Concrete Contractor in Ralston, NE - Driveways and Patios Built on a Solid Base
Fremont Concrete is a concrete contractor based in Fremont, NE. In Ralston we replace and build driveways, patios, walks, steps and garage floors, with the base dug out and packed before any concrete goes down.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Ralston homes and the concrete around them
Ralston is a small city with La Vista right next door, so a call here often comes in the same week as work just across the line. Most of what we pour here is for homeowners, with some small business owners mixed in.
Many of the streets here are established neighborhoods, where the driveway, the front walk and the back patio have been in place a long time and the yards have grown in around them. That shapes the job in a few ways. There's usually old concrete to break out and haul away before we start, there are mature trees and finished lawns to work around, and the ground under the old slab has had years to settle or wash out, so I look at what's underneath before I tell you what should go back.
Concrete services we offer in Ralston
Concrete driveway building
Older Ralston driveways often settle and crack as the ground under them shifts, so we break out the old slab, rebuild the base and pour a new one.
Concrete patio construction
A back patio here usually goes in between a finished lawn and the house, so we set the slope to carry water away from your foundation.
Stamped concrete services
Stamped concrete gives a patio or front walk the look of stone or brick, and it suits homeowners who want an older yard to look updated.
Concrete sidewalk building
Front walks that have heaved or sunk turn into a trip hazard, so we replace them with a broom finish, a light brushed texture that gives shoes grip.
Garage floor concrete
Garage floors in older homes are often cracked, stained or sloped the wrong way, so we can tear out and repour a floor that drains toward the door.
Decorative concrete
Color, borders and textured finishes let a driveway apron or entry walk match the house, which matters on streets where every front yard is on show.
Concrete retaining walls
Where a yard slopes toward the house or a neighbor's lot, a concrete retaining wall holds the soil back and gives you a flat, usable space.
Concrete floor installation
Basements, workshops and small business spaces in Ralston sometimes need a new interior slab, and we pour and finish it flat for the use you have planned.
Concrete pool decks
A pool deck has to drain quickly and stay grippy underfoot, so we slope it away from the water and give it a finish suited to bare feet.
Concrete steps construction
Front steps on older houses here often pull away from the porch or crumble at the edges, and we form and pour new ones with steel inside.
Slab foundation building
For a new garage, addition or outbuilding on a Ralston lot, we build the slab foundation on a packed base so the building above starts out level.
Foundation installation
When an addition or new structure needs foundation walls set into the ground, we form and pour them and coordinate the inspections for our part with the city.
Concrete parking lot building
Small businesses in Ralston need lots that drain well and stand up to daily traffic, so we build them on a thicker, well-packed base.
Concrete footings
Decks, porches, additions and garages all sit on footings, the concrete pads or strips that carry the weight down into firm ground, and we dig and pour them.
Foundation raising
When a slab or foundation has settled on an older lot, raising it can bring it back toward level, and I'll tell you plainly whether it's worth doing.
Concrete cutting
We saw-cut openings, trenches and clean edges in existing concrete, which helps on tight Ralston lots where tearing out a whole slab isn't needed.
Get a free estimate for your Ralston concrete job
We reply within one business day to set a time. I come out to your property, look at the job and write the estimate myself, free and with no pressure to book.
(402) 512-8158- Based in
- Fremont, NE 68025
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
What to know before we pour in Ralston
Permits for work in Ralston go through the city's Building and Planning Department, which reviews plans and building permits against the city's codes before work starts. That review comes before we can set a pour date, so it's part of your schedule. The thing to check about any contractor you hire is that they're registered with the Nebraska Department of Labor, because state law requires it before doing construction work here. We're licensed and fully insured, and when our part of the job needs a permit, we file the application and book the inspections, and if I'm not sure what the city wants, I ask the department before we start.
We're based in Fremont, and our own crew does the same driveway, patio and walk work here that we do there and in Gretna. On a Ralston job the price mostly moves with the size of the slab and how much old concrete has to come out first, while the schedule turns on the permit review and the weather in the week we plan to pour. You get all of that for your own job in a written estimate.
Why Ralston driveways and patios wear out
Water and winter do most of the damage to driveways and patios around here. When water gets under a slab or sits in a crack and then freezes, it pushes the concrete up and chips the surface, and over a few winters that turns into the sinking, uneven slab and the pooling water people call us about. We set the slope so water runs away from the house, and we cut control joints, shallow grooves sawn into the slab, so that when concrete cracks, it cracks along a straight line we chose instead of across the middle.
Age is the other reason. A slab poured decades ago often sat on a base that was raked level rather than dug out and packed, so the subgrade, the ground the slab rests on, settled with the dirt. The base is the part you'll never see once the pour is done, and it's the first thing people want to trim from a budget, but I won't skimp on it, because no finish on top lasts on a base that moves.
How a Ralston concrete job runs with us
Here's how a Ralston job runs from your first call to the final walk-through, so you know what happens and when you'll hear from me.
Call and set a visit
I answer my own phone, so when you call you'll talk with me, and we'll set a time for me to come out to your Ralston property. It helps if you can be there to show me what's bothering you.
Look at the job together
I look at the slab, the ground and where the water runs, and I listen to what you have in mind, including whether a repair would do instead of new concrete. You then get a written estimate, so you know the cost before you decide anything.
Permit, pour date and crew
Once you're ready, we file any permit our part needs, and the city reviews it and lets the applicant know when it's approved or needs more. Then we pick a pour date with the weather in mind, and our own crew does the work while I'm on site to check it.
Walk the finished job
When we finish, I walk the job with you and go over when you can walk and drive on it. I also explain how to look after it through its first winters, and I thank you for having us.
Concrete contractor questions from Ralston homeowners
How do I get a permit for a concrete driveway in Ralston, NE?
Plan on needing one, because the city says building permits are required for most projects. Permits are filed through the city's Citizen Portal, or on paper by request or at City Hall, and when our work needs one, we take care of it for you as described above.
Who do I call with permit questions in Ralston?
Call Dan Freshman, the city's Building and Safety Director and chief building official, at 402-331-6677, ext. 1310. The city's Permits & Licenses page lists that contact along with the building codes Ralston uses, and you're welcome to call even when we're handling the paperwork.
Does a concrete contractor need to be registered in Nebraska?
Yes, state law requires contractors to register with the Department of Labor before doing construction work in Nebraska, with exceptions such as a homeowner working on their own property. Contractors with employees also have to keep a current workers' compensation certificate of insurance on file with the department. The department says registration isn't a guarantee of good work, so it's still worth asking any contractor how they handle the base and the drainage.
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Ralston?
Your price comes in a written estimate after I've seen the job, because size and tear-out set most of it and both vary from house to house. After that, a thicker slab, rebar, which is steel bars set inside the slab to help hold it together, and finishes like stamping or color raise the cost, while a plain broom finish keeps it lower.
How long does new concrete need to cure before I can drive on it?
You can walk on new concrete well before you can drive on it, and I give you both dates for your pour, because the temperature that week changes how fast it gains strength. Curing is the wait while the concrete hardens enough to take weight, and driving on it early can crack or mark a slab that would otherwise have held up.
Will my new concrete driveway crack like the old one?
Concrete can crack, but on a well-built slab any cracks usually stay small and run along the joints we cut instead of wandering across the middle. We pour earlier in the day rather than in the midday heat, which can leave a weak, dusty top later, and we cut the joints before the slab has a chance to crack on its own.
Other areas we serve
Fremont, NE
Call or write about your Ralston concrete
Pour dates are set around the weather, so calling ahead gives us time to get any permit through the city and pick a good day for your job.