Concrete Contractor in Mercedes, TX - Driveways and Slabs That Drain Right
Craftsman McAllen Concrete Construction pours driveways, patios, sidewalks, slabs and foundations for homes and businesses in Mercedes, TX. We're based in McAllen, and our crew works here with me on site.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Mercedes homes and lots as we find them
Mercedes is a smaller city than its neighbors, with blocks of older single-story houses near downtown, newer subdivisions toward the edges and farm ground never far off. Our calls here sound a lot like the ones we get next door in Weslaco and Donna. Homeowners want a cracked driveway replaced or a patio out back, small business owners need a storefront walk or a small lot fixed, and builders need slabs for new houses.
On the older lots, driveways tend to be narrow, sit close to the house and run out to a curb or an alley that has settled over the years. Getting the truck in, breaking out the old slab and setting a slope that works with the street usually shape the job more than the square footage does.
Concrete work we do for Mercedes properties
Concrete driveway building
When an old driveway has sunk at the street or cracked across the middle, we tear it out, rebuild the base and pour a slab that drains.
Concrete patio construction
A backyard patio here has to shed rain away from the back door, so we set the slope before we think about size or finish.
Stamped concrete services
Stamped concrete gives a patio or walk the look of stone or tile in one pour, and we seal it so the pattern holds up outdoors.
Concrete sidewalk building
Sidewalks and front walks lifted or broken by tree roots become a trip hazard, so we replace the bad sections flush with the rest.
Garage floor concrete
A garage floor that's cracked, stained or sloping the wrong way can be poured new over a packed base, with a smooth finish that's easy to sweep.
Decorative concrete
Colored, stained or exposed-stone finishes dress up an entry, a front porch or a shop front without loose pavers that shift and grow weeds.
Concrete retaining walls
Where one lot sits higher than the next or dirt keeps washing onto a drive, a poured retaining wall with drainage behind it holds the soil back.
Concrete floor installation
For a shop, a storage building or a home addition, we pour an interior floor that sits flat, so shelves, cabinets and new flooring sit level without shims.
Concrete pool decks
Around a backyard pool we pour a deck that slopes away from the water and the house, with a texture that won't turn slick under wet feet.
Concrete steps construction
Front and back steps that have pulled away from the porch or settled out of level get rebuilt with even step heights and steel tied into the slab.
Slab foundation building
For a new house, an addition or a shop, we dig out, pack the base, set the steel and pour the slab the building sits on.
Foundation installation
When a project needs more than a flat slab, like deeper beams under the walls, we form and pour the whole foundation to the plans.
Concrete parking lot building
Businesses with a lot that holds water or breaks up under delivery trucks get a slab built for the traffic, a packed base and a slope toward the drain.
Concrete footings
A carport, patio cover or porch post is only as steady as the footing under it, so we dig and pour those down to firm ground.
Foundation raising
If doors stick, the floor slopes or cracks run up the walls, the slab may have settled, and I'll find out why before we talk about lifting it.
Concrete cutting
A clean saw cut through an old slab lets us run a new pipe or replace one bad section without breaking up the whole driveway.
Get a free on-site concrete estimate in Mercedes
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set up a free estimate at your property, with no pressure and no obligation.
- Based in
- McAllen, TX 78501
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM
Permits, inspections and pour dates in Mercedes
Building projects in Mercedes go through the city's Planning Department, so whether your job needs a permit is the city's call, and if you're not sure about yours, we'll check with them for you. When it does, we help you line it up, and because the city inspects at set points once work starts, the pour date waits on the inspector, since nobody can see the base again once concrete covers it. We're licensed and insured, and if a new slab has plumbing under it, you can look up the plumber's state license with the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners.
We're a concrete contractor based in McAllen, TX, and Mercedes jobs get the same crew and the same checks as the ones close to home. What moves the price here is mostly the size of the job, the tear-out and how much work the ground needs before we pour. The schedule turns on the permit and inspections, the weather and the cure, and your written estimate puts a number on the price for your own job.
Why Mercedes slabs sink, crack and hold water
A lot of flooding in Hidalgo County happens outside the mapped flood zones, when rain can't get into the storm drains fast enough and ponds in yards and along driveways. Water that sits against a slab softens the subgrade, the ground and base the slab rests on, and that's when edges drop and cracks open. Before we set a form, I check where your water runs, and we slope the new slab away from the house toward a place it can drain.
We also see a lot of older concrete here that was poured over dirt raked level instead of dug out and packed, so it settled along with the ground and cracked wherever it wanted. The base is the part you can't see on day one and the first thing people want to trim, and it's the last place I'll save you money, because a nice finish on a soft base cracks anyway.
What to expect when you hire us in Mercedes
Here's how a concrete job in Mercedes runs from your first call to the final walk-through, and where the city's inspections fit in.
Call us or send the form
Call (956) 331-0213 or use the form and tell me what you're dealing with, even if it's just a crack you don't like the look of. We'll set a time for me to come out to your property.
I come out and measure
I walk the job, ask a lot of questions about where water stands and what's under the old concrete, and take my own measurements, so it helps if you're there. Then you get a written estimate, so you know the cost before you commit to anything.
Paperwork first, then the pour
If your job needs city permits or inspections, we help line them up and plan the pour around the inspector's visits. Our crew digs out, packs the base, pours and finishes with me on site.
We walk it together
When we're done, I walk the finished work with you and tell you how long to keep feet and cars off while the concrete cures, the slow hardening that gives it strength. We clean up before we leave.
Questions about concrete work in Mercedes, TX
Do I need a permit to dig for a driveway or slab in Mercedes, TX?
You may, because the city requires an excavation permit for digging, trenching or underground utility work. Every pour we do starts with digging out and packing a base, so we check your job with the city before we break ground and help you line up whatever it needs.
What happens if concrete work starts without a permit in Mercedes?
If the city finds work that needed a permit while its inspections can still be done, the permit fees double, and the property owner or contractor can also be fined. Work that covered up a stage the city needed to inspect may have to come out, and with concrete that means breaking up a slab you just paid for, which is why we sort out the paperwork before the trucks are scheduled.
Which city inspections could a new slab or driveway need in Mercedes?
The city's guide to residential inspections lists a slab or floor inspection and a curb-break and driveway inspection, for where a new drive cuts through the curb, among others. A house slab can also involve plumbing and building sewer checks before the pour, so we plan the pour around the inspector and nothing gets covered before it's been looked at.
How do I find out if my part of Mercedes floods?
Ask the city at (956) 565-3114, which is where the county drainage district sends Mercedes residents to learn which areas flood. Knowing where water stands on your street tells us how high to set the slab and which way to slope it, so I'll ask you about it on the first visit too.
How much does a concrete driveway cost in Mercedes, TX?
Your price comes from the driveway's size and thickness, how much old concrete has to be broken out, how much digging and packing the base needs, and the finish you pick. A plain broom finish, a light brushed texture that keeps tires and shoes from slipping, costs less than stamped or colored concrete, and we haul the old slab away because the city treats debris left anywhere but your own side of the alley as illegal dumping.
What causes a new concrete patio or driveway to crack in Mercedes?
Concrete shrinks as it dries, so some hairline cracking is normal, and the real job is deciding where it happens with control joints, grooves cut into the fresh slab so cracks run straight along them instead of across the middle. The cracks that cause trouble usually come from joints cut late or skipped, a pour in the midday heat that leaves a weak, dusty top, or no steel in a slab that needs it. We cut joints while the concrete is fresh, plan pours for the cooler part of the day and set rebar, the steel bars that hold a slab together if it does crack, where the job calls for it.
Get your Mercedes concrete job started
Our line, (956) 331-0213, is open every day from 7 AM to 11 PM, so you can call after work, and the sooner I see the job, the sooner we know what the city needs before a pour date gets set.