TL;DR
- A concrete contractor installs, repairs, and replaces concrete for residential and commercial projects.
- They handle site preparation, forms, reinforcement, pouring, finishing, and cleanup.
- Common projects include driveways, patios, sidewalks, slabs, foundations, retaining walls, and stamped concrete.
- Hiring a contractor covers the labor and installation work, while buying concrete by the yard only covers the material itself.
A concrete contractor is a tradesperson or company that installs, repairs, and replaces concrete for homes, businesses, and other properties. Their job covers much more than pouring concrete. They prepare the site, build the forms, place reinforcement when needed, pour the concrete, finish the surface, and clean up after the work is complete.
Concrete contractors work on projects such as:
- Concrete driveways
- Patios
- Sidewalks and walkways
- Concrete slabs
- Foundations
- Retaining walls
- Pool decks
- Stamped concrete
- Decorative concrete
- Concrete removal and replacement
- Cracked or damaged concrete repairs
Before concrete is poured, the contractor typically measures and prepares the space, removes old concrete when needed, grades the ground, and builds forms that determine the shape of the new concrete. Depending on the job, they may also install rebar or wire mesh before the pour.
Once the concrete arrives, the contractor places and levels it before finishing the surface. The finish can range from a standard broom finish for a driveway or sidewalk to stamped patterns and decorative finishes for patios and outdoor spaces. They may also cut control joints to help manage cracking as the concrete expands, contracts, and settles over time.
A concrete contractor can also help determine how much concrete is needed for a job, the proper slab thickness, and what type of reinforcement makes sense for the project. For larger pours, they may coordinate concrete delivery, pumping equipment, crews, and the timing of each stage of the job.
For homeowners in Sacramento, hiring a concrete contractor means having one company handle the job from site preparation through the finished surface. This is different from purchasing ready-mix concrete by the yard, which only covers the concrete material itself and does not include the labor needed to install it.