Concrete Contractors in St. Louis Park, MN

Wikipedia says 60 percent of St. Louis Park's homes went up in one burst between the late 1940s and early 1950s, and that 66 new subdivisions were recorded from 1950 to 1956 to make room for 2,700 homes. For concrete contractors, that is a clear picture: a large share of the city's driveways, stoops and garage floors are original or have been patched many times, and they have reached the end of their useful life.

The city's driveway permit, step by step

St. Louis Park's Community Development handout on driveways says a permit is required before building a new, replacement or altered driveway. You apply for a parking lot or driveway permit through the zoning department. Routine maintenance such as filling potholes, seal coating and overlays does not need it, and the handout notes no inspection is required.

The handout's numbers:

• Apron: no wider than 22 feet
• Combined width: driveways, parking areas and turnarounds together up to 36 feet for a single-unit home
• Slope: 10 percent maximum
• Surfaces: asphalt, concrete or pavers; ribbon driveways are allowed with vegetation kept between the strips
• Access: one access for single-unit lots under 80 feet wide, two for lots 80 feet or wider

If the apron or a sidewalk crossing the driveway changes, a separate work-in-right-of-way permit from Engineering applies. Planners take questions at 952-924-2575.

Postwar homes and their concrete

Homes from that building burst usually sit on modest lots with short driveways. On slabs that old, the usual problems are:

• A front stoop that has settled and pulled away from the house, leaving a gap water runs into
• Garage floors cracked across the middle, sometimes with a sunken section by the door
• Driveways scaled and pitted from decades of salt
• Small back patios that have tipped toward the foundation

The 36-foot combined width gives many owners room to add a parking pad or turnaround next to an existing drive. A ribbon driveway is another option the city allows, if you like the look and want less hard surface.

Get a Free Estimate

Building it to last another seventy years

An original 1950s slab often sits on whatever soil was there when the house went up. When we replace one, we dig out to sound material, add and compact a granular base, and pour air-entrained concrete. Control joints go in at spacing that matches the slab thickness, and the surface gets a broom finish for grip. For steps, we tie the new stoop to the foundation correctly and keep the risers even.

Stamped concrete can dress up a back patio on a postwar house without changing the size of the slab. Detached garages behind some homes need new floors too, and we pour shed slabs where an old one has cracked or never existed.

Owners and rentals

Census estimates for 2020 to 2024 put St. Louis Park's owner-occupied rate at 57.8 percent, so we work with both homeowners and landlords. For rentals, safe steps, sound walks and a driveway that drains are the priorities.

Call (952) 209-8658 for a visit. We confirm what the zoning permit needs and give you a written estimate.