Concrete & Demolition Contractor in Oak Park, IL

Concrete and demolition work in Oak Park

Oak Park has historic homes with original hardscape and strict preservation expectations. That shapes the work we do here more than anything else. The three things we get called for most in Oak Park are public walk and parkway work under village spec, driveways on narrow historic lots, and foundation work on century-old houses.

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

What Oak Park 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.

What we see repeatedly in Oak Park is water. Slabs pitched the wrong way, downspouts discharging onto concrete, and yards that hold instead of drain. Fixing the slab without fixing the water just resets the clock.

• 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.
• 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.
• Slabs poured on bad base. Most cracked driveways in the older neighborhoods were poured straight on disturbed clay with no compacted stone under them.
• Freeze-thaw scaling. Water gets into the surface, freezes, and lifts the top layer off in flakes. It comes from too much water in the mix, finishing while bleed water is still on the slab, or skipping the air entrainment Illinois exterior concrete needs.

Services we offer in Oak Park

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

How a Oak Park job runs

1. Walk the yardWe look at drainage, existing grade, access, and where the patio actually needs to sit relative to the house and the gangway.
2. Layout and demoShape is marked out. Any existing slab comes out and gets hauled.
3. Excavate and compactDown past disturbed soil, graded stone in, compacted in lifts.
4. Form to the pitchForms set to fall away from the structure, checked before anything is poured.
5. Pour and finishPlaced, screeded, floated, and finished in your chosen texture. Stamped work is stamped in the window before the slab sets up.
6. Joints, cure, sealControl joints cut same-day. Stamped and exposed aggregate get sealed once cured.

What we look at before quoting in Oak Park

Every estimate in Oak Park 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 Oak Park 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 Oak Park

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 near west suburbs and beyond. Close to Oak Park we are regularly in Forest Park, River Forest, Berwyn, Elmwood Park and Cicero. The full list is on the areas we serve page.

Oak Park FAQ