Concrete Contractor in Tipp City, OH - Slabs That Drain Right and Stay Put

A new driveway in Tipp City needs a zoning permit from the city's Community and Economic Development Department, which lists driveways among the work it covers. The city says almost every change to a property needs a zoning permit, a building permit or both, so a patio or slab is worth asking about too, and if the pour reaches into the city's right-of-way, the contractor has to be registered with the city before working there. We're fully licensed and insured, and before we schedule anything we check what your address needs, tell you what we find, and take care of the application or help you with the parts that need your signature.

Building permits for Tipp City homes come through Miami County, not the city, according to the city's own guidance. The city handles zoning and the county handles building permits, so some jobs need one from each, and a larger shed or detached garage on a new slab can need a county building permit along with the city's zoning permit. Sorting out which office wants what is part of how we get ready for a job, so you won't be left guessing.

Before exterior construction in the Old Tippecanoe City Restoration and Architectural District, the downtown and older streets along Main Street, you need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Restoration Board or city staff. The city says it mostly looks at significant exterior changes, such as materials or colors, so new stamped or colored concrete out front is the kind of work to ask about, and applying is free. The forms are on the city's historic district page or at the same city department that issues zoning permits, and we'll tell you before scheduling whether your job looks like it needs one.

There's no fair number for your driveway until I've seen it, because the size, the tear-out and the ground under it set the price, and those change from one lot to the next. If the budget is tight, please spend it on the base before the finish, because the base is hidden the day we pour, yet it's what keeps the slab from sinking, and fixing it later means tearing the concrete out. A plain broom finish over a well-packed base will outlast a fancy surface over raked dirt.

You can usually walk on a new driveway well before you can drive on it, because concrete keeps hardening long after it looks dry and a car's weight is the last thing it should carry. Each wait depends on the weather when we pour, since cool spells slow the cure and hot, dry days dry the top too fast, so before we leave I'll tell you when it's safe to walk on and when to park on it. Please plan on parking somewhere else for a while, and keep heavy trucks off the edges longest.

Most sinking comes from a base that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so the dirt settles and the slab goes down with it. Water does the rest, as we said above, and joints cut late or skipped let cracks land wherever they please. Concrete can still crack a little as it shrinks, so we pack the base, steer water away and cut control joints, the grooves that give a crack a straight line we picked, on time.