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Driveways, walkways and patios

Concrete Driveway and Patio Contractor in Downtown Mesa, AZ

Old Mesa houses deserve driveways and walks that fit them.

Mesa · Caliche desert floor

Downtown Mesa is the city's historic center around Main Street, with the light rail running through and some of Mesa's oldest houses on the streets around it, many built between the 1910s and the 1950s. Those homes came with narrow driveways, front walks to a porch and small back slabs that have been patched more than once. We pour new concrete that suits the house: a plain broom finish on the walk, a driveway sized for today's cars, steps at the porch that sit level.

(602) 773-1313
Broom finishControl jointsRebar on chairsAggregate base courseCaliche, broken outMix adjusted for heat
A driveway on caliche
Serving ZIP 85201 · Maricopa County, ArizonaPermits and right-of-way work: The City of Mesa
About Downtown Mesa

Working in Downtown Mesa

Downtown Mesa is the city's historic center around Main Street, with the light rail and some of Mesa's oldest homes, many from the 1910s to the 1950s, on the streets around it.

Under these lots is caliche desert floor. That hard layer holds water, softens the soil over it, and explains a lot of the tipped walks and sunken steps downtown. We dig to firm ground, take out caliche that sits high and build on compacted base. The City of Mesa sets the rules for work at the street, and we check them for your address.

The ground under Downtown Mesa

Caliche desert floor

Gravelly desert soil on the fans and terraces of the Valley floor, often with a layer of caliche, soil cemented hard by calcium carbonate or silica, anywhere from a few inches to a few feet down.

Caliche does not dig like dirt, and it does not drain like it either. A tight layer will not let rain or sprinkler water soak through, so the water sits on top of it and softens the soil above. Where caliche is broken out and thrown back in loose, or a slab goes over a soft, wet pocket, the base settles unevenly and the slab cracks over it. Breaking it out takes a breaker or a jackhammer, which is why it often shows up as its own line on a Phoenix quote.

How we build in Downtown Mesa

Dig to firm ground, break out caliche that sits high in the base and haul it off the site, bring in aggregate base compacted in lifts, and slope the slab and the grade so roof and sprinkler water run away from it and off the hardpan.

What fails here first

  • Slabs sunk or cracked beside sprinkler beds and downspouts
  • Water standing along an edge for days after a storm
  • Corners and edges dropped below the next panel
  • Cracks that keep opening over the same low spot
Twelve things worth a look

Signs your Downtown Mesa concrete needs attention

One of these is worth an estimate. Several together usually mean the base underneath has given up, and patching on top won’t hold.

  1. 01Slabs sunk or cracked beside sprinkler beds and downspouts
  2. 02Water standing along an edge for days after a storm
  3. 03Corners and edges dropped below the next panel
  4. 04Cracks that keep opening over the same low spot
  5. 05Cracks wider than a pencil
  6. 06Panels that rock or sound hollow
  7. 07Sections that have sunk or lifted
  8. 08Water pooling on the surface
  9. 09Flaking, scaling or pitting
  10. 10Crumbling edges and corners
  11. 11Trip edges between panels
  12. 12Patch on top of patch
Our process

How a Downtown Mesa project runs

  1. 01

    Free Estimate

    Call, text or send the form. We come out to look at the space, measure it and talk through what you want, and we can do a drive-by estimate if your schedule is tight.

  2. 02

    Printed Quote

    You get a printed quote on the spot, free of charge, with the project details and a clear breakdown of the cost. You decide if and when to go ahead.

  3. 03

    Install

    Once you approve it, we schedule the work, prepare the site and pour, finish and cure your concrete with methods planned for the heat and the monsoon.

  4. 04

    Final Walkthrough

    We’ll review the completed work with you, answer your questions, and make sure you know how to care for your new concrete.

Downtown Mesa questions

Straight answers

Sam The Concrete Man North Phoenix is a locally owned location of the national Sam The Concrete Man brand that works in Downtown Mesa on driveways, patios, walkways, sidewalks and repairs. Its own crews do the work from start to finish, which helps on older lots near the light rail where access and removing old concrete take planning. The free on-site estimate comes with a printed quote that prices each part on its own line, and financing is available through Hearth.

Find us on Google Maps

Our crews drive out to Downtown Mesa from our North Phoenix base.

Concrete in Downtown Mesa? Let’s talk.

Tell us what you're planning. We'll look at your space, learn what you need, and talk through the best options for your project.

(602) 773-1313