Concrete Contractors in Tempe, AZ

Elite Concrete Contractors Tempe is a team of concrete contractors pouring and repairing driveways, patios, pool decks, stamped surfaces, RV pads and slabs for homeowners in Tempe, Arizona. Tempe sits between Phoenix and the rest of the East Valley, with the Salt River and Tempe Town Lake along its north side and Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale and Phoenix pressing in from every direction. Wikipedia's 1991 to 2020 climate normals for the city put the average July high at 105.9 degrees and annual rainfall at just 8.80 inches. Concrete here fails for different reasons than it does up north, and we build for those reasons.

What the desert does to a slab

Freeze-thaw is rarely the problem in Tempe. These are:

Heat during the pour. Sun, dry air and wind pull water out of fresh concrete faster than it can harden. A surface that dries too soon ends up weak, dusty or covered in fine cracks. In summer we start at daybreak, dampen the base and get curing compound on right after the finish.

Big daily temperature swings. Wikipedia notes that Tempe swings further between day and night than neighboring Phoenix. Concrete grows and shrinks with every swing, so joints have to be spaced and cut where cracks can run cleanly.

Clay that moves. Rosie on the House describes Arizona as a clay state, where soils swell when wet and shrink as they dry, and lists driveways, walks and pool decks among the concrete that suffers for it. Poor compaction and water getting under a slab make it worse.

Short, heavy rain. Wikipedia lists August, at 1.30 inches, as the wettest month, and that rain tends to arrive fast. Water that sheets toward a house or sits against a slab edge finds its way underneath.

A city of 1970s and 1980s houses

Point2Homes, summarizing Census survey figures, lists 1984 as the median build year for Tempe housing. About 24 percent of homes date from the 1970s and about 22 percent from the 1980s, with only about 13 percent built in the 2010s. Wikipedia describes the north end, near ASU and the light rail, as dense and the south end as mostly single-family homes, strip malls and office parks.

For concrete, the age matters more than anything. Original driveways, back slabs and pool decks on those south Tempe streets are 35 to 50 years old. Joints have opened, panels near the garage have dropped, and many pool decks have lifted or cracked where the soil shifted. Point2Homes also counts about 58 percent of Tempe homes as rented, so a good share of our calls come from owners of rentals who want concrete that will last through several tenants.

Flood-irrigated yards

Tempe still delivers Salt River Project irrigation water to some neighborhoods. The city's flood irrigation page says the service reaches about 850 residential customers, through more than 37 miles of pipe and over 1,000 valves, and asks owners to maintain their berms and keep pipes under driveways and walkways clear of debris. If your lot floods on a schedule, a new driveway or walk has to leave those pipes and valves working and accessible, and the slab edges have to handle standing water. We plan around the system rather than over it.

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Permits for the part by the street

Tempe's Private Development Engineering team lists a Paving (PV) permit for curbs, ramps, sidewalks and driveways within the right-of-way. If your project changes the driveway approach, the curb or the public sidewalk, that permit is part of the plan. Work behind the property line, like a back patio or a pool deck, follows different rules, so we confirm what your address needs and put it on the schedule. The city's Permit Center can be reached at 480-350-4311.

Our six services

• Concrete driveways: tear-out and replacement, widening, new approaches and side parking.
• Concrete patios: back slabs, covered-patio extensions, paths and outdoor kitchen pads.
• Pool decks: new decks, replacement after a remodel, and cool-surface finishes for bare feet.
• Stamped and decorative concrete: flagstone, slate and brick patterns, color and stained finishes.
• RV pads and slabs: side-yard RV parking, shed and equipment pads, trash-can and A/C pads.
• Concrete repair and resurfacing: leveling, crack repair, overlays and pool deck resurfacing.

Working through the year

Tempe lets us pour twelve months a year, but each season asks for something different. From late spring through September the truck is booked for first light, and the pour is sized so the crew can finish before the sun is high. Monsoon season adds afternoon storms, so we watch the forecast and keep plastic on hand. Winter is the easiest time to pour. Wikipedia lists an average January high of 70.6 degrees, which gives fresh concrete time to cure evenly. Whatever the month, we tell you how the weather affects your slab and which days we are aiming for. Call (480) 769-5260 to set up a visit.

Most of our work is in Tempe itself, from the older blocks around downtown and ASU to the single-family neighborhoods of south Tempe. We also work in the cities that border it: Mesa to the east, Chandler to the south, Gilbert beyond Chandler and Mesa, Scottsdale to the north, and Phoenix to the west, including the Ahwatukee Foothills, as well as the town of Guadalupe. Each has its own permit office and its own mix of housing, from 1970s ranch homes to 2000s subdivisions, and each town page covers what we found for that place.