Concrete Contractor in Country Club, FL - Slabs Built for Low, Wet Ground

I can only give you a real number after walking your driveway, because no two lots here need the same tear-out and base work. The finish moves it too, since a plain broom finish costs less than stamped or colored concrete. If the budget is tight, cut the finish before the base, because the base is buried on day one and it's what decides whether a nice top holds up.

Some home projects valued under $7,500 can go through a process with no building permit under a newer state law, but only when they meet the county's permit exemption criteria. That covers single-family homes, duplexes, townhouses and structures on those lots, not units in multi-family buildings or properties partly or fully in a flood hazard area, and you can't split one job into smaller phases to get under the line. The owner or contractor asks for it in writing, with the contract showing the work and its value, through the county portal or the Permitting and Inspection Center, and it covers only the building permit, so other county or state offices may still want their own approval.

A state certified contractor can work anywhere in Florida, while a registered contractor can work only in the cities or counties where they hold a certificate of competency. So if a registered contractor bids your job in Country Club, ask whether their certificate covers Miami-Dade County, since one that covers only Broward wouldn't.

Yes, the county's Board of Rules and Appeals has endorsed county-wide guidelines for legalizing work done without permits. They don't apply to missed inspections on work that was permitted, or to any repair or addition begun before March 1, 2002. If an old slab or patio on your lot may fall under this, tell me at the estimate and we'll check with the county before we tie new concrete into it.

If your lot is in the Country Club Urban Area zoning district, a new addition that meets the zoning rules needs the county's Administrative Site Plan Review approval, with a pre-application review first. Interior and exterior improvements that add no building area don't need that review. When an addition does, we schedule the pour once the approval and the permit are in place.

Usually it's the ground under the slab rather than the concrete, because a base that was only raked level settles as the wet soil beneath it shifts, and the slab drops and cracks with it. Control joints that are cut late or skipped make it worse, since those shallow cuts give a crack a straight, planned place to run, and so does a pour in midday heat, which leaves a weak, dusty top. Concrete still cracks, so we can't stop every crack, but a packed base and joints cut on time usually keep them where we chose.