True North Malibu Concrete is based in Malibu and does driveways, patios, garage floors and foundation work for Santa Monica homeowners. I measure every job myself and put what goes under the concrete in writing.
(424) 388-5404
Most Santa Monica jobs start with concrete that's already there. That might be a driveway that has sunk and cracked, a patio that sends water toward the house, or a garage slab off the alley that has chipped apart. Lots are tight and the neighbors are close, so how we get the old slab out and the new concrete in matters as much as the pour itself.
We also hear from owners partway through a rebuild or an addition, and on those jobs I work from the architect's or engineer's drawings and the soil consultant's notes. Either way, I look at access and the existing concrete before I put a price on anything.
We reply within one business day, by phone or by message. The estimate is free, done at your Santa Monica property and comes with no obligation. I come out, measure the area, look at access and any existing concrete, and send you a written scope with a price you can compare line by line.
(424) 388-5404Most of our Santa Monica calls are for flatwork, meaning flat slabs like driveways, patios, walkways and garage floors off the alley, and we also build steps and concrete pool decks where a yard has room for a pool. For rebuilds and additions we pour slab foundations and footings to the engineer's drawings, and we cut and remove old concrete when it has to come out first.
Building permits here come from the city's Permit Services Center, which covers building, altering, demolishing or repairing a building or structure, so whether your driveway, patio or wall needs one is a question for that office. An older city handout gives examples, such as a fence over seven feet tall needing a permit. Where a permit applies, plan review has to be finished and every city approval in hand before it's issued, and the work is inspected in stages up to a final sign-off, so the city's timing sets part of your schedule. Any contractor working here needs a Santa Monica business license, and the city's application for it asks for a California state contractor's license number, so ask to see both before you hire.
Before I price a job, I check what the city asks for at your address and tell you what I found, and where approvals are needed we plan the start around them and handle the concrete side of the paperwork or work with your architect or engineer. The price usually turns on access and what has to come out first, because a narrow side yard or an alley garage can mean wheeling concrete in or bringing a pump, and an old slab has to be broken out and hauled away before we dig the base. Size, thickness, steel and finish do the rest, and a broom finish, a light texture that gives your shoes some grip, costs less than stamped work. We plan jobs the same way in Culver City and farther out in Camarillo, and your estimate puts each of these on its own line.
Your written scope lists the base, what goes into the slab and the finish as separate lines, so you can see where the money goes. The base is hidden on day one and it's the first thing people want to cut, and I'd rather spend there than on the surface.
I come out to look at the job and take the measurements myself, and our crew does the work with me on site. The person who priced your driveway is the same one watching the base get packed and the joints get cut.
On Santa Monica rebuilds and additions we work alongside the engineer, architect or soil consultant and pour to their drawings. If a detail isn't clear, I'll check with them and get back to you rather than guess at it on the day of the pour.
We're fully licensed and insured, our work is satisfaction guaranteed, and we've been doing this since 2023. To get started, call (424) 388-5404 or use the form above, and I'll set up a time to come out and measure.
Your price comes from your own site, and on Santa Monica lots it mostly turns on size, access, how much old concrete has to come out, the base, the steel and the finish. I measure the area, look at access and the existing slab, and send a written scope with each of those as its own line. That way you can compare our bid with anyone else's, item by item.
You'll be off a new driveway longer than a new patio, because concrete keeps curing, slowly hardening to full strength, for days after the pour, and a car weighs far more than a person. Breaking out the old slab and building the base come before that, and if your job needs a permit, the city's review and inspections add to the calendar. Your written scope tells you when you can walk on it and when you can drive on it.
Most early cracks come from a weak subgrade, the soil the slab sits on, that was only raked level instead of dug out and packed, so it settles and the slab goes with it. Late or skipped control joints, the straight grooves we cut so the slab cracks along a line we chose, and pours in midday heat cause the rest. We pack the base, set rebar, the steel that holds the slab together, check where water runs so the slab falls away from the house, and cut the joints on time.
Plan review and permit submittals made since January 1, 2026 are reviewed under the 2025 California building standards, according to the city's plan review page. A project submitted before then stays on the earlier code unless major revisions or an expired permit call for a new review. If your rebuild started under the old code, we pour to the drawings your architect or engineer had approved.
Santa Monica needs a soils report for new construction, for additions larger than 750 square feet, and for certain projects in areas with ground hazards. That report shapes how the footings and slab are built, so we read it before pricing and work alongside the soil consultant on site.
Not as a first step, because Santa Monica's building permit process is fully paperless and every application and document goes into the city's Electronic Plan Review System before any counter visit. The permit center is open 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, by appointment. When we handle the concrete side of the paperwork, we follow that same process.
