Replacing and repairing 60- to 80-year-old concrete
Most of Arden-Arcade was built out between 1945 and 1965, with the first neighborhoods dating to the 1920s and 1930s. Original driveways, walks and patios from that era are now 60 to 80 years old. At that age, ask the contractor to check the existing thickness at an edge and to compare it with today's usual 4-inch residential driveway minimum, with joints about 8 to 12 feet apart. When a slab is broken into many pieces or has settled repeatedly, driveway replacement is usually cleaner than another patch. Removal of old concrete typically runs $2 to $6 per square foot nationally before the new pour.
| What you see | Usual first option |
|---|---|
| Hairline cracks on a sound slab | Concrete repair and sealing |
| One panel sunk or tilted at a walk or garage | Leveling |
| Worn, stained surface, slab still solid | Resurfacing |
| Many broken pieces, wide moving cracks | Removal and replacement |
Mature trees, roots and lifted slabs
Arden-Arcade's neighborhoods include Arden Park, Sierra Oaks, Wilhaggin, Arden Oaks and the area around Del Paso Country Club (opened 1919), and its main streets carry inventors' names: Watt, Howe, Edison, Marconi, Bell. Where a mature tree stands near the concrete, roots under a driveway or walk lift and crack slabs, and replacing the concrete without dealing with the root only resets the clock. Ask the contractor how they will handle roots at the edge of the pour, whether an arborist should look first, and whether the new slab needs thicker edges or a different layout to stay clear of the trunk. Before cutting large roots, check whether county tree rules apply to that tree.
County permits and setbacks
Arden-Arcade is a census-designated place with about 94,659 residents, the second most populous CDP in California, and voters rejected cityhood in 2010 by 76 to 24 percent. For concrete work that means Sacramento County rules: a driveway approach in the county right-of-way needs a SacDOT encroachment permit, obtained by the owner or their representative before construction. The county's GI-21 form, Work Exempt from Permit, lists work that does not need a building permit; the state baseline exempts driveways and walks not more than 30 inches above grade, and exempt work still has to meet setbacks.
If your address is on the edge of the City of Sacramento, confirm jurisdiction first. The city and the county run separate driveway permit processes.
Patios and walkways behind ranch homes
Mid-century ranch homes often have a small original slab off the back door that owners want to replace with a larger concrete patio, sometimes stamped, plus new walkways to the side yard. Slope the patio away from the house and keep sprinklers from soaking the edge. Typical national installed ranges are $5 to $18 per square foot for a patio and $6 to $14 for a walkway; local prices come from quotes. Send a request and verify the contractor's license at cslb.ca.gov before signing.
Main guide: concrete contractors in Sacramento.