Concrete Contractor in San Juan, TX - Driveways and Patios Built to Shed Storm Water
Craftsman McAllen Concrete Construction is a concrete contractor based in McAllen, TX, pouring driveways, patios, slabs and foundations for homes and businesses in San Juan, especially the jobs with a catch, like an odd slope or an old slab.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We respond within 1 business day.
San Juan homes and the flat ground under them
San Juan sits between Pharr and Alamo, and the calls we get here look a lot like theirs. Most come from single-story houses on slab foundations, on older streets and in newer subdivisions alike. Usually a front driveway has dropped at the street, a back patio was poured over raked dirt years ago, or someone added onto a slab and isn't sure what's under it. We also hear from small business owners who need a lot, a ramp or a walk redone without shutting down for long.
The ground here is flat and the top layer is often loose fill, so the job usually starts below what you can see. Before any form goes up, we dig out and pack the subgrade, the dirt the slab sits on, because a slab only stays steady if that layer does.
Concrete work we do on San Juan properties
Concrete driveway building
When a driveway has sunk at the curb or split down the middle, we break it out, rebuild the base and pour it to drain toward the street.
Concrete patio construction
A back patio here gets hard sun most of the day, so we pour early, cure it slowly and slope it so rain runs away from the house.
Stamped concrete services
Stamped concrete gives a patio, walk or entry the look of stone or tile, poured as one piece, so there are no pavers to shift after heavy rain.
Concrete sidewalk building
We replace front walks where a tree root or soft ground has lifted one panel above the next, because that lip is what people trip on.
Garage floor concrete
A cracked, dusty garage floor on an older house here usually means a weak top or a poor base, and we tell you which before deciding whether to replace it.
Decorative concrete
Colored, scored or exposed-aggregate concrete suits the courtyards and front entries we see here, and a lighter color stays cooler underfoot in summer.
Concrete retaining walls
Even on flat lots, a short wall can hold back a raised yard at the property line, with drain holes so trapped water can't push it over.
Concrete floor installation
For a shop, storage building or room addition, we pour interior floors level over a packed base with a plastic sheet below to block ground moisture.
Concrete pool decks
A pool deck here needs a finish you can cross barefoot in summer and a slope that sends water away from the pool, not into it.
Concrete steps construction
We rebuild front and back steps that have settled or pulled away from the house, setting them on packed ground, every step the same height.
Slab foundation building
Most houses here sit on a slab, and for a new home, addition or shop we dig out, pack the subgrade, set the steel and pour it.
Foundation installation
For additions and outbuildings, we lay out and pour the foundation to match your plans and the ground we find once it's dug, not the ground we assumed.
Concrete parking lot building
Small business lots along the busy roads here take delivery trucks and standing water, so we pour them thicker, with steel inside and a slope toward the drains.
Concrete footings
Patio covers, carports, fences and room additions need footings, the concrete feet that carry the weight, dug down to firm ground below the loose topsoil.
Foundation raising
If doors stick and cracks climb the walls of an older house here, we work out why the slab dropped before raising it, because the cause decides the fix.
Concrete cutting
We saw-cut openings for doors, plumbing trenches or a driveway widening, and cut control joints, the grooves that tell a slab where to crack, into new pours.
Get a free on-site concrete estimate in San Juan
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time. Then I come out, look the job over, take my own measurements and give you a written estimate, with no obligation.
- Based in
- McAllen, TX 78501
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM
Working in San Juan: permits, inspections and what sets the price
Inside San Juan city limits, building permits come from the city's Building Department, and the forms are on the city's permits and forms page. You fill them out, then call Planning & Zoning at (956)223-2200 to find out how to turn them in. Nothing gets poured until a required permit is issued, and a failed inspection means a re-inspection the city lists starting at $50.00, so we set the forms and steel to pass the first time. Contractors can register with Planning & Zoning for free, so it's fair to ask whoever you hire whether they have. We help you line up the permit and any inspection and plan the pour around them, and if you're not sure your address needs one, I'll check with the city office that covers it.
The price usually turns on the size and thickness of the slab, how much old concrete and soft dirt has to come out, and how close the concrete truck can get, since a tight side yard means pumping or wheelbarrows. Rebar, the steel bars that hold a slab together if it cracks, adds to it, and so does the finish, from a plain broom finish, the light texture that gives shoes and tires grip, up to stamped or colored work. The schedule turns on the permit, the weather and the cure, and the written estimate after my visit puts your own job in numbers. We're based in McAllen and run the same crews out here that we send to Palmview, so San Juan is a short drive for us.
Storm water and summer heat on San Juan slabs
Flooding outside the mapped flood zones is common in this county, and many homes take water when a storm drops more rain than the drains can carry and the puddles in the yard reach the door. On ground this flat, a new patio or driveway either pushes that water away from your house or steers it right to the slab. So before we set forms, we look at where your water runs now, then pitch the new concrete away from the walls and toward somewhere it can actually go.
Heat is the other thing. Concrete poured in the middle of a hot day dries too fast at the top and ends up weak and dusty, so we pour in the early morning and keep the slab damp while it cures, the slow hardening that decides how strong it gets.
How a concrete job runs when you call us in San Juan
From your first call to the final walk-through, here's what you'll see from us and when it helps to be home.
Call or send the form
Call (956) 331-0213 or use the form and tell me what's going on with your concrete. We set a time for me to come out that works for you.
I come out and measure
I walk the job with you, ask a lot of questions about water, traffic and what's there now, and take my own measurements, so it helps if you're home. You get a written estimate that costs you nothing, so you know the number before you decide anything.
We line up the paperwork
If the job needs a city permit or inspection, we help you get it in order and pick the pour date around it. Nothing goes in the ground before the permit is in hand.
We pour and walk it together
Our crew does the work with me on site, and you don't need to be home while we form and pour. When it's done, I walk it with you and tell you when it's ready for feet and when it's ready for a car.
Questions about concrete work in San Juan, TX
How do I find out if my concrete project needs a permit in San Juan, TX?
Start with the city's Planning & Zoning page, which shows the zoning and city limits for your address and helps you tell whether city permits apply before you start. If your address turns out to be outside city limits, the same page shows whether Hidalgo County Precinct 1 or 2 covers it. The city also has a separate excavation permit for significant digging, and if you'd rather not sort it out yourself, I'll check with the office that covers your address.
How much do city permit fees add to a concrete job in San Juan, TX?
The city figures building permit fees from a set value per square foot of what you're adding, so a bigger slab carries a bigger fee. Subcontractor permits start at $35, and some applications have to be paid before the city will process them. The rest of the cost comes from the size, the base work and the finish, and your written estimate shows what your own job comes to.
How do I check a contractor's license in Texas before hiring for a San Juan job?
Use the state's online license search, which shows whether a person or business holds a current license from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. It covers the licenses that agency issues, such as electrical contractors, so it's the place to check whoever wires lights or outlets into a new patio or slab. We're licensed and insured, and I'm glad to answer any question you have about it.
Can I buy flood insurance in San Juan, TX?
Yes, Hidalgo County and the cities inside it take part in the National Flood Insurance Program, so anyone living in San Juan can buy a policy. New concrete that drains away from the house helps with everyday storm water, but it's no substitute for a policy if bigger water worries you.
What causes new concrete driveways to crack in San Juan, TX?
Most driveway cracks we see here come from the base, dirt that was raked flat instead of dug out and packed, so the slab sinks as the dirt settles. Concrete also shrinks as it dries and will crack somewhere, so we cut the control joints on time to keep those cracks in the grooves instead of across the middle. When a budget gets tight, I'd rather you pick a plainer finish than a thinner base, because a finish can be redone later and a bad base means tearing the whole thing out.
How long do I have to stay off a new concrete driveway in San Juan?
You can walk on it well before you can drive on it, because concrete keeps gaining strength for days after the pour and a car asks far more of it than your feet do. The heat and the mix both change the wait, so I give you the go-ahead for each when we walk the finished job. If you need the driveway back quickly, tell me at the estimate and we'll plan around it, like pouring one side at a time.
Tell me about your San Juan concrete job
Let me know where the water sits after a rain and what's cracked or sinking, and I'll come out with the right questions already in mind.