Concrete Contractor in Meadowbrook, AL - Driveways and Patios Built to Stay Put
Alabaster Concrete is a concrete contractor based in Alabaster that pours driveways, patios, walks, steps and slabs for homes in Meadowbrook, AL, plus parking areas for small businesses, starting with the ground under the slab.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Meadowbrook homes, driveways and the ground under them
Meadowbrook is a Shelby County community in Birmingham's southeastern suburbs. Most of our calls here come from homeowners in settled neighborhoods with a driveway out front and a patio or walk out back, plus a few small business owners who need bigger slabs poured. It's the same kind of work we do in Brook Highland and Hoover, so these jobs look familiar to us.
On a finished street, a driveway job means working around the lawn, the mailbox and the neighbors' cars, and the old slab usually has to come out before a new base goes in. That tear-out and the digging behind it shape the job more than the pour does.
Concrete services for Meadowbrook homes and businesses
When a Meadowbrook driveway has sunk at the garage or cracked across the middle, we break it out, dig and pack a new base, and pour it fresh.
For a back patio where your family actually sits, we slope the slab away from the house and size it for real furniture, not just a grill.
Stamped concrete gives a front walk or patio the look of stone or brick in one pour, with fewer gaps for weeds than laid pavers.
We pour walks from the driveway to the front door with a broom finish, a light brushed texture, so they're not slick when the yard's wet.
A garage floor that's cracked, heaved or sloping the wrong way gets broken out and repoured on a packed base, pitched so water runs out the door.
Color, exposed stone and scored patterns dress up an entry or patio, but only on a solid base, because no finish hides a slab that settles.
Where a backyard drops off or a driveway cuts into a slope, a poured retaining wall holds the dirt back so the slab above it stays put.
For a basement, workshop or room addition, we pour interior floors flat and level on a packed base so flooring or equipment sits right on top.
Around a backyard pool, we pour a deck that sheds water away from the pool and the house, with a finish that grips wet feet.
Front steps that have pulled away from the porch or sunk at one end get torn out and rebuilt on footings, with even step heights so nobody trips.
For a new garage, shop or addition, we form and pour the slab foundation on a dug-out, packed base with steel set where the building needs it.
When you're building on a Meadowbrook lot, we dig, form and pour the foundation your plans call for, and we check the ground before the first truck comes.
Small businesses near Meadowbrook's main roads get parking areas poured thick enough for delivery trucks and sloped so water reaches the drains instead of pooling.
Decks, porches, carports and garage additions all start with footings, the buried concrete that carries the weight, dug to firm ground so what's above has solid support.
If one corner of your house or slab has dropped, we'll look at why before raising anything, and tell you straight if it isn't worth doing.
We saw-cut old concrete for a door, a drain line or a clean edge, and cut control joints in new slabs so cracks follow a line we chose.
Get a free concrete estimate for your Meadowbrook property
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day. I'll come out to Meadowbrook, look at the job and the ground, and write a free estimate of what's included, with no obligation.
(659) 901-5011- Based in
- Alabaster, AL 35007
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–9 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–9 PM
Working in Meadowbrook: permits, licenses and pour days
Which permit office handles your job depends on your address, and for unincorporated Meadowbrook addresses it's Shelby County's Development Services, which runs building permits and permit coordination there. We check with the office over your address before we set a date, because a permit that's needed and not yet issued is what usually pushes a start back. If one is needed, we take care of the paperwork, or walk you through it if you're acting as your own contractor. Before you hire anyone, ask for their Alabama business license, which the state generally requires in every county a business works in and the county sells at its license offices, and a license from the contractor's own city may also apply.
As a concrete contractor in Alabaster, AL, we bring mixers in off U.S. 280, Valleydale Road or 119, so we time the trucks to land while the concrete is still workable instead of sitting in traffic. What moves the price is the size of the slab, whether an old one has to be broken out and hauled off, how much digging and base the ground needs, and the finish you pick. The schedule turns on the permit, if there is one, and the weather on pour day, and your estimate spells out what's included for your job. We do the same work over in Chelsea.
Why Meadowbrook driveways and patios crack and sink
A lot of what we see here is a driveway or patio that's cracked, dropped at one corner or holding water by the garage. Usually the concrete isn't the problem. The subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so it settled and took the slab with it. We dig to firm ground, pack the base and set rebar, the steel that holds a slab together if it cracks, where the job needs it. If your budget's tight, I'd rather you skip the fancy finish than skip the base, because you can redo a finish later and you can't fix a base without tearing the whole thing out.
Water is the other thing we watch. A slab that falls toward the house sends rain at your foundation or under the garage door, so I check where water runs off your lot before we set forms. All concrete cracks some, so on pour day we cut control joints, grooves that give the slab a planned place to crack, early enough that cracks land where we chose.
How a concrete job runs when you call us in Meadowbrook
Here's how a Meadowbrook job goes from your first call to the cleanup, and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
- +01
Call or send your project
Call (659) 901-5011 or use the form and tell us what you need poured and where. We'll set a time for me to come see it.
- +02
I walk the job site
I look at the old slab, the ground and where the water runs, then write an estimate that spells out what's included. You'll know what the price covers before you decide anything.
- +03
We line up permit and date
Once you say go, we line up any permit, and if the county issues one, the reviewed plans it sends back stay on the job site the whole time. Then we pick a pour date that fits the weather.
- +04
We prep, pour and clean
I'm on site with the crew from digging out and packing the base through the pour, the finish and the cleanup, and you don't need to be home for it. Before we leave, we tell you when it's safe to walk and drive on.
Questions about concrete work in Meadowbrook
Do I need a permit for a concrete driveway or patio in Meadowbrook, AL?
Maybe, and the county says the only way to know for sure is to call its permits office. Shelby County lists driveways and sidewalks among projects that may not need a permit, but it requires one for new construction, accessory structures and any project over 200 square feet, so a big patio or a new slab can cross that line. You as the property owner are responsible for the work being done lawfully even when you hire a licensed contractor, which is why we ask before we pour.
Does a contractor need a state license for work on my home in Alabama?
Yes, when the job is paid work on your home costing more than $10,000, Alabama law requires the builder to be licensed by the Home Builders Licensure Board, renewed every year. Licensed builders have to put their license number on contracts, so check it before you sign. If you're acting as your own contractor on a one-family or two-family home for your own use and not for sale, you're exempt, and either way we're fully licensed and insured.
How do I find out if my Meadowbrook address is in a flood zone?
Search your address on the state's AlabamaFlood map, which shows FEMA floodplain data. The county's floodplain rules apply to FEMA flood zones and to other flood areas the county designates, so if your lot falls in one, tell me at the estimate and we'll take it up with the permit office before we plan anything.
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Meadowbrook?
Your price comes from the estimate, because it turns on things I can only measure once I'm standing on your driveway. Breaking out and hauling off an old slab adds cost, so does ground that needs more digging and base, a thicker slab or added steel for heavy trucks, and a stamped or colored finish instead of a plain broom finish. The one place I won't help you save is the base, for the reason above.
Do I need architectural review approval for a new driveway in my Meadowbrook neighborhood?
If your neighborhood is governed by an Architectural Review Committee, you'll likely need to check with it, because the county has residential permit applicants in those areas contact the committee for any further requirements. Ask early, since its answer can change what we draw up.
How long does a new concrete driveway take before I can drive on it?
Plan on a few days before you walk on it and longer before you park on it, because new concrete keeps gaining strength while it cures, the slow hardening after the pour. Keeping cars off until we say it's ready is the best thing you can do for a new slab.
Get your Meadowbrook slab looked at
A crack caught while it's small can sometimes be cut out and repoured in one section instead of the whole slab, so call (659) 901-5011 or send the form before it spreads.
Alabaster, AL