Ruts in the gravel, or a lot that's outgrown its traffic? We build concrete slabs planned around the cars and trucks you run.
Building a concrete parking lot in Balch Springs means placing slabs sized for the cars and trucks that will use them, with the joints laid out by the project's engineer. When the design and the building both suit parking use, a concrete lot usually gives many years of service with little upkeep.
Most people who call us have a gravel or asphalt lot that's breaking up, or a new building that needs parking. The part that decides how long the lot holds up is the one nobody sees on day one, the subgrade, which is the packed ground the slab sits on. It's also the first thing people want to trim from a budget, and I won't trim it, because a slab only stays as steady as the dirt under it.
The price moves with the size of the lot, how thick the engineer says the slabs need to be, how much work the ground needs before we pour, and whether truck traffic changes how the slabs are joined. The schedule turns mostly on the engineer's plan, the permit and the weather on pour day, so we check with the city on every job and tie the pour date to the inspections when a permit's needed. My estimate puts all of that in writing, so you can see what the price covers.
I've run Balch Springs Concrete since 2023, and I stay on hand for the parts of a job where mistakes usually get made. Here's who does what, and you can start it with a call to (214) 286-6733 or the form below.
I come out for every estimate, measure the site and look over what's there now, from the old surface to where the lot meets the curb. If you have a site map or the engineer's drawings, we go over them together on the spot.
The estimate spells out in writing what the price covers, so you can hold it up against other bids. We're licensed and insured. The city also requires every contractor working in Balch Springs to be registered with it, and that's worth asking anyone who bids your lot.
Once you say yes, we check with the city, file the permit when the job needs one, book the inspections and set the pour date around them. I'm on site with our crew from the forms through the pour and the cleanup.
I'll ask how many vehicles use the lot now, how many you expect later and whether trucks come through, because that shapes how the slabs are joined. Where trucks run regularly, an industry group recommends doweled joints, which are smooth steel bars set across each joint so one slab helps carry a heavy load over to the next. The engineer sets the design and we build to their plan, and if something on site doesn't match the drawings, I'll stop and tell you before we pour instead of guessing.
A parking lot often comes with other concrete work. Light poles, sign posts and short walls usually need concrete footings poured before or alongside the paving. If the building beside the lot has settled, we can look at foundation raising as a separate job.
Every lot goes through the same four steps, and each one only works if the step before it was done right.
We dig down to firm ground and pack the base in layers instead of raking loose dirt level, because a slab on loose fill settles when the dirt does. This is the step that's buried by the end of the job, so I check it before anything goes on top.
We set the forms to the engineer's lines and lay the rebar, the steel inside the slab that holds it together if it cracks, along with any dowels the plan shows. Then I measure again before the truck gets called, since fixing a form takes minutes and fixing a slab means tearing it out.
We pour, strike the surface flat and give it a broom finish, a light texture dragged across the top so tires and shoes grip when it's wet. Summer pours get planned around the heat, which the questions below cover.
We cut the control joints, the grooves that give the slab a straight place to crack, soon after the pour so it doesn't pick its own crack lines. Then the slab cures, the wait while it gains strength, and we tell you when it's ready for cars and when it's ready for trucks.
Tell us the site size in acres and about how many cars and trucks will use it, and send a site map showing the scope of work if you have one. We reply within one business day, then I come out to measure and look the site over with you. The estimate is free, done on site and comes with no obligation.
(214) 286-6733You set the loads, which means how many vehicles use the lot now and how that number may grow, and the civil engineer sets the concrete strength and the joints. That's the split an industry group recommends, so it helps to come to the first meeting with your counts and your plans for growth.
The city's permit list doesn't settle it, because it names Driveway/Flatwork permits, flatwork being flat slabs like drives and walks, and doesn't name parking lots, so we ask the city's permits and inspections office about your lot before we plan the pour. For a Driveway/Flatwork permit, the city's permit requirements ask for a site map showing the scope of work and an HOA approval letter if you need one, and work that breaks the curb carries a $5000 surety bond. The city warns that skipping a required permit can lead to fines or delays.
Under the state's construction stormwater permit, a project that disturbs one acre or more of ground needs coverage, and a smaller one needs none. A phased project that's part of a larger plan counts all of its disturbed ground together, which is why I ask for your site size in acres up front.
Yes, but the heat changes how the slab behaves, because concrete that's hot when it sets expands, and cooling overnight can add shrinkage and raise the risk of cracking. Ask any crew how they'll handle that overnight cooling. We plan summer pours for the cooler part of the day and talk through the cure with you before the truck's called.
Much of this region sits on Houston Black soils, highly expansive clays found across the Blackland Prairie from north of Dallas down to San Antonio, and they shrink and swell a lot as their moisture changes. That's why the slab thickness comes from a geotechnical engineer, a soil specialist who studies your site and recommends a thickness based on how well the ground holds it up, and weaker ground can call for a thicker slab and a higher price. If the plan calls for lime, a Texas lime trade group says a TxDOT lab test sets the right amount for that clay, because less than that only changes the soil for a while instead of stabilizing it.
The city's zoning has defined a parking space as at least 162 square feet, off any public street or alley, on an all-weather surface, so check the current zoning with the city when you count your spaces. We're based in Balch Springs and build across the cities around it, including Mesquite, Garland, Forney and Lancaster, where we meet much the same clay and the same kinds of lots.
We answer the phone every day from 7 AM to 11 PM at (214) 286-6733, so you can talk through your vehicle counts and site map while the plan is still taking shape.
If you're still working out what your lot needs, send us a message and we'll talk it through with you.
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