Plain gray concrete that looks tired next to your house? We add color and pattern, and plan the finish and sealer for coastal air.
Decorative concrete adds color and pattern to a slab, either by pressing stamping tools into colored concrete or with a stain that etches and permanently colors the surface, and in Malibu it lets a patio, driveway or pool deck match the house instead of sitting there plain gray.
Most people who call us about this have a plain slab that looks worn next to the house, or they're planning a new patio or pool deck and want color from the start, and if pattern is what you're after, our stamped concrete page goes further into it. The price moves with the size of the area, the finish you choose, how much old concrete has to come out first, how easy it is to get the truck and crew to the spot, and whether you want a sealer. The schedule turns mostly on whether the city has to sign off before we start, then on the weather and on curing, the wait while the concrete gains strength before you use it. After I measure, I send a written scope with a price you can compare line by line.
I come out and take the measurements myself, so the person pricing your job is the one who watches it get done. Our crew does the work with me there, and we work alongside your engineer, architect or soil consultant when a project has one.
Before concrete I ran a small sign shop for years, where a job was only right if every measurement was right. I learned this trade next to experienced finishers and foundation crews, and we're known for careful prep and for writing down what goes under and into the concrete.
We're fully licensed and insured. California's state license board describes a concrete contractor as one who forms, pours, places and finishes flat and other concrete work, which covers this whole job from forms to finish. Call (424) 388-5404 or send the form to set up a visit.
We reply within one business day, by phone or by message, and the estimate is free, done at your property and comes with no obligation. I come out to measure the area, look at access and any existing concrete, then send a written scope with a price you can compare line by line. It helps to have the rough square footage, the finish you're leaning toward and a few photos of the area ready when you call (424) 388-5404 or send the form.
Most building in Malibu falls under the city's Local Coastal Program unless it's exempt, and a city planner decides whether your project needs a coastal development permit, so I don't treat that as settled until I've looked into what the city asks for at your address and told you what I found. Where approvals are needed, we plan the start around them and can handle the concrete side of the paperwork or work alongside your architect or engineer, though the office serving your address has the final word. The city's permit guide also lists a preliminary hydrology report, a study of how water drains, for projects that add more than 500 square feet of hard surface water can't soak through, counted by footprint only, or that include grading or drainage work, and a planner can tell you whether yours does. Work that uses the public right of way needs an encroachment permit from the city, and the city requires construction and demolition projects to recycle or reuse at least 65 percent of their waste, so when old concrete comes out, where it goes is part of the plan.
Many of our Malibu calls are patios and pool decks for homes near the water, where salt air is why the sealer conversation comes up, and owners working through a rebuild with their architect or engineer. We're based in Malibu and take jobs in many of the cities around it, including Topanga and Santa Monica, so if you're not sure we cover your address, just ask when you call.
There's no set price, because the finish, the size of the area and the prep change the number more than anything else. A stain on a sound existing slab usually costs less than tearing out old concrete and pouring a new stamped one, and a sealer or water repellent plan adds to it. You'll see each of those as its own line in the written scope.
Start with the look you want, then ask who's doing it. One stain maker says its reactive stain gets its mottled, natural color through a complex multistep process and that only experienced contractors and artisans should attempt it. So if that's the look you want, ask any contractor you're considering about their staining experience.
One colored concrete maker says differences in site conditions, the mix, curing, finishing and sealers can all cause color variation in the finished concrete. That means you should plan on some natural shade changes rather than one exact color across the whole surface. It's the reason we talk it through before you pick a finish.
Ask whether a penetrating water repellent belongs in your upkeep plan. One maker says its coastal water repellent screens salts from reaching the steel inside concrete, which cuts down on rust and spalling, the flaking of the surface. If you're near the ocean, that's part of the sealer plan we go over with you.
A city planner decides that for your project, so nobody can promise you the answer before the city weighs in. The city offers exemption forms, including ones for single-family home improvements and for repair and maintenance, and the planner can tell you whether one fits. I look into it for your address before we price the job.
The state license board caps a down payment at $1,000 or 10 percent of the total contract price, whichever is less. Any later payments have to be clearly listed in the contract and tied to work completed or materials delivered. The written scope I send lists the work line by line, which makes those payments easy to check.
