Concrete work looks simple from the sidewalk. Somebody builds forms, somebody pours grey material into them, a few days later it's hard. What you can't see from the sidewalk is the base prep, the rebar layout, the joint spacing, and whether the mix was right for our soil and our summers. Those are the things that decide whether your driveway is still flat in ten years or whether it's heaved and cracked by year four. Here's what actually separates a contractor worth hiring from one you'll be calling back to fix his own work.

Licensing and insurance, and why it's not a formality

In California, anyone doing concrete work over $500 in labor and materials needs a C-8 concrete contractor license from the CSLB, or they need to be working under a general B license as part of a larger job. Ask for the number and look it up yourself. You'll see how long they've held it, whether there are any bonds or judgments against it, and whether it's active. A legitimate outfit will give you the number without hesitation.

Insurance matters just as much. If a crew member gets hurt on your property and the contractor has no workers' comp, that liability can land on you. Ask for a certificate of insurance, not just a verbal assurance.

Reading the ground before you read the bid

San Bernardino sits on alluvial soil washed down out of the San Bernardino Mountains, mostly sand and decomposed granite that drains fast. That's good news in a lot of the newer subdivisions out toward Rialto and Fontana. But older parts of town, especially closer to the foothills around Highland and parts of the Del Rosa area, have pockets of clay-heavy soil that swells when it's wet and shrinks hard in our dry summers. That movement is what cracks slabs that were poured on grade without enough compacted base underneath.

A contractor who knows the area will tell you what's under your yard before he tells you a price. That usually means at least 4 inches of compacted aggregate base under a driveway or patio slab, more if the existing soil is soft or has organic material in it from an old lawn or garden bed. Skipping that step is the single most common reason a slab settles unevenly in its first few winters.

What a real bid should spell out

A one-line estimate that just says "pour concrete driveway, $X" tells you nothing. A bid worth signing should include:

  • Slab thickness. 4 inches is standard for driveways and patios, closer to 5 or 6 inches if it'll see a vehicle heavier than a passenger car.
  • PSI rating of the mix. 3,000 psi is common for walkways and patios. Driveways here should generally use 3,500 to 4,000 psi given our heat and the freeze-thaw swings we do get on winter nights.
  • Reinforcement. Rebar on a grid, typically #3 or #4 bar spaced 18 to 24 inches, holds a slab together better than wire mesh, which tends to sink to the bottom of the pour if it isn't chaired up properly.
  • Control joint layout. Joints should be cut within 24 hours of the pour, spaced at roughly two to two-and-a-half times the slab thickness in feet. For a 4-inch slab that's joints every 8 to 10 feet. Skip this and the concrete will crack wherever it wants to instead of where you told it to.
  • Cure and traffic timeline. You can usually walk on new concrete after 24 to 48 hours. Driving on it needs 7 days minimum, longer in cooler months.

If a bid doesn't mention any of this, ask. If the answer is vague, that's information too.

Permits, inspections, and HOAs around here

Most driveway, patio, and slab work in the city of San Bernardino needs a permit through the city's Building and Safety division, and unincorporated areas nearby go through San Bernardino County instead. A retaining wall over a certain height, usually around 3 to 4 feet depending on what's above it, almost always needs engineering and a permit regardless of jurisdiction. Sidewalk and driveway apron work that touches the public right-of-way often needs sign-off from the city's public works side too, since that strip technically belongs to the city even though you maintain it.

Inspections typically happen before the pour, not after. The inspector wants to see the base compaction, the rebar placement, and the forms before anything gets covered up in concrete. A contractor who pours before inspection, or who tells you permits are "optional" for a job that clearly needs one, is putting your resale and your insurance at risk, not just avoiding paperwork.

If you're in one of the newer planned communities on the east side or out toward Redlands, check your HOA's rules before you sign anything. Some HOAs restrict stamped concrete colors or patterns, or require approval on driveway width and finish before work starts. That's a conversation to have before the truck shows up, not after.

Signs to walk away from

A bid that's dramatically lower than three others usually means something's getting cut, and it's almost never the visible part. It's the base depth, the rebar count, or the mix strength.

Demands for full payment upfront are a red flag. A deposit is normal. Being asked to pay the whole job before a single yard of concrete has been delivered is not.

Watch for contractors who won't put the psi, thickness, or joint spacing in writing, who show up without a truck or crew of their own and clearly sub the whole job out without saying so, or who tell you a permit "isn't needed" for work that obviously requires one. Also be wary of anyone who wants to pour in the middle of a July afternoon without talking about it. Concrete that sets too fast in 100-degree heat can crack from rapid surface drying before it's cured properly underneath, and a contractor who knows what he's doing will either shade the pour, wet it down, or push the schedule to early morning.

Good concrete work in this city has to account for our soil, our heat, and our short but sometimes hard winter rains. That's the whole job description for the trade around here, whatever the specific project is. You can see how we handle that in our own concrete contractor work around San Bernardino, but whoever you hire, ask the questions above before you sign.