Concrete driveway building in Bothell WA - a slab that stays level and drains
Cracks, sinking or water pooling on your driveway? We pack the base first, then pour a slab built for what you park on it.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We reply within 1 business day.
What goes into a new concrete driveway in Bothell?
Concrete driveway building in Bothell means our crew digs out and packs the base, sets the slope so rain runs away from your house, then pours, finishes and cures a slab sized for what you park on it.
Most people call us when an old driveway has cracked, sunk at one end or started holding water, or when they're building new and would like it done right the first time. The price turns mostly on the size of the slab, how thick it needs to be for your vehicles, whether an old driveway has to come out first and whether the work reaches the street. The schedule depends on the weather, the cure and any city permit for the street end, and your written estimate spells out what's included and what isn't for your own driveway. If you're also thinking about the back of the house, I'm glad to look at a concrete patio on the same visit.
How can you tell your driveway needs replacing?
Cracks running across it
Cracks that wander across the slab instead of following its grooves usually mean the ground underneath moved, or the slab was never given a planned place to crack. Left alone, rain gets into them every winter, the edges break down, and what could have been a repair turns into a replacement.
One end sinking or tilting
A slab that drops at the garage or the street, or tips enough to catch a toe, usually sat on dirt that was raked flat instead of dug out and packed. It tends to keep going, so the step it leaves gets rougher to drive over and easier to trip on.
Water pooling near the house
Puddles that sit after rain, or a slab that sends water toward the garage door, usually mean nobody checked where the water would go before the pour. Every storm then soaks the same spot, which wears the surface and puts water right where you don't want it.
Concrete driveway building, step by step, the way we do it
Before I price a driveway, I ask what you'll park on it, because a work truck or RV changes how we build the slab. Our crew then digs out the soft ground and packs a firm subgrade, the layer the slab rests on, since a base that's only raked level settles with the dirt and takes the concrete down with it. We check where water runs on your lot and set the slope so it falls away from the house, then set the forms and lay rebar, steel bars that hold the slab together if it does crack, where the job calls for it. We pour early in the day rather than in the midday heat, which can leave a weak, dusty top, and give it a broom finish, a light texture that gives tires and shoes grip in the rain. We cut the control joints, shallow grooves that tell the slab where to crack, on time instead of late, and then let it cure, the slow hardening it needs before anyone uses it. If a budget gets tight, I'd rather keep the money in the base and spend less on the finish, because the base is buried on the first day and it's the part that decides whether the driveway stays flat.
Many people pair a new driveway with concrete patio construction out back, planned on the same visit so the levels and drainage work together. If you'd like a pattern pressed into a border or the whole surface, our stamped concrete services can be part of the same plan.
Standard slab for everyday cars
This suits most households with cars and SUVs, and it keeps the cost down without cutting corners. We still dig out and pack the base the same way, because thickness doesn't help if the ground under it moves.
Heavier slab for trucks and RVs
If a work truck, a camper or an RV will sit on it, we build a thicker slab and usually add steel. It costs more, but it's the right choice when the load is heavier than a family car.
Broom finish or a stamped border
A broom finish is the practical choice for grip and price, and it's what I suggest when the budget is tight. A stamped border along the edges suits people who want the driveway to match a patio or walk without paying to pattern the whole slab.
Get a written driveway estimate at your property
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set up a visit. I'll come out, look at the site and give you a free written estimate, with no pressure to book.
- Based in
- Bothell, WA 98011
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM
What happens after you call us about a driveway?
Here's how a driveway job runs from your first call to the day you park on it, and what you'll have in hand along the way.
Call or send the form
Call (425) 384-1147 or send the form, and tell us a little about the driveway. We'll set a time for me to come out and look.
I visit and write it up
I look at the site, check where the water runs and ask what you'll park on it, then give you a written estimate. It spells out what's included and what isn't, so you know exactly what you're paying for before you decide.
We settle permits and a date
Once you're ready, we sort out any permit questions and set a start date. If the street end needs a city permit, the date is planned around it.
We build it and walk it
Our own crew does the work with me leading it, and we walk the finished driveway with you. It then needs to cure, and I'll tell you when it's ready for foot traffic and when it's ready for the car.
Why Bothell homeowners call C&S Bothell Concrete Contractors for driveways
I write your estimate myself
I come out to look at your driveway and write the estimate myself, and our own crew does the work with me leading it on site. The person who measured your slope and asked about your truck is the one standing there on pour day.
In business since 2017
I learned concrete on crews around here, pouring flatwork, which is driveways, patios and walks, and foundations, and I started this business in Bothell in 2017. That background is why we spend so much time on the ground prep before any concrete arrives.
Licensed and insured, and easy to check
We're licensed and insured. Washington requires construction contractors to register with the state Department of Labor & Industries, and its Verify a Contractor tool lets you confirm a contractor's active registration and workers' comp coverage before you sign anything.
On a driveway, the work that counts most is the base you'll never see once the concrete is down. Please request your estimate, and I'll walk you through how we'd build yours.
Driveway building, the street end and stormwater in Bothell
If your driveway meets the street, the City of Bothell requires its Right-of-Way permit for any work in the public right-of-way, and that includes the driveway approach, where your driveway crosses from your lot to the road, and any digging in the street. The city checks the contractor's insurance and a verified state contractor license before it issues that permit. Afterward, it holds the contractor responsible for the workmanship and materials there for two years after its final inspection and acceptance. That's why we plan the street end with the city from the start, and when a permit is needed, we can prepare and file it and set your start date around it.
Bothell's surface water code counts driveways and concrete paving among the hard surfaces that keep rain from soaking into the ground, and it says development shall keep hard surface "to the minimum necessary" and use the controls in the city's stormwater design manual. So I'll ask early whether the driveway needs to be as wide or as long as you're picturing, and where its water will go. We're based in Bothell, and we work through the same long rainy seasons on driveway jobs in Kirkland and Woodinville.
Questions about concrete driveways in Bothell
How much does a concrete driveway cost in the Seattle area?
A Seattle-area cost guide puts an unreinforced concrete driveway, one with no steel in it, at about $7 to $13 per square foot. That's what the work usually runs around here, not our price, and your own figure moves with the size, the thickness and whether an old driveway comes out first. Your written estimate gives you the number for your driveway.
Do I need a permit for a new driveway in Bothell?
If any part of the work reaches the street, yes, because the City of Bothell requires its Right-of-Way permit for driveway approaches and other work in the public right-of-way. I look at the permit side of your whole job when I come out for the estimate, so you'll know where you stand before we set a date.
How thick should a concrete driveway be?
A Seattle cost guide says four to five inches is standard there and typically enough for everyday cars, and it suggests six to eight inches if trucks or RVs will park on it. That's why I ask what you drive before anything else, since a heavier vehicle changes how we build the slab and what it costs.
Can concrete be poured in freezing weather?
Only with protection, because concrete industry guidance says frozen concrete loses much of its potential strength and won't be durable. The same guidance calls for protecting a new slab for about two days after placement when freezing weather is possible. In the colder months, we plan the pour date around the forecast and how the slab will be protected.
What causes a new concrete driveway to crack?
Most early cracking starts underneath, because poor base preparation can lead to settling, uneven thickness and poor drainage, and each of those can crack a slab. Joints cut late or skipped add cracks in places nobody chose, which is why our crew packs the base and cuts the control joints on time.
How do I take care of a new concrete driveway in its first winter?
Skip deicing chemicals that first winter and use them in moderate amounts after that, which is what concrete industry guidance advises. The same guidance says dense concrete with entrained air, tiny bubbles mixed in on purpose, along with good placing and curing, makes a slab less likely to scale, the flaking you see on older driveways.
Related services to plan with your driveway
Concrete patio construction
When the backyard needs a flat, dry place for a table and grill, a concrete patio gives you one, and it can share planning with your driveway.
Stamped concrete services
If plain gray isn't the look you want, stamped concrete presses a stone, brick or slate pattern into the surface, on a border or across the whole slab.
Cities where we build concrete driveways
C&S Bothell Concrete Contractors is based in Bothell, WA, and works across the cities around it, including Redmond and Kenmore. The 12 areas below each have their own page. If you're not sure we come out your way, please just ask.
Ask for your written driveway estimate
If you call (425) 384-1147 or send the form with the rough square footage, which vehicles park there, and whether the old driveway comes out or the work reaches the street, I can come to your visit prepared.