Concrete Contractors in Memphis, TN

Memphis homeowners call concrete contractors for a wider range of jobs than almost anywhere else in the Mid-South, because the housing runs from early twentieth-century Midtown bungalows to 1990s subdivisions on the east side. The city counted 633,104 residents at the 2020 census and covers more than 300 square miles. That much ground means very different concrete problems from one ZIP code to the next, and we plan each job around the house and street in front of us.

Sidewalks are the owner's job in Memphis

The City of Memphis Engineering Division states in its Sidewalk Repair Guide that maintaining the sidewalk next to your property is the responsibility of the private property owner, including the cost of repairs. The city handles curbs, gutters, ramps and drains, and damage caused by utility poles or signs. Owners can hire any contractor, but the guide says the contractor must be bonded for concrete sidewalk work and permitted with the city. Uneven panels are listed as a common violation, and the fix the city names is replacing the damaged panels. Some owners of a primary residence may qualify for city financial help based on age, income or physical ability, so it is worth calling 311 before you pay for public walk work.

When a tree is the cause

Memphis has a lot of old street trees, and roots are the most common reason a sidewalk panel rises. The guide notes that owners can ask the Memphis Tree Board to review a tree that is damaging the sidewalk, and that root mitigation or removal may be required in some cases. We like to know the answer to that before we form a new panel, because pouring fresh concrete over an active root only buys a few years.

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High ground, silty soil

Memphis was built on the high Chickasaw Bluffs above the Mississippi, which kept the original city above most river floods. The uplands are covered in wind-blown silt called loess. USGS mapping of the southeast Memphis quadrangle describes loess entirely covering the uplands at 4.5 to 16 meters thick, with silty alluvium in the narrow floodplains along creeks like Nonconnah. Loess compacts well and makes a good base when it stays dry. Let water collect under a slab and it loses strength quickly, so we grade every pour to shed water and we compact the subgrade before the base stone goes down.

Rain and ice

The city averages close to 55 inches of precipitation a year, and ice storms and freezing rain are a bigger danger here than snow. In the February 1994 ice storm, freezing rain coated Memphis in one to two inches of ice and more than half of MLGW customers lost power, many for more than two weeks. Ice storms bring de-icers, heavy limbs and repeated freeze-thaw onto driveways and steps. We use air-entrained mixes for exterior work, cure the surface properly, and can seal new flatwork to help it stand up to that kind of winter.

Jobs we take on in Memphis

Front walk and public sidewalk panels, driveway tear-outs, new aprons, back patios, porch steps, carports and garage slabs. Call (901) 910-1055 and tell us your neighborhood and what is going on with the concrete.