Concrete Contractors in Pueblo, CO

Pueblo is the city in our name, and as concrete contractors we plan every pour around what this city's weather and ground do to a slab. Pueblo sits at 4,692 feet where the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek come together. It averages just 12.02 inches of precipitation a year, yet it still collects about 28.3 inches of snow, with the first measurable snow arriving around November 4 and the last around April 9. That mix of dry heat and real winter is what your driveway, patio or sidewalk has to live through.

Heat, cold and a wide daily swing

The numbers on Pueblo's climate record explain a lot of the cracking we see. The city averages 71.6 days a year at 90 degrees or warmer and 12 days at 100 or more, and the record high is 109 degrees, set on July 13, 2003. In winter the high stays below freezing on about 14.4 days a year, and lows reach zero or colder on about 6.2 nights. The record low is 31 below. On top of that, the average gap between the day's high and low is 32.5 degrees.

Concrete grows and shrinks with temperature. A slab that heats in the afternoon sun and cools fast after dark moves every single day. So we cut control joints at a tight spacing, usually no more than two to three times the slab thickness in feet, and we make sure the joints go deep enough (about a quarter of the slab depth) that the crack forms where we want it, not across the middle of your patio.

Pouring in a Pueblo summer

Hot, dry air pulls water out of fresh concrete before it can cure. That leads to plastic shrinkage cracks, a weak dusty surface and finish problems on stamped work. On summer jobs we schedule the pour for early morning, dampen the base so it does not soak water out of the mix, and keep the surface moist or covered with a curing compound once it is finished. We would rather start at sunrise than fight a 95-degree afternoon.

The ground under the slab

The Colorado Geological Survey calls expansive clay the state's most significant geologic hazard. These clays can swell up to 20 percent by volume when they get wet, and the survey lists cracked and heaved sidewalks, patios, driveways and garage floors as common signs. Not every Pueblo lot has swelling clay, but in a city this dry, the water that reaches the soil under a slab usually comes from downspouts, sprinklers and poor drainage. We grade the base so water runs away from the house, compact a granular base course, and talk with you about where downspouts discharge before we form anything.

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Older homes, older concrete

Pueblo is not a new city. It incorporated in 1885, and Pueblo, South Pueblo and Central Pueblo consolidated in 1886, with Bessemer joining in 1894. The 2000 census counted 43,121 housing units here, and the city reached 111,876 people in 2020. A lot of those homes have walks, steps and driveways that have been patched more than once. When we look at old concrete, we decide whether it can be repaired or whether the base underneath has failed, which is the honest answer to whether a patch will last.

What we pour in Pueblo

• Concrete driveways with a 4-inch or thicker slab, a compacted base and air-entrained concrete for freeze-thaw resistance.
• Concrete patios sized for shade structures and grills, sloped so water leaves the house.
• Stamped concrete with color and a sealer, plus a slip-resistant additive where snow and ice are a concern.
• Sidewalks and walkways, including front walks, side-yard paths and steps.
• Concrete slabs for sheds, garages, RV pads and hot tubs.
• Concrete repair: crack sealing, joint sealing, resurfacing and section replacement.

If your project touches the curb, gutter or the public sidewalk, we check with the City of Pueblo on whether a permit is needed before work starts.