-icing salt accelerates surface scaling badly. New concrete should not see salt through its first winter and should be sealed before the second.
• Control joints cut late or shallow. Concrete is going to crack. Joints decide where. Cut at the wrong depth or a day late and the slab picks its own line across the middle.
• Water pitched toward the house. A patio or walk sloping the wrong way puts water against the foundation every time it rains.

Services we offer in Northbrook

Every one of these has a page of its own, and a page specific to Northbrook.

How a Northbrook job runs

1. Estimate and layoutWe walk the driveway with you, check drainage and grade, look at how the old slab failed, and confirm thickness, reinforcement and finish before quoting.
2. Tear-out and haulThe old slab is broken out and hauled. In tight city lots this is hand-guided work around gangways, fences and neighboring foundations.
3. Excavate and compactWe dig past the disturbed material, bring in graded stone, and compact it in lifts.
4. Form and reinforceForms set to the drainage slope. Rebar or mesh set on chairs, not laid on the ground.
5. Pour, finish, jointPlaced, screeded, floated, and finished to your chosen texture. Control joints cut in the same-day window.
6. Cure and clean upCured per the weather, edges cleaned, debris removed. We tell you when you can walk it and when you can drive it.

What we look at before quoting in Northbrook

Every estimate in Northbrook starts with the same five questions, because the answers change the number far more than square footage does.

• How does material get in and debris get out? On the tighter lots around Northbrook this is half the labor. A site a truck can back up to and a site where everything moves by buggy are not the same job.
• What is under the existing slab? If the base was never compacted, the new pour needs the bad material dug out, not covered over.
• Where does the water go? Grade, downspouts and where the yard drains. Fixing the slab without fixing the water just resets the clock.
• Does any of it sit in the public way? Aprons and sidewalk sections usually need a permit and have to meet municipal spec.
• What is the slab actually carrying? A work truck, an RV or a dumpster means a thicker slab and more reinforcement than a passenger car.

Taking care of new concrete in Northbrook

Once the pour is done, the first twelve months decide how the next twenty go. Keep vehicles off for about a week and foot traffic off until the next day. Do not put de-icing salt on it through its first winter, and get it sealed before the second one. Keep downspouts discharging onto grass or a splash block rather than straight onto the slab, and if a planter or a pile of firewood is going to sit on it, put something underneath so it does not trap moisture in one spot. That is the whole list.

Nearby areas we serve

We work across the North Shore and north suburbs and beyond. Close to Northbrook we are regularly in Highland Park, Glenview, Morton Grove, Des Plaines and Niles. The full list is on the areas we serve page.

Northbrook FAQ