Concrete Contractors in Eden Prairie, MN

Concrete Contractors Eden Prairie pours new driveways, patios, stamped concrete, walks and steps, and garage and shed slabs for Eden Prairie homeowners, and repairs or replaces concrete that has worn out. The city lies in Hennepin County along the north bank of the Minnesota River, roughly 12 miles southwest of downtown Minneapolis, and its land rolls into hills and bluffs above the river. A great deal of the city's flatwork went in during a few fast decades, and that concrete is now old enough to crack, flake and settle.

The age of the city's concrete

Wikipedia's census table shows Eden Prairie at 6,978 residents in 1970. By 1990 it had 39,311, and by 2020, 64,198. Homes followed the same curve: an American Community Survey summary on Point2Homes gives a median build year of 1988, with 15.6% of homes from the 1970s, 33.7% from the 1980s and 21.1% from the 1990s. HomeGuide's driveway cost guide gives a concrete driveway a typical life of 30 to 40 years. Put the two together and a large slice of the original driveways, front walks and stoops in town are near or past that span. From the curb many still look fine. Up close the signs are there: hairline cracks that have widened, chipped corners, an apron sitting an inch below the garage floor, and pitted patches in the tire tracks where salty slush drips every winter.

Winter is the real load

At the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, the 1991 to 2020 normals put the average January high at 23.6 degrees and the low at 8.8, with 51.2 inches of snow a year. Spring and fall swing above and below freezing over and over. Water that has soaked into the top of a slab expands as it freezes, and after enough cycles the surface lets go in thin flakes. That is scaling, and street salt speeds it up.

Five things decide whether exterior concrete survives it:

• Entrained air. The mix carries microscopic air pockets that give freezing water somewhere to go. Every outdoor pour we do uses it.
• Gravel under the slab. A compacted, free-draining layer keeps water from pooling under the concrete, where it can freeze and lift it.
• Fall. The finished surface needs enough pitch to shed water off the slab and away from the house.
• Joint layout. Concrete shrinks as it dries and moves with the seasons. Saw cuts or tooled joints at planned spacing give it a neat place to crack.
• Cure, then seal. Slow curing builds a tighter surface, and a sealer applied later cuts down on water and salt soaking in.

Slopes, water and soil

Eden Prairie's lakes and recreation areas include Staring Lake, Lake Riley, Round Lake, Purgatory Creek and Bryant Lake, and much of the land rolls. If your lot falls toward a pond or creek, or your driveway climbs from the street, the grade drives the design. A steep drive gets a broom texture for traction and careful transitions at both ends. A patio on the downhill side of the house has to be pitched so water leaves the foundation. Soil varies as well. The USDA's Eden Prairie soil series, named for a site on the Eden Prairie map quadrangle, is a fast-draining sandy loam over sand that formed in glacial outwash, but a neighboring lot can be quite different. Before setting the base depth, we dig and look at what is actually under the old slab.

The city's rules

Eden Prairie's Planning Division says a driveway can be installed or replaced without a permit unless a new curb cut is created. In R1 residential districts the surface has to be cement, asphalt or permeable pavers (no crushed rock), the drive must stay 3 feet off a side lot line, and it can be up to 30 feet wide at the curb. The city adds that the public right-of-way typically runs 10 to 12 feet back from the curb, and that any lot within 300 feet of a tributary or 1,000 feet of a lake sits in a shoreland overlay district. For patios, steps, slabs and lots near a lake or creek, we confirm what applies before anything is dug.

Get a Free Estimate

From first call to finished slab

1. Site visit. Measurements, a look at the old concrete, the grade and where the downspouts drain, and a talk about finishes. 2. Line-item quote. Square footage, thickness, gravel depth, steel, finish, joints and the price. 3. Locates. Gopher State One Call needs 48 hours' notice, not counting the day of the call, weekends or holidays. We file the request. 4. Tear-out and base. The old concrete is broken out and hauled away, the subgrade is dug to depth, and gravel goes in and is compacted in layers. 5. Forms, steel, pour. Forms are set to grade, rebar or mesh goes on chairs, and the concrete is placed, finished, jointed and coated with curing compound. 6. Hands off. Walking is usually fine within a few days. Cars wait longer, and we give you the dates.

What we build and fix

• Concrete Driveways: full replacement or a first pour, with thickened edges and an apron that lines up with the garage slab.
• Concrete Patios: new backyard slabs, add-ons to an existing patio, and pads for a hot tub or grill.
• Stamped Concrete: color and texture that imitate slate, flagstone or brick.
• Sidewalks & Steps: entry walks, side-yard paths, stoops and cast-in-place steps.
• Garage & Shed Slabs: floors for detached garages, sheds and shops.
• Concrete Repair & Replacement: sealing cracks, raising sunken panels, and swapping out sections that are past saving.

Call (952) 209-8658 for a free estimate in Eden Prairie or one of the towns nearby.

Eden Prairie comes first, from the streets near Staring Lake and Lake Riley to the bluff neighborhoods above the Minnesota River and the blocks along Highway 212 and I-494. Neighboring cities with their own pages here: Minnetonka, Edina, Bloomington, Hopkins, St. Louis Park, Richfield, Golden Valley and Plymouth to the north and east; Shakopee, Savage, Prior Lake, Burnsville and Eagan along the Minnesota River; and Chanhassen, Chaska, Victoria, Carver, Waconia, Wayzata, Shorewood, Excelsior and Mound to the west and around Lake Minnetonka. Driveway, curb cut and right-of-way rules change at every city line, and so does the age of the housing. Each town page lays out what applies there.