Concrete Contractor in Lakewood, WA - Driveways and Patios on a Packed Base
Cornerstone Tacoma Concrete is a Tacoma-based concrete contractor pouring driveways, patios, steps and garage floors in Lakewood, WA, plus footings and slabs for builders. I look at each job myself, and our crew does the work.
Get a Lakewood concrete estimate on site
I walk the slab, check where water runs and look at what's underneath.
Lakewood: lake lots and long-settled yards
Lakewood sits between Tacoma, University Place and Parkland, and most of what we pour here is around houses, with shops and rental properties mixed in. The calls run from cracked, sinking driveways at older homes to patios behind houses that back onto one of the lakes, like Gravelly Lake, where the yard often slopes toward the water and you have to think hard about where the runoff goes.
A lot of the concrete we tear out here failed from underneath. It was poured over dirt that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so it settled as the ground moved and cracked wherever it wanted, which is why I look at the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, before I talk about finish.
Working in Lakewood: permits, licenses and what moves the price
In Lakewood, building permits come from the city's Planning and Public Works Department, while outside agencies handle sewer, water, electrical and fire safety, so one job can touch more than one office. Before work starts I check which office covers your address and what it'll want to see, we handle the paperwork when a permit's needed, and if it's one you have to pull yourself, I tell you what to bring. When a permit is involved, the review usually sets the start date more than our crew's calendar does. It's also worth checking us the way you'd check anyone, because every contractor working here needs a state registration and a Lakewood business license, and the questions below say what each one covers.
Your price comes down to a few things: how big the slab is, whether we break out an old one first, how much base has to come out and go back in, how close the concrete truck can get, and the finish you pick. The schedule turns on the permit if there is one, the dig-out and curing, the wait while fresh concrete gains strength before you walk or drive on it. It's the same work we do in Auburn and back home in Tacoma, and the written estimate spells out the scope and your price so you can take your time with it.
Services in Lakewood, WA
Concrete driveway building
Older Lakewood driveways often sink because they sat on unpacked dirt. We break it out, pack a new base and cut control joints so cracks land where we choose.
Concrete patio construction
Lakewood backyards range from wide flat lots to tight, sloped ones near the water. We set the slope so rain runs away from your house.
Garage floor concrete
Garage slabs at older Lakewood houses often pit, chip or crack where water sits. We take out the damaged floor and pour new garage floor concrete on a packed base.
Concrete steps construction
Older front steps in Lakewood often pull away from the house. We pour new ones on footings, with rebar, the steel inside that holds them together.
Concrete retaining walls
Sloped Lakewood yards can slide soil onto patios and walks. We build concrete retaining walls with drainage behind them, so water drains out instead of pushing on the wall.
Concrete parking lot building
Lakewood's shops and rentals need parking that takes daily traffic. We pack a deep base and pour the slab thick enough for the vehicles that will use it.
Get a written concrete estimate for your Lakewood property
Send the form or call, and we'll reply within one business day. I'll set a time to come out to your Lakewood property, look at the job and the ground under it, and write the estimate myself. It's free, it comes in writing, and there's no obligation.
- Phone
- (253) 354-0081
- Location
- Tacoma, WA 98402
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 7 AM–10 PM
- Credentials
- Fully licensed and insured.
What Lakewood owners can count on
We're based in Tacoma, WA, and offer 16 concrete services across 12 service areas, Lakewood among them. Every estimate is free and done in person.
- Based in
- WA
- Tacoma
- Services
- 16
- Service areas
- 12
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a permit for a new concrete patio or driveway in Lakewood, WA?
You do if the new slab sits in a shoreline buffer or a critical area, because the city requires a permit there for any new hard surface, whatever its size. Elsewhere, the city's permit brochure doesn't name flatwork, the driveways, patios and walks we pour, and it says all work must meet code anyway. The brochure also notes it may not reflect the latest rules, so I check your address before we set a pour date.
Do I need a permit for a concrete shed slab in Lakewood?
The city doesn't require a permit for the shed itself when it's single-story, detached and unconditioned, with no more than 120 square feet of floor. That list doesn't speak to the slab under it, and a pad in a shoreline buffer or critical area falls under the hard-surface rule above, so we look at where it's going before we pour.
How do I find out who handles electrical and sewer permits for my Lakewood address?
Electrical permits come from either the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries or Tacoma Public Utilities, depending on which service area your address is in. Sewer, water and fire safety go through outside agencies such as Pierce County Sewer or West Pierce Fire & Rescue, and a job the city doesn't permit may still need one from them. On concrete work that usually comes up when a garage or shop slab is getting new outlets or lights, and we sort out which office it is at the estimate.
Does a concrete contractor from Tacoma need a Lakewood business license?
Yes, a business based outside Lakewood that does work in the city needs a Lakewood Non-Resident Business License. A business based in Lakewood adds a city endorsement to its Washington state business license instead, so either way it's fair to ask any contractor which one they hold.
How do I check that my concrete contractor is registered with the state?
Ask for their registration with the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, because state law requires every construction contractor to register and to be bonded and insured before they bid or do the work. On a residential job of $1,000 or more, the contractor also has to give you the state's disclosure notice to customers, so expect that paperwork before work starts.
How much does a concrete driveway cost in Lakewood, WA?
A Lakewood driveway is priced on its size, the tear-out, the base work, how close the truck can get and the finish, so I give you a written figure after I've seen it. When budgets get tight, people want to trim the base because nobody sees it on day one, but I'd rather give up a fancier finish, since the base is what keeps the new slab from settling like the old one. A plain broom finish, a light brushed texture that gives shoes and tires grip, is the usual way to save without cutting what's underneath.
Tell us about your Lakewood concrete job
Call (253) 354-0081 or send the form and tell me what you're seeing, from cracks to pooling water.