Concrete sidewalk building in Petaluma CA - a level walk built on solid ground
Cracked, sinking or uneven sidewalk in front of your house? We dig out, pack the base and pour a walk that sits level again.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What goes into building a new sidewalk in Petaluma?
Concrete sidewalk building in Petaluma means breaking out the old walk if there is one, digging down to firm ground, packing a base and then forming, pouring and finishing new concrete, so you get a level path that sheds water instead of holding it. The pour itself goes quickly. Most of the time goes into the ground prep and, on a walk along the street, the city's approval.
Maybe the walk out front has cracked and lifted, or the path from your driveway to the door sinks a little more every year. The price depends on the size of the walk, how much old concrete comes out and how much work the ground needs. The schedule depends mostly on the city's permit when the walk runs along the street, and on our crew's calendar. When it's the public walk, we help with the city's permit before we start, and either way I'll send a written estimate that lists what's included so you can see where the price comes from.
How can you tell your sidewalk needs replacing?
Cracks running across slabs
The cracks wander through the middle of a section instead of following the grooves. That usually means the grooves were cut late or the ground underneath moved, and the longer it sits, the more water gets in and widens them.
One edge higher than another
A section has lifted or dropped and left a lip your foot catches on. Roots or a soft base are the usual cause, and that lip only gets taller, so a cracked walk becomes a walk people trip on.
Water standing on the walk
Puddles sit on the walk after rain, or the water runs toward the house instead of away from it. The base has usually sunk in spots, and standing water soaks the ground below, so the walk keeps settling.
How we handle concrete sidewalk building, from base to finish
When a walk runs along the street, we get the city's approval and our schedule settled before any old concrete comes out, so the sidewalk in front of your home isn't left torn up while we wait. Then our crew breaks out the old walk, digs past the loose dirt and packs the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, until it's firm, because a base that's only raked level settles and takes the concrete down with it. We set the forms so the walk falls away from the house and lay rebar, the steel bars that hold the slab together if it does crack. After the pour we give the top a broom finish, a light texture that keeps it from getting slick, and we cut control joints early. Those are shallow grooves that tell the concrete where to crack, and cutting them early keeps it from picking its own spots. Then the walk cures, staying damp and untouched while it hardens, because rushing that step leaves a weak, dusty top. If the budget gets tight, I'd rather you spend it on the base and keep the finish plain, since nobody sees the ground prep once the walk is poured, but it decides whether the walk stays flat.
A new walk often leads somewhere that needs work too. If it runs to a garage where the floor has cracked or sunk, we can pour new garage floor concrete while we're set up. If you want a private walk to look like more than plain gray, decorative concrete adds color and texture.
Get a written estimate for your new sidewalk
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day. I'll come out for a free look at the walk, then send a written estimate that lists what's included, 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 sidewalk?
Here's how a sidewalk job runs from your first call to the final walk-through, with the city's steps shown where they fall.
Call or send the form
Tell us where the walk is and whether it runs along the street. Then we'll set a time for me to come out.
I look and write it up
I walk the site, ask how you'll use the walk and check where the water runs. Then you get a written estimate that lists what's included, from removal and base work to the finish and any city steps.
We line up city and crew
On a walk along the street, the city's permit is good for 30 days from approval unless it says otherwise, and the work has to be finished within 14 days of breaking out the old walk. So we set the permit, the inspection and our crew's date before anything comes out.
Pour, finish and walk through
Our crew sets the forms and the steel, and on a street walk a city Public Works inspector has to approve both before we pour, so the pour date waits on that visit. Once the walk is finished, I go over it with you before we pack up.
Why Petaluma homeowners call Allied Petaluma Concrete for sidewalks
What I care about most is the ground under the walk, so when you're ready, request an estimate and I'll come take a look.
The owner writes every estimate
I come out to look at each job myself and write the estimate, and our own crew does the forming, pouring and finishing. What we agree on at your house is what the crew builds.
Building flatwork since 2013
I learned on a flatwork crew, the crews that pour walks, patios and driveways, and came back to the trade in 2013 to start this business in Petaluma. After 13 years, we're best known for careful ground prep and written estimates that are easy to follow.
Licensed in California, fully insured
California's state licensing board counts forming, pouring and finishing flat concrete as concrete contractor work, and a sidewalk is exactly that. We're licensed and fully insured, so the person building the walk in front of your house is covered for it.
Sidewalks, street planters and the city's permit in Petaluma
Petaluma requires an encroachment permit for sidewalk work in the public right-of-way, the strip along the street that the city controls, and the application comes from the city's Public Works & Utilities Department in City Hall. When a job needs that permit, we help with the application and plan our start around the city's approval and inspections. The city also doesn't allow paving, sealing or filling an existing street planter with material that water can't pass through, so we build the new walk around those planting strips and leave them in place.
Around Petaluma, a lot of our calls are for front walks that have lifted at a seam or sunk at one corner over the years. We're based in Petaluma and work in the cities around it across the North Bay, and we build these walks the same way on jobs in Novato and Rohnert Park.
Questions about sidewalk building in Petaluma
Do I need a permit to build a sidewalk in Petaluma?
Yes. If it's the public sidewalk along the street, you need the city's encroachment permit described above before work starts. The city also requires interim and final inspections on construction projects, so it's fair to ask whoever you hire who books each visit.
Who pays to fix the sidewalk in front of my house in Petaluma?
You do. Petaluma's code makes the owner of a lot that fronts the sidewalk area repair it, maintain it and pay the cost, and that area includes the sidewalk, curb, gutter and planting strip. If the city sends you a repair notice, you can do the work yourself, have a licensed contractor do it or have the city do it.
How much does it cost to replace a sidewalk in Petaluma?
The cost depends mostly on the ground under the walk, because that's the part that varies most from one house to the next. A Michigan concrete trade group's guidelines call for ground free of organic matter and loose soil, with unstable soil dug out and replaced by compacted crushed stone, gravel or sand, and poor ground means more digging and fill. I can't tell how much of that your walk needs until I've seen it, so the written estimate lists each part.
How long does a new sidewalk take before we can walk on it?
A Michigan concrete trade group's guidelines say a new walk may open to traffic after 7 days of curing, the time concrete needs to harden, and testing can show it's strong enough sooner. Plan foot traffic and any car that crosses the walk around that first week. On a street walk, the city's finish window from the steps above keeps the whole job short.
Is there city help with sidewalk repair costs in Petaluma?
There may be. A draft city sidewalk repair program application offers a $2,000 match plus up to $800 for arborist costs, for properties within city limits that already have a sidewalk. The city approves the application and inspects before work begins, and since it's a draft, check with the city for the current terms before you count on it.
What is the best way to build a sidewalk that cars drive across?
Make it thicker than a walk that only sees foot traffic, because a Michigan concrete trade group's guidelines call for a thicker slab where traffic includes delivery vehicles. That matters most where the walk meets a driveway or a gate, and we'll talk through which sections need it when I'm out.
Other concrete work that pairs with a new walk
Garage floor concrete
If your garage slab is cracked, stained or sloping toward the door, a new floor can tie in cleanly with a fresh walk out front.
Decorative concrete
When you want a path that looks like more than plain gray, decorative concrete adds color and texture to walks, patios and entries around the house.
Service areas around Petaluma and the North Bay
Allied Petaluma Concrete is based in Petaluma, CA, and builds sidewalks in the cities around it across the North Bay, including Santa Rosa and Novato. Each of the 12 cities listed here has its own page, and they aren't the only places we work.
Petaluma, CA
Get your sidewalk estimate on the calendar
Have your address and any city repair notice handy when you call (707) 283-3110, so I can look at the right stretch of walk when I come out.