Concrete Contractors in Macon, GA

As concrete contractors in Macon, we build and repair driveways, patios, walkways and slabs all over Macon-Bibb County. The consolidated city and county covers about 254.9 square miles and counted 157,346 people in the 2020 census. That is a lot of ground, and it is not all the same ground, which matters more for concrete than most homeowners expect.

Two kinds of terrain in one city

Macon sits near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, the line where the hills of the Piedmont run into the flat coastal plain. North Macon has rolling hills. South Macon is flatter. A driveway on a north-side slope has to handle water running down it and the pull of gravity on the base. A patio on flat south-side ground has the opposite problem: water has nowhere to go unless we give it somewhere.

So the first thing we do on any Macon job is look at grade. We check which way the yard falls, where gutters empty and where the water will sit after a storm. Then we set the forms so the finished surface sheds water away from the house, usually with a gentle slope you will never notice when you walk on it.

Built for the heat

The climate data for Macon shows an average of 83 days a year at 90 degrees or hotter, and a July mean high of about 93.5 degrees. Heat is hard on fresh concrete. Water leaves the surface too fast, the top can crust before the slab below is ready, and shrinkage cracks show up where they should not.

On summer pours we start early, keep the base damp before the truck arrives, and plan the finishing so nobody is racing the sun. Curing comes next. We keep moisture in the slab with a curing compound or covers so it gains strength slowly and evenly. Control joints get cut or tooled at the right spacing so the cracks that every slab wants to make happen in a straight line where you planned them.

Rain, and lots of it

Macon averages roughly 46 inches of rain a year. In July 1994, Tropical Storm Alberto dropped about 24 inches on the city and caused major flooding, and the single wettest day on record, July 5, 1994, brought 10.25 inches. Most years are nowhere near that, but heavy downpours are normal here.

That is why base prep is where we spend our time. We dig out soft soil, bring in and compact a stone base, and pay attention to drainage at the edges. A slab poured on a weak, wet base will settle and crack no matter how nice the surface looks on day one.

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A city full of trees

Macon is home to roughly 300,000 to 350,000 Yoshino cherry trees, the reason it hosts the International Cherry Blossom Festival each spring. The first plantings for the festival went in during 1973 along Wesleyan Woods Drive, Guerry Drive and Oxford Road, and older streets are also shaded by big oaks and pines. Trees are a big part of what makes Macon pleasant, and they are also one of the main reasons walks and driveways heave here.

When a walk or drive near a tree needs replacing, we expose the problem root before deciding anything. Sometimes the new slab can be shifted a little, sometimes a joint can be placed right over the root zone, and sometimes a thicker section with steel is the answer. We do not cut a large root on a tree you want to keep without talking it through first.

Freezes still happen

Macon is warm most of the year, but the average freeze window runs from about October 18 to April 19. A handful of hard freezes each winter is enough to punish concrete that soaks up water. We use air-entrained mixes for exterior flatwork, which give water room to expand when it freezes, and we recommend sealing driveways and patios so less water gets in to begin with.

Permits and paperwork

Macon and Bibb County governments merged effective January 1, 2014, so most addresses now deal with one consolidated government. Whether your job needs a permit depends on what we are building and where. A new driveway apron that ties into the street is handled differently from a backyard patio. We check what applies to your address before the work is scheduled.

Getting a price

Call (478) 666-0956 or send the form. We come out, measure, look at the grade and the soil, and talk through finish options. You get a written estimate that spells out the square footage, thickness, reinforcement and finish, so you know exactly what you are paying for.