Driveway Installation in Santa Monica

The old driveway was two concrete strips running about 70 feet down the side of the house. The plan was to break them out and pour one 10 by 70 foot concrete slab in their place, about 700 square feet.

Day one, Monday, August 31, started a little after 7 AM. A skid steer broke out the old strips, and the crew hauled the broken concrete, soil and debris off the site.

Then the whole 10 by 70 foot strip was dug out and graded, ready for a compacted base of crushed aggregate.

By early afternoon the forms were set and the steel grid ran the full length of the driveway.

Each bar sits up on a small concrete block, so the steel ends up inside the slab instead of lying in the dirt under it.

Day two, Tuesday, September 1, was the pour. Ready-mix concrete went in as one 4 inch slab, the full length in one morning.

The crew screeded it level and floated it smooth, working along the block wall.

On kneeboards they tooled the control joints at regular intervals, so the slab can move without cracking across.

The last pass was the broom finish, a light texture for traction.

By 1 PM the new driveway was done: one continuous slab from the street to the back, with clean joints and a broom finish.