Concrete Contractors in Waukegan, IL

Waukegan is the most populous city in Lake County and one with deep roots, so concrete contractors here do a lot of replacement work on slabs poured generations ago. Founded in 1829, it became a town in 1849 and a city in 1859. The 2020 census counted 89,321 residents and 31,756 housing units on about 24 square miles. It sits on Lake Michigan about 11 miles south of the Wisconsin border.

Industrial roots, older housing

Waukegan grew around its harbor and its factories. The Chicago and Milwaukee Railway was built through town by 1855, and nearly 1,000 ships a year visited the harbor. Washburn & Moen began making barbed wire here in 1891, and the city added a sugar refinery, starch works, brass and iron works, and later a large Johns Manville plant. Workers needed homes, and many neighborhoods filled in during those decades.

Older homes like these often have:

• Steep front steps that have cracked or pulled away from the porch
• Narrow driveways beside the house, sometimes shared
• Detached garages with sunken, broken floors
• Public walks heaved by tree roots

Replacing old concrete the right way

When we replace an old slab, we do not just pour new concrete on the same weak ground. We break out the old material, dig out soft soil, place and compact a stone base, set forms with a proper slope, add reinforcement where it belongs and pour air-entrained concrete. Then we cut joints and cure the slab. That is what keeps a replacement from failing the same way the original did.

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Front steps in an older city

Front steps on older houses deserve their own section. Old steps often sit on no footing at all, so they settle and tip away from the house. New steps need a footing below the frost line, even rises, a proper landing at the door and a finish that grips in winter. We form and pour them as one solid piece where the layout allows.

Shared and side-by-side driveways

Where older Waukegan homes share a driveway, or a drive runs right along the lot line, replacement is a bit more involved.

What we do:

• Confirm the line. We ask where your property ends and plan the work to stay on your side, unless both owners want the full drive replaced.
• Coordinate with the neighbor. If the drive is shared, both owners need to agree on timing, since neither can park on it for several days.
• Saw-cut cleanly. When only one half is replaced, we cut a straight line so the new slab meets the old neatly.
• Plan drainage for both sides. We make sure the new slab does not send water onto the neighbor's property.
• Protect what is next to the drive. Foundations, fences and landscaping close to the work area get protection during tear-out.

Good planning up front keeps the job smooth for you and the people next door.

Getting an estimate

Tell us the address, what you want done and when you would like it finished. We visit, measure, look at drainage and the condition of the base, and give you a written estimate. Older homes sometimes hide surprises, like buried old slabs or debris under a driveway. If we find something during tear-out that changes the job, we stop and talk with you before going further.

Other work we do

Concrete patios and stamped concrete for backyards. Garage and shed slabs, including replacing old detached garage floors. Concrete driveways, from a single-car strip to a full two-car drive. Concrete repair for cracks and isolated settled sections.

We check whether the City of Waukegan requires a permit for your work, especially at the public sidewalk or driveway apron, before we schedule.