Concrete Contractor in Lockhart, FL - Driveways and Patios Built on Packed Ground
Custom Apopka Concrete is a concrete contractor pouring driveways, patios, walkways, garage floors and slabs for homes and small businesses in Lockhart, FL, with the ground dug out and packed before any concrete goes down.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
Lockhart homes and the ground under them
Lockhart is mostly homes, with some small shops and businesses mixed in. A lot of the houses are older, like the mill houses in New Hill, many of which went up in the 1920s. Older houses usually come with older concrete, so the calls we get here tend to be cracked driveways, sunken walks and patios that hold water by the back door. As a concrete contractor in Apopka, FL, we do the same work in Ocoee and Pine Hills, so these houses look familiar to us.
The ground decides more of the job than the concrete does. Sandy subgrade, the ground a slab sits on, holds up well once it's dug out and packed, and around Lake Lockhart, where rain runs toward the water, we pay close attention to where your yard sends it.
Concrete services for Lockhart homes and businesses
Older driveways here were often poured on raked dirt, so they crack and sink. We dig out the old base and pack new fill before pouring.
A back patio behind an older Lockhart house has to shed summer rain away from the walls, so we set the slope before we set the forms.
Stamped concrete gives a patio or walk the look of stone or brick, and we seal it so the pattern holds up to heat and hard rain.
A walk from the driveway to the front door is a small job, but it still gets a packed base so roots and rain don't lift one section.
When an old garage slab is cracked, pitted or sloped the wrong way, we break it out and pour a new one that drains toward the door.
Color, exposed stone and saw-cut patterns let new concrete sit right beside an older house without looking like a fresh gray rectangle in the yard.
On a sloped yard or a lot that falls toward the lake, a concrete wall holds the soil back, and taller ones are a job for an engineer to design.
For a shop, shed or room addition, we pour interior floors flat and level, with a vapor barrier under the slab to keep ground moisture out.
A pool deck needs grip when it's wet and a surface that bare feet can stand in summer, so we pick a light finish and slope it away from the water.
Front steps on older houses here have often settled or broken at the edges, and we form new ones with even rises that are easy to walk.
For an addition, a garage or an outbuilding, we pour the slab on a dug-out, packed pad, working from the plans and the engineer's details.
New foundations for additions and detached buildings go in by the drawings, with rebar, the steel that ties the concrete together, set before the truck arrives.
For a small business or rental property, we pour parking areas thick enough for delivery trucks and sloped so storm water runs off instead of pooling.
Footings carry the weight of walls, posts and porch columns, so we dig them to the depth the plans call for, into firm ground and not loose fill.
When a slab has dropped on soft ground, we find out why first, and anything structural on the house goes to an engineer before we lift it.
We saw-cut openings for drains and trenches, and cut control joints, the grooves that tell a slab where to crack, into slabs that need them.
Get a free on-site concrete estimate for your Lockhart property
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time to come out. The estimate is free, spells out what the price covers and comes with no obligation.
(407) 358-0192- Based in
- Apopka, FL 32712
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
Working in Lockhart: the county, the permit and your price
Lockhart isn't a city of its own. It's a community in Orange County, so the permit question for a job here goes to the county building office instead of a city hall. Before we start, we check with them, and when a permit is needed we file it as the licensed contractor and keep you posted, which puts the county's review ahead of your pour date. Any business operating in unincorporated Orange County needs a county Business Tax Receipt, so it's fair to ask a contractor for a current one and whether they carry insurance. We're licensed and fully insured.
We're based in Apopka, and our crew works Lockhart along with Forest City and the neighborhoods around them, so we know the older streets where a concrete truck can't back up to the yard. When it can't, we plan where it parks and whether we wheel or pump the concrete back, and that, along with the slab's size, how much bad base comes out and the finish you pick, is what moves the price. The schedule turns on the permit question, the summer rain and curing, the wait before new concrete is strong enough to use. Your estimate spells out what your own figure covers.
Why Lockhart driveways and patios crack and sink
Rain is the big one. The weather station at Orlando International Airport averages a little over 51 inches in a normal year, most of it in summer, and when that water runs under a slab it carries the base away until the concrete sinks or cracks. We check where water runs across your yard before we form anything and slope the new slab away from the house, so the next storm heads for the lawn instead of under your floor.
The other cause is what's underneath. Older slabs here were often poured on dirt that was raked level and never packed, and that dirt keeps settling. If the budget's tight, I'd rather you go plain on the finish than skimp on the base, because a fancy top on a weak base cracks just the same.
How a concrete job runs when you call us from Lockhart
Here's how it goes from your first call to the final walk-through, so you know who you'll talk to and what you'll get at each step.
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Call or send a message
Call (407) 358-0192 or use the form, and we get back to you to set up a visit. Tell us what's going on, like a sinking driveway or a new patio, so I come ready.
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I measure and ask questions
I usually come out myself to look at the spot, measure and ask a lot of questions about how you use it and where the water goes, and it helps if you're home. Then you get an estimate that spells out what's in it, from the base work to the finish, so you can see what you're paying for.
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We sort permits, then pour
Once you say go, we settle the permit question with the county, and a Florida Senate summary says a state bill, once it becomes law, requires a 5-day response on permit applications for work valued under $15,000. Then our own crew digs out, packs the base and pours, usually early in the day to stay ahead of the heat.
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We walk the finished job
We walk through the finished slab with you and point out the control joints and what they're for. We'll tell you when it's ready to walk on and when it can take a car, because curing matters more than how dry the top looks.
Questions about concrete work in Lockhart
How do I check if my Lockhart address is in unincorporated Orange County?
Look up your property in the county parcel search, where the Municipality field reads "Unincorporated" for an address in unincorporated Orange County. If it names a city instead, that city's building office is the one we check with, and either way we look it up before we plan a start date.
Do I need a building permit for a small concrete job at my house in Lockhart, FL?
The county building office decides that for each job, so we ask them before we start instead of guessing. A Florida Senate summary describes a state bill that, once it becomes law, has local governments outside flood hazard areas exempt some work on single-family homes valued at $7,500 or less, with structural, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and gas work left out. Whether a driveway or patio fits that is part of what we ask the county.
Where can I check flood hazard maps for my property in Lockhart?
FEMA says its Map Service Center or National Flood Hazard Layer viewer is the best place to start for the official flood hazard picture of an area. It's worth a look before a concrete job, because the exemption in that state bill doesn't reach flood hazard areas, and a lot that floods needs more thought about where a new slab sends water.
What business tax steps does a concrete contractor need to work in Lockhart, FL?
A contractor working here needs the county's Business Tax Receipt, which the Orange County Tax Collector issues a year at a time, good through September 30. Businesses based in cities like Apopka, Ocoee or Orlando need their city's receipt before the county's, so a current one is a quick thing to ask any contractor to show you.
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Lockhart, FL?
You get your figure once I've measured, because the price follows the driveway's size, how much old concrete and bad base comes out and how the truck reaches it. The finish is the choice you control most, since a broom finish, the light brushed texture that gives tires and shoes grip, costs less than stamped or colored concrete.
What causes concrete driveways to crack in Lockhart, FL?
Most cracks here start with the soft or washed-out base we covered above, a pour in afternoon heat that dries the top too fast and leaves it weak and dusty, or control joints cut late or skipped. All concrete cracks a little as it shrinks, so we pour early, cut the joints on time so cracks run where we chose, and keep the slab damp while it cures.
Book your Lockhart concrete estimate today
A slab that's already sinking or holding water usually gets worse with every summer of storms, so it's easier to fix while the damage is still small.
Apopka, FL