Concrete sidewalk building in Liberal KS - a walk that sits on solid, packed ground

Most people who call us have a dirt path worn across the yard, or an old walk that roots have pushed up into a tripping edge. The price mostly turns on the walk's length and width, how much old concrete has to come out, and whether part of it crosses a concrete driveway and needs a heavier section. The schedule turns on the weather and, if you use the city's sidewalk program, on its inspection and deadline. My written estimate lays out each of those for your walk, the city may pay part of the cost back, which I cover below, and if your project needs a permit, we take care of it.

I start by walking the route with you, because where the walk runs and how the ground under it is prepared matter more than adding strength to the concrete. We keep the line away from tree roots where we can, and we plan a gentle fall so water runs off the walk and away from the house instead of collecting in a low spot. Then we dig out the topsoil and anything organic, pack the subgrade, which is the ground the slab sits on, and set the forms. Where a car will cross the walk, it may need a thicker section or rebar, steel bars that hold the slab together under the extra weight, and I'll tell you if yours does. In hot weather we pour early in the day so the top doesn't dry into a weak, dusty surface, then give it a broom finish, a light texture that keeps feet from slipping when it's wet, and cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the concrete a straight place to crack as it shrinks. Curing comes last, which is the wait while the concrete gains strength before anyone walks on it. If a budget needs trimming, I'd rather keep the base and go simpler on the finish, because nobody sees the base on day one, but a walk poured on loose dirt settles right along with it.

A sidewalk is often one part of a larger change around the house. If the slab inside your garage needs replacing too, our garage floor concrete work can be planned so the floor and the walk meet at the right height. If you'd like the walk to carry color or a pattern beyond a plain broom finish, please ask about decorative concrete before we pour, since that choice is easiest to make before the concrete arrives.

If your walk goes through the city's sidewalk program, the city sets some of the terms for how it's built. The city's Building and Code Enforcement Department requires a Building Permit before program work starts, at no cost to you, and the work has to be done by a licensed contractor, with licensing handled through that same department. Program walks are at least five feet wide unless the inspector says otherwise, and they're poured with concrete delivered by a concrete company, since bag mix isn't allowed, so we form and order for those terms from the start. If the job needs curb and gutter work, the city takes care of that part with the department's preapproval. A walk built outside the program is a different question, because the program's rules don't settle whether it needs a permit, so we check with the department before we start, take care of the permit when one is required, and let you know what we learn.

We're based in Liberal and work in Liberal and the cities around it, and the walks we replace have usually been lifted by roots from older trees or have settled where the ground was never packed. Many older lots also have a walk that stops partway, so tying a new section neatly into an existing one is common work for us.