Concrete Contractor in Exeter, NH - Slabs Built on Ground That Drains
Portsmouth Concrete Works is a concrete contractor pouring driveways, patios, walkways, garage floors, retaining walls and foundations for homeowners in Exeter, NH, with our own crew and a close eye on the ground under each slab.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Concrete work in Exeter, from the old center out
The short answer: Yes, Portsmouth Concrete Works takes concrete jobs in Exeter. We're a concrete contractor based in Portsmouth, NH, and Exeter is one of the cities around it where we pour driveways, patios, walks and foundations, including the awkward ones like sloped yards and old slabs that need breaking out.
Exeter calls come in two kinds. Around the historic center the houses are older and closer together, so it's usually a narrow side lot, a front walk that's heaved, or steps that have pulled away from the porch, and getting concrete to the spot takes some figuring. Farther out the lots open up and the jobs get bigger: long driveways, back patios and garage floors on newer houses. We do the same mix of work next door in Stratham, so the drive over is routine for us.
On both kinds of lot, the ground decides more than the house does. Plenty of Exeter yards sit low and stay wet into spring, and a slab poured on soft, wet dirt settles right along with it, so the first thing I look at is what's under the old concrete and where the water goes.
Why Exeter slabs crack, sink and hold water
Winter does most of the damage. Water gets into cracks and under the edges of a slab, freezes and lifts it, then lets it down a little out of place when it thaws, and after enough winters that's the uneven walk, the step that rocks and the driveway that holds a puddle by the garage. Plow salt makes it worse by chipping the top. We answer that underneath, with a base dug out and packed hard so it drains, a slab pitched away from the house, and control joints, the shallow cuts that give the slab a straight line to crack along so it doesn't pick its own.
Older houses bring the other half of the work. Slabs around older homes were often poured right on whatever dirt was there, with no steel inside, and you only learn what you've got once it's broken out. That's the part of the job I like, because it's where we decide if a new slab needs rebar, the steel rods that hold it together if it does crack, or footings under new steps.
Concrete services for Exeter homes and lots
Concrete driveway building
When your driveway has sunk at the garage lip or holds a puddle every thaw, we dig out, pack a new base and pour it sloped to drain.
Concrete patio construction
A new patio on an older Exeter lot usually means working around a bulkhead or a slope, and pitching it so rain runs away from the house.
Stamped concrete services
Stamped concrete gives a patio or walk the pattern of stone or brick in one pour, a look that sits well beside the older houses near Exeter's center.
Concrete sidewalk building
If your front walk has heaved, cracked or tipped toward the house, we replace it on a packed base so it sits flat and sheds water.
Garage floor concrete
An old garage floor that's cracked, stained or sloped the wrong way gets broken out and repoured, with the pitch running to the door, not the back wall.
Decorative concrete
Decorative concrete covers color, exposed stone and custom borders, for when you want an entry or patio to look finished, not just gray and broom-swept.
Concrete retaining walls
On a sloped Exeter yard, a poured retaining wall holds the hill back so you get flat ground for a patio or driveway, with drainage behind it.
Concrete floor installation
We pour floors for basements, sheds, barns and workshops on a packed base, for when an old dirt floor or cracked slab won't do anymore.
Concrete pool decks
A pool deck needs a top that grips when wet and a pitch that carries splash and rain away from the pool and the house.
Concrete steps construction
Front and back steps that rock, crumble or have pulled away from the house get rebuilt on footings, with each tread pitched so water runs off.
Slab foundation building
A slab foundation suits a garage, addition or outbuilding on flat ground, and we start by checking how wet the lot is before setting forms.
Foundation installation
For an addition or new build, we pour foundation walls laid out to your plans and to what the soil and water on the lot tell us.
Concrete parking lot building
Small business lots, church lots and shared drives take more weight and plowing than a house driveway, so we build them on a heavier base.
Concrete footings
Footings carry decks, porches, additions and steps, and we set them below the frost so winter has a harder time heaving what sits on them.
Foundation raising
When a porch, slab or corner of the house has dropped, we lift it back toward level and deal with the wet ground that let it sink.
Concrete cutting
We saw-cut openings, trenches and clean edges in existing concrete, for a new drain, a basement doorway or taking out one section and leaving the rest.
Get a free concrete estimate at your Exeter home
Send us a few lines about your Exeter project and we'll get back to you within one business day to set up a visit. I come out myself, the estimate is free and done at your property, and there's no pressure to book.
Working in Exeter: permits, tight lots and wet ground
Permit questions for concrete work here go to Exeter's Building Department, which handles building inspection, code enforcement and zoning for the Town of Exeter. Whether your job needs a permit, and whether your lot needs an extra review, is their call, and any review has to clear before we can set a pour date, so it's the first thing that moves your schedule. Before we pick a date, we check what they need and help put together the sketches, site plans or drawings they ask for. We're fully licensed and insured, and you're welcome to ask to see it.
After that, the schedule mostly turns on the season and the weather the week of the pour, and the price turns on how much old concrete comes out, how deep we dig to reach firm ground, the size and finish, and how close a truck can get. On the tighter streets near the center a mixer can't always back up to the forms, so we may pump or wheel the concrete in, while a long driveway farther out is more about square footage and base. We see the same kind of tight-lot work in Somersworth and Hampton, and your written estimate puts a figure on all of it for your lot.
What to expect when you hire us in Exeter
Here's how a job in Exeter goes once you reach out, from the first call to the cleanup. I'm the one you'll see at the start, and I'm back on site for the pour.
- Step 01
Call or send a message
Call (603) 956-1034 or use the form, tell us what's going on with your driveway, patio or slab, and we'll set up a time for me to come out.
- Step 02
I walk your site myself
I look at the old concrete, what it's sitting on and where the water runs, and ask how you'll use the space, so it helps if you're home. Then I send a written estimate, and nothing gets booked until you say so.
- Step 03
We sort permits and dates
Once you're ready, we work through any permit questions and pick a pour date with the season in mind. Around here that usually means steering clear of mud season and the cold end of fall.
- Step 04
Prep, pour, finish, clean up
Our crew digs out and packs the base, sets forms and steel where the job needs it, and I'm on site for the pour. We finish the surface, cut the control joints and clean up before we leave.
Exeter concrete questions homeowners ask us
Does the Exeter historic district have to approve new concrete steps or a walkway?
It may, since Exeter lists separate historic district applications for changes to an existing structure and for new construction on properties in its historic district. You'll find them on the Exeter forms and permits page, and the Building Department can tell you which, if any, fits your job. If your house is in the district, we build that review into the plan from the start.
Do I need a special permit to pour concrete near wetlands in Exeter, NH?
You may, because Exeter's Planning Board has conditional use permits for properties in its Wetland Conservation Overlay District and its Shoreland District. If your lot is in either one, ask the Building Department what applies before we set a pour date, since that permit has to come first. Those tend to be the low, wet lots where we'd plan the base and drainage most carefully anyway.
How do I check if my Exeter house is in a flood zone?
Look up your address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, the official online source for flood hazard information, which you can reach from the state's floodplain maps page. Exeter's flood maps were revised after the Great Dam was removed, so go by the current map rather than an older copy. If your property sits in a flood area, we plan the base, the drainage and any review around it from the start.
What building code applies to a concrete foundation in Exeter, NH?
New Hampshire's state building code, along with the state fire code, sets the minimum for every building and structure in the state, including repairs and alterations to existing ones. Exeter can add its own rules only if they're as strict as the state codes or stricter, so a foundation or footing here meets the state code first, with anything local on top.
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Exeter, NH?
You get a written figure for your driveway after I've walked the lot, since tear-out, base work and truck access set most of the cost here. On top of that, stamping or color raise the price, while a plain broom finish, the light brushed texture that gives tires and boots some grip, keeps it lower. If the budget is tight, I'd rather you cut the finish than the base, because nobody sees the base on day one but it's what decides whether the slab settles and cracks.
How long before I can drive on a new concrete driveway in Exeter?
You can walk on it well before you can drive on it, and I give you both dates when we set the pour, because the wait depends on the mix and the weather that week. That wait is curing, the time the concrete needs to harden and gain strength, and driving on it early is how edges and corners break. We also plan around hot midday sun, which can leave a weak, dusty top, and the cold nights of late fall.
Tell us about your Exeter concrete project
Call (603) 956-1034 or send the form now, because a slab that's started to sink or crack usually gets worse with every freeze and thaw.