Concrete Contractor in Ocean Springs, MS - Driveways and Slabs Sloped for Coastal Rain
Gautier Concrete is a concrete contractor pouring driveways, patios, garage floors and slab foundations for homes and small businesses in Ocean Springs, MS. I look at each job myself, and my crew handles the base, pour and finish.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Ocean Springs homes, from old cottages to new subdivisions
Ocean Springs is mostly homes, and that's most of our work here. Near downtown and the water we see older houses, some of them raised, with live oaks shading the yard and roots running under the old drive. Farther out we see newer subdivisions where the driveway and patio are the first real pour on the lot. We also pour for small businesses in the city, and we work the same kinds of yards next door in Gulf Hills and over in Gautier, where we're based.
That spread shapes the job. An older lot usually means tearing out a tired slab and dealing with roots and soft ground under it, while a new lot means building a base of packed fill instead of trusting whatever got graded in.
Concrete work we do in Ocean Springs
Concrete driveway building
When an old driveway has sunk or split, we dig out the soft ground, pack a firm base and slope the new pour away from the garage.
Concrete patio construction
A patio here takes hard rain, so we pitch it toward the yard and broom the surface, a light texture that keeps it from getting slick.
Stamped concrete services
Stamped concrete gives a patio or walk the look of stone or brick to suit an older house, poured on the same packed base as any slab.
Concrete sidewalk building
Walks heaved by oak roots or sunk where water sits turn into trip hazards, so we replace the bad sections and cut joints where cracks should go.
Garage floor concrete
A garage floor that's cracked, sunk or holding water after a storm gets torn out and repoured thick enough for your car, with a slope toward the door.
Decorative concrete
Colored and textured concrete lets a front walk, porch or patio fit the house it's attached to, older cottage or newer build, without giving up a solid base.
Concrete retaining walls
On a sloped yard or along a low spot, a concrete retaining wall holds the soil back and gives you a level place for a patio or drive.
Concrete floor installation
For a shop, storage building or addition, we pour a flat interior floor with rebar inside, steel bars that hold any cracks tight so they don't spread.
Concrete pool decks
Pool decks here see wet feet and hard rain, so we give them a gripping texture and slope them to send water away from the pool and house.
Concrete steps construction
Raised and older homes here often have tall front steps, so we build them with even risers on a solid footing that carries their weight.
Slab foundation building
For a new home or addition, we pour the slab on dug-out, packed fill, because everything built on it depends on that ground staying put.
Foundation installation
For a new build or an older house whose foundation has failed, we set footings and walls to your plans and to the ground we find digging.
Concrete parking lot building
Small business lots in Ocean Springs need room for cars and delivery trucks, so we pour them thicker where heavy wheels turn and slope them to drain.
Concrete footings
Decks, porches, carports and additions need footings, the concrete pads that carry the weight down to firm ground, sized for what sits on them.
Foundation raising
If you're raising an older house to get it higher off the ground, we pour the new footings and foundation work it sits on afterward.
Concrete cutting
We saw out cracked sections, cut openings for doors or drains, and cut control joints in fresh slabs so cracks follow straight lines we chose.
Get a free on-site concrete estimate in Ocean Springs
We reply within one business day to set a visit. I'll look at the spot with you and explain what I see before anything goes on paper, and there's no pressure and no obligation.
- Based in
- Gautier, MS 39553
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–9 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–9 PM
What to know before a concrete job in Ocean Springs
In Ocean Springs, the city's Building Department handles construction permits and inspections, so whether your job needs a permit is the city's call, and your pour date can wait on that answer. Before you hire anyone, you can look a contractor up with the Mississippi State Board of Contractors, which licenses residential and commercial contractors, and ask to see a current city privilege license, the business license anyone working for pay in Ocean Springs has to carry. Those run through September 30 each year, so an old one on the wall doesn't count.
We're fully licensed and insured, and we check what your address needs before anything goes on the calendar. After that, the price and the schedule mostly come down to the size and thickness of the slab, whether old concrete has to come out first, how much digging and packing the ground needs, the finish you pick and the weather the week of the pour. The estimate visit is where you get your own figure, the same way it works for our jobs in D'Iberville and across Jackson County.
Rain and soft ground are hard on slabs here
Many parts of Ocean Springs can go under water in heavy coastal rain, even outside the mapped flood zones. Water that sits against a slab or runs under it softens the subgrade, the dirt the concrete rests on, and once that washes out or settles, the slab sinks, tips toward the house or cracks across. So before we form anything we look at where your water goes, slope the new concrete away from the house and dig out and pack the base so rain doesn't find a soft spot.
Older yards bring their own trouble, with oak roots lifting walks and old slabs poured on a raked base that settled with the dirt. When we replace one, the bad base comes out with the concrete, because a new top on the same soft ground ends up looking like the old one.
How a concrete job runs with us in Ocean Springs
Here's how a job goes from your first call to the day you can use the new concrete, and the points where you'll want to be part of it.
Call or send the form
Call (228) 263-3738 or send the form, and we'll set a time for me to come out. It helps if you're home for the visit so you can show me the problem spots.
Walk the spot with me
I look, measure and ask how you'll use the space, then explain what I see before I put any price on paper. You get your choices in plain words, including where spending more on the base is worth it.
Sort out permits and flood questions
Before we set a date, I point you to the city or county office for permit and flood zone questions, and we walk you through the paperwork so you know who's handling each piece. Your pour date follows that answer, then the weather.
Prep, pour and cure
My crew and I dig out and pack the base, pour and finish, with me on site most days. Then I walk you through caring for the slab while it cures, the stretch when it's still gaining strength and needs to stay damp and clear of cars.
Questions about concrete work in Ocean Springs
Do I need a permit to pour a concrete driveway or patio in Ocean Springs?
Plan on asking, because the city says most construction projects need a permit before work begins. If you're not sure about your driveway or patio, call the city at 228-875-6712 and ask. We check what your address needs before we set a date, so nobody's pouring on a guess.
Can I pull my own permit for concrete work on my house in Ocean Springs?
Yes, the city lets homeowners permit their own residential building work. If a contractor pulls the permit instead, the city wants a state contractor license and a Mississippi privilege license from where that contractor's business is based, so ask about both before you hire.
Do Ocean Springs flood rules affect a new house slab or foundation?
They can if your lot is in the floodplain, because the city wants any work there permitted before it starts and requires 18 inches of freeboard, extra height above the base flood elevation on FEMA's maps. In a V-Zone, the coastal zone that takes wave action, foundation designs also need a licensed engineer's stamp. We ask the city what applies to your lot and pour to the height your plans and permit set.
How much does a concrete driveway cost in Ocean Springs?
We give you a price after seeing the spot, because the tear-out, the base and the drainage on your lot decide most of it. A stamped or colored finish costs more than a plain broom finish, and extra thickness or rebar for heavy vehicles adds to it. If the budget's tight, I'd rather trim the finish than the base, because a nice top on a soft base settles, and you can't fix the base later without breaking out the slab.
How long does it take before I can drive on a new concrete driveway?
You can walk on new concrete well before you can drive on it, and I'll give you both dates for your pour, because heat, cold and rain all change how fast it cures. Your time without a driveway also includes tearing out the old one and building the base, which depends on what we find underneath, so we plan where you'll park ahead of time.
What causes concrete driveways and patios to crack and sink in Ocean Springs?
Most cracking and sinking here starts underneath, with a base that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, or rain running under the slab and softening the ground. All concrete shrinks a little as it dries, so we cut control joints to keep the cracks that do form in straight lines we chose, and in summer we pour early so the heat doesn't leave a weak, dusty top.
Gautier, MS
Talk through your Ocean Springs concrete job
It's a lot easier to fix a drainage problem on paper than after the concrete sets, so call (228) 263-3738 or send the form while the spot's still dirt.