Concrete Contractors in Germantown, TN

Concrete Contractors Germantown builds and repairs driveways, patios, stamped surfaces, sidewalks, steps and garage slabs for homeowners in Germantown, Tennessee. The city sits on a ridge between the Wolf River and Nonconnah Creek in Shelby County, and most of its houses went up in a single long burst: Wikipedia shows the population rising from 3,474 in 1970 to 32,893 by 1990. That means a lot of driveways and walks around town are now 35 to 50 years old, poured on silty ground and shaded by oaks that were saplings when the concrete was new. Concrete contractors in Germantown spend much of their time on what those decades have done.

What wears out concrete here

Most national advice is written for cold climates, where frost and road salt do the damage. Around Memphis the list is different.

Rain. Wikipedia's climate table for nearby Memphis puts yearly precipitation at 54.94 inches, with snow averaging under 3 inches. Water that runs off a roof or down a driveway and soaks in along the edge of a slab slowly carries fine soil away from underneath it.

Silt soil. Shelby County's surface is mostly loess, wind-blown silt laid down during the Ice Age. A 2012 University of Memphis review of local geology calls it highly sensitive to disturbance. Silt that is dug, wetted or left uncompacted loses support, which is why a panel can drop at the garage door or a stoop can settle away from the brick.

Roots. Germantown has been a Tree City USA for 33 years in a row, and the willow oak is its official city tree. Big oaks are part of why the streets look the way they do, and their roots are the most common reason a sidewalk panel lifts into a trip edge.

Heat. The same table lists 64 days a year above 90 degrees. Fresh concrete that dries too fast in July sun cracks and dusts at the surface, so summer pours start early and are kept damp while they cure.

Occasional ice. Memphis averages 43 nights a year below freezing. Freeze-thaw is not the main threat, but an outdoor slab still gets air-entrained concrete, and we still tell you to skip rock salt during an ice storm.

Housing that came of age together

Point2Homes, summarizing Census survey data for Germantown's 16,106 housing units, lists a median build year of 1983. About 35 percent of homes date from the 1970s and another 23 percent from the 1980s, and 83.6 percent are detached single-family houses. For concrete, that is a predictable pattern. Original driveways from those decades are reaching the end of a typical 30- to 40-year life, many have been patched more than once, and the walks and steps poured with them have been lifted or tipped by trees that are now fully grown. Newer homes from the 1990s and 2000s tend to need different work: widening a driveway, adding a patio or pool surround, or lifting a slab that settled as the fill under it compacted.

The sidewalk rule that catches sellers

In many cities the public sidewalk is the city's problem. In Germantown it is mostly the owner's. The city's Homeowner Guide to Sidewalk Maintenance says repair of the sidewalk in front of a property falls on the property owner, including damage from the owner's tree roots, and that every sidewalk is inspected before a property changes hands. The inspection costs $100. If an inspector marks a panel:

• White paint means the crack may be caulked with the city's approved concrete caulk, followed by a reinspection.
• Orange paint means the panel has to be replaced, and a permit is needed first.

Marked repairs have to be finished before closing. If you are listing a house, it pays to look at the walk now rather than in the week before the sale. We can caulk white-marked cracks and replace orange-marked panels, and we price both quickly so the closing date does not slip.

Get a Free Estimate

Permits for driveways and walks

The City of Germantown's Engineering Department lists four permits on its Engineering Permits page: grading and stormwater, foundation, right-of-way, and demolition. The right-of-way permit covers work on sidewalks, streets, driveways and public easements, and the city says right-of-way contractors must hold a Germantown business tax license and a bond. Grading and stormwater permits apply to jobs such as pools and retaining walls. Requirements depend on the address, so before we schedule a driveway, apron or sidewalk job we confirm with Engineering (901-751-5720) what your project needs, and the quote states who is pulling the permit.

Six kinds of work

• Driveways: tear-outs and replacements, widening, new aprons and parking pads.
• Patios: broom, exposed-aggregate and colored slabs, plus paths to the yard and pool.
• Stamped concrete: slate, stone and brick patterns for patios, entries and borders.
• Sidewalks and steps: public walk repairs for sale inspections, front walks, stoops and poured steps.
• Repair and leveling: lifting sunken panels, sealing cracks and joints, and resurfacing sound slabs.
• Garage floors and slabs: replacement garage floors, shed and equipment pads, and slabs for additions.

How a job runs

Measure and diagnose. We walk the area with you, note slope and drainage, check under a broken edge where we can, and point out trees whose roots are involved.

Quote. A written price, line by line. If a repair is a realistic choice, it sits next to the replacement price.

Prep. Old concrete out, soft silt dug out, crushed stone compacted in layers, forms set so water runs away from the house.

Pour. Steel where the slab needs it, concrete placed and finished, joints cut on a planned grid. In summer we start early and keep the slab damp.

Handoff. HomeGuide's driveway guide says to stay off a new driveway with cars for at least seven days and with heavy vehicles for about 30. You get written dates for your job. Call (901) 910-1055 to set up a visit.

Most of our work is in Germantown itself, from Old Germantown around the depot on Germantown Road out to the subdivisions near the Wolf River. We also work in the communities around it: East Memphis to the west, Cordova to the north, Collierville to the east, Bartlett, Lakeland and Arlington further north and northeast, and Southaven and Olive Branch across the Mississippi line in DeSoto County. Each one has its own permit office and its own rules for driveways and sidewalks, and the town pages note what we found for each. Wherever you are, ask any contractor you call how they will handle the public walk and the driveway apron, since those are the parts the city cares about.