Concrete Parking Lot Building in Petaluma CA - a lot sized for the traffic it carries
Is your lot cracked, rutted or holding water after rain? We build concrete parking lots designed for the cars and trucks that use them.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What does building a concrete parking lot in Petaluma involve?
Concrete parking lot building in Petaluma means forming, pouring and finishing concrete pavement where cars and trucks park. A lot designed for how yours is actually used can serve well for many years with little upkeep, and that long life comes from fitting the design to your lot, not from the concrete alone.
Most owners who call us have an old asphalt lot that's breaking up at the entrance, or a new building that needs parking before it can open. The price moves with the size of the lot, how thick the design says the slab has to be for your traffic, how much digging and base work the ground needs, and whether old pavement has to come out first. The schedule turns on the engineer's design, the city's approval and the weather, plus curing, the wait while new concrete hardens before cars can go on it. Once I've seen the lot, I'll put your own figures and what's included in a written estimate.
How do you know your parking lot needs to be rebuilt?
Cracks spreading across stalls
When cracks run across stalls and drive lanes and keep getting longer, the pavement usually wasn't built for the loads on it, or the ground under it has given way. Water gets into every open crack, so the longer it waits, the more of the lot has to come out.
Water standing after rain
Puddles that sit in the same low spots for a day mean the lot has settled or was never sloped to drain. Standing water soaks the ground under the pavement and softens it, and that's how small dips turn into broken sections.
Asphalt crumbling at the entrance
Loose gravel, potholes and broken edges where cars turn in are usually the first places a worn lot gives out, because every vehicle crosses them. Patching buys some time, but once the base under them has failed, the patches keep sinking.
Ruts where trucks drive
Grooves or broken slabs along the path delivery trucks take usually mean that part of the lot is too thin for heavier vehicles. If it's left alone, the damage spreads into the parking stalls next to it.
How we handle concrete parking lot building
I start by asking how many vehicles use the lot now and how that may grow, because that decides how heavy the pavement has to be, and we work with your engineer on the design. If you have an asphalt lot, we'll talk about whether a concrete overlay, new concrete placed over the old pavement, could suit it. Then our crew digs out and packs the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, and checks where the water will run so it drains away from your building. When a budget gets tight, the base is the first place people want to save, because nobody sees it on day one. It's the one place I won't, since a slab only stays flat as long as the ground under it does. We pour in the cooler part of the day so the top doesn't come out weak and dusty, and we'll show you our joint layout before the pour. Control joints are lines cut into the slab on purpose, so when the concrete shrinks and cracks, as concrete does, the cracks fall along those lines instead of across your stalls. We finish with a broom finish, a light texture that gives tires and shoes grip in the rain, and keep the slab curing before anyone parks on it.
Most lots need a little work around them too. We pour concrete footings for light poles, signs and low walls along the edge of a lot, and if the building beside the lot has settled and its floors or doors are out of line, we can look at foundation raising while we're there.
Get a written estimate for your concrete parking lot
Send the form with how many vehicles use the lot and whether it's asphalt now. We reply within one business day, and I come out for a free on-site estimate with no pressure to book.
- support@petalumaconcretecontractor.com
- Based in
- Petaluma, CA 94952
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call us about a parking lot
Here's how a parking lot job runs with us, from your first call to the walk-through at the end.
Call or send the form
You call (707) 283-3110 or send the form, and we get back to you to set a time for me to see the lot. Tell us roughly how big it is, so I know what I'm coming out to look at.
I see the site, then write it up
I walk the lot, ask how you'll use the space and how your traffic may grow, then send a written estimate that lists what's included. The base work, concrete, joints and any tear-out are spelled out, so you know what you're paying for before anything starts.
Sort out city steps and a date
Once you're ready, we sort out any city steps with you and set a start date around the city's approval and inspections. The city's review time isn't ours to control, so I'll tell you plainly where it stands.
Pour, cure and walk through
Our own crew forms, pours and finishes the lot, then keeps it curing before any cars go on it. Before we pack up, I walk the finished job with you.
Why Petaluma property owners call Allied Petaluma Concrete for parking lots
On a parking lot, the work that matters most is what you can't see once it's poured, and the work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee. Get in touch and I'll come take a look at yours.
The owner comes out first
I'm based in Petaluma and come out to look at each job and write the estimate myself, and our own crew does the forming, pouring and finishing. You're talking with the person who answers for the work.
Building in concrete since 2013
We've been in business since 2013, and I learned the trade on a flatwork crew, the people who pour flat slabs like driveways, patios and lots. That's where I learned to put the most weight on the ground prep nobody sees.
Licensed and fully insured for paving
We're licensed and fully insured. California's licensing board counts pavement and flat concrete work as a concrete contractor's trade, so you're hiring the right trade for a parking lot.
Estimates written out line by line
We're best known for written estimates that are easy to follow, with the base, the concrete and the joints each listed. That makes it simple to compare our bid fairly against another one.
Parking lot permits and site plans in Petaluma
In Petaluma, commercial and industrial building and grading permit applications go to the city's Building Division, and any work in the public right of way, such as where a new entrance meets the street, needs an encroachment permit too. The Building Division is the place to ask what your lot needs, so I won't guess at it for you. The site plan your lot's design produces includes an erosion and sediment control plan, and a project that disturbs more than an acre also has to follow the city's Storm Water Management Plan. The city counts a parking space as a permanently surfaced area marked out to its standards, and aisles and drives don't count toward it, so the stall layout on the plan matters as much as the concrete. When a job needs a city permit, we help with the application and plan our start around the city's approval and inspections.
We're based in Petaluma and work in the cities around it across the North Bay, and the lots we're called to look much the same from one city to the next, small business and shop lots where the entrance has worn through and water sits in the same spots every winter. On jobs here and in Santa Rosa and Novato, we plan the drainage and the entrance first, because that's where a lot usually fails first.
Questions about concrete parking lots in Petaluma
How much does a concrete parking lot cost in Petaluma?
An installed concrete slab in California usually costs about $7 to $20 per square foot, labor and materials included, and that's statewide market pricing, not our quote. Where your lot falls in that range depends on the thickness your traffic calls for, the base work and tear-out it needs, and the drainage. I'll give you a figure for your Petaluma lot in a written estimate once I've seen it.
Who designs a concrete parking lot?
Engineers usually set the thickness, concrete strength, joints and drainage, working from the loads the owner or architect gives them, according to one concrete trade group's guide. The loads are how many vehicles use the lot and how that number will grow, so knowing your current traffic and your plans gives the design team what it needs to size the pavement.
Can concrete go over my existing asphalt parking lot?
Yes, concrete overlays over existing asphalt lots are a recognized option, and there's a national guide on choosing, designing and building them. Whether one suits your lot depends on the shape your existing pavement is in, so it's worth asking before you plan new work, and I'll look at that on the estimate visit.
How do I apply for a parking lot permit in Petaluma?
You apply through the city's Building Division, and the city code lists a site map and grading plan, a soils and geological reconnaissance report and a time schedule for the work as part of an application, unless the work is exempt. Your engineer's design supplies most of that, so it helps to have the design under way before you plan a start date.
Does a concrete parking lot need rebar?
Not every lot does, because reinforcement is a design choice, and a structural engineer handles it when the lot uses it. Rebar is steel bar laid inside the slab to help hold it together, and the engineer decides whether your lot calls for it.
What is the best way to handle delivery trucks in a concrete parking lot?
One option an older industry design guide describes is using traffic controls to steer trucks away from the areas designed for cars and light trucks. That keeps the heaviest loads on the parts of the lot built to carry them, so tell us early if trucks will be using yours.
Related concrete services for your lot
Concrete footings
Light poles, sign posts and edge walls around a new lot each need a solid concrete base below the ground so they stay upright and don't lean.
Foundation raising
If the building beside your lot has settled, with sticking doors or cracked floors, raising the foundation can bring it closer to level before new paving meets it.
Service areas for our parking lot work
Allied Petaluma Concrete is based in Petaluma, CA, and works in the cities around it across the North Bay. Rohnert Park and Cotati are two of the 12 cities with their own page here, and they aren't the only places we work.
Petaluma, CA
Start planning your concrete parking lot
If your engineer already has drawings or a site plan, mention them when you call (707) 283-3110 or send the form, and I can work from them on the first visit.