Concrete Contractor in Bedford, NH - Driveways and Slabs Built on a Solid Base
Quality Merrimack Concrete pours driveways, patios, walks, garage floors and foundations for homes in Bedford, NH. I come out to each job myself, and our own crew digs out the base, pours and finishes the slab.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Bedford homes, lots and the concrete work they need
Bedford borders our home base in Merrimack on one side and Manchester on the other, and most of the calls we get here come from homeowners. The houses run from older colonials and capes on wooded lots to newer homes with long driveways, attached garages and backyards that slope off toward the trees. There's also a share of offices and shops that need parking areas, walks and steps that hold up to plows.
Most lots here have stone and clay in the ground, and some stay wet into spring, so the job is usually decided under the old slab, and I won't know how far down the soft ground goes until we dig.
Concrete services we offer Bedford homeowners
Concrete driveway building
Long driveways here take a winter of plows, salt and frost, so we dig out the soft fill and pack a real base before the pour.
Concrete patio construction
A backyard patio on a Bedford lot starts with checking where the water runs, so the slab sheds rain away from the house instead of toward it.
Stamped concrete services
Stamped patterns suit the patios and front walks on newer colonials here, and we seal them so winter salt and freeze-thaw don't wear the color down early.
Concrete sidewalk building
A heaved or sunken front walk catches shovels and toes, so we replace it on a packed base with joints cut where cracks should go.
Garage floor concrete
Salty slush drips off cars here all winter, so pitted garage floors are a common call, and we pour new ones pitched toward the door.
Decorative concrete
Colored and exposed-stone finishes help a new walk or patio fit an older Bedford home, and we plan the finish around how much snow you'll shovel off it.
Concrete retaining walls
Sloped yards are common here, and a poured wall with drainage behind it holds back the hill, because water trapped behind a wall freezes and pushes it out.
Concrete floor installation
Basement, barn and workshop floors on Bedford's bigger lots need a flat, solid slab, and we set the base and vapor barrier before any concrete arrives.
Concrete pool decks
Pool decks here sit through a long freeze every year, so we pitch them to drain fast and give the top a texture that grips wet feet.
Concrete steps construction
Front steps on older homes here often tip or crumble at the edges after years of freeze-thaw, and we rebuild them on footings that sit below the frost.
Slab foundation building
Additions, garages and sheds on a slab need the ground under them prepared right, and we plan the base, edges and thickness before the pour.
Foundation installation
New homes and additions in Bedford need foundations dug below the frost and built to approved plans, so we work to what the inspector asks.
Concrete parking lot building
Small businesses and offices in Bedford need lots that hold up to plows and steady traffic, which starts with a thick, well-drained base.
Concrete footings
Decks, porches and garage additions here need footings poured below the frost line, because anything shallower lifts when the ground freezes each winter.
Foundation raising
When an older Bedford house has settled at a corner, we find out what moved it before lifting and supporting the foundation.
Concrete cutting
We cut clean openings in basement walls and garage slabs here for new doors, drains or egress windows, without breaking up more than the job needs.
Get a free on-site estimate for your Bedford concrete work
We reply within one business day of your call or message. Then I come out to Bedford myself, look at the spot and leave you a free estimate on site, with no pressure to book.
(603) 377-5028- Based in
- Merrimack, NH 03054
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–9 PM
Working in Bedford: permits, ground and what moves the price
Here the building permit comes from the Building Code Official at the Bedford Building Department, in the Safety Complex on Constitution Drive, and it's needed before anything is built, altered or moved, or any digging begins. On foundations, footings and slabs that permit usually sets the start date, so we help you find out what your job needs and get the paperwork moving, and the department decides what it asks for. We're licensed and insured, and I've worked as a concrete contractor in Merrimack, NH since 2013. Your price moves with the size of the slab, how deep the soft ground goes, whether an old slab has to come out and how easy the spot is to reach, while the schedule turns on the permit and the weather, and the estimate I leave you on site puts a figure on your own job.
If your house is in one of Bedford's Historic District Zoning Areas, changes to the outside of the house or to property features fall under historic district review, so a new walk or wall there may need that review too, and I'll ask about it at the estimate. Before construction, the zoning rules also call for a New Hampshire certified wetlands scientist to find and flag any wetlands on the lot, and those flags stay up until the certificate of occupancy, so on a new house or addition we lay out the dig and the truck route around them. We do the same work in Nashua and the other cities around Merrimack, but each office has its own steps, so we check Bedford's for each job here.
Why Bedford driveways and slabs wear out
Bedford's building rules list the area for severe weathering, which means winters here freeze and thaw hard enough to break up concrete that wasn't built for them. Water that sits on a slab or soaks in under it freezes, swells and lifts or flakes the surface, and road salt off your car speeds that up, so we pitch each driveway and patio to shed water away from the house and give the water underneath somewhere to drain.
A lot of older driveways and walks here were poured on dirt that was only raked level, and they've sunk and cracked as that dirt settled. We dig out to firm ground and pack a new subgrade, the layer the slab actually sits on, because if the budget gets tight I'd rather you save on the finish than on the base nobody sees after day one.
How a concrete job runs when you call us from Bedford
From the first call to the day you walk on the new slab, here's how a Bedford job goes and who you'll deal with at each step.
Call or send the form
Tell us what you have in mind, and we set a time for me to come look. You can reach us weekday evenings and weekends too, at (603) 377-5028 or through the form.
I look and write the estimate
I come out myself, walk the spot, ask how you'll use it and check where the water goes, and it helps if you're home so we can talk it through. You'll have your estimate before I leave, so you know the cost before anything is booked.
Permit paperwork and ground prep
Once you say go, we get any permit paperwork moving and wait for it before we dig. Then our crew digs out to firm ground, packs the base and sets the forms and any rebar, the steel that holds a slab together if it cracks.
Pour, finish and curing
I'm on site with our crew for the pour and the finish. Before we leave, I tell you how long to stay off it while it cures, the slow hardening that gives concrete its strength, and what to watch for after.
Questions about concrete work in Bedford, NH
Do I need a permit for a shed slab in Bedford, NH?
Yes, Bedford counts a shed as a structure, so a shed on blocks or on a floating slab needs a permit. If the shed is larger than 200 square feet, it also needs supports that go below the frost line, which Bedford gives as 48 inches, so on a bigger shed we plan footings that reach that depth. You apply through the Building Department's permit desk, and we can help you get the paperwork together.
What happens if I start digging before the permit is issued in Bedford?
You can be charged a surcharge of at least $100, or twice the permit fees for the project if that comes to more. Bedford's rules don't allow any work that needs a permit to start, digging for a foundation included, until the permit is issued, so we schedule the excavation for after it's in hand.
Which building code applies to a concrete project in Bedford right now?
Through December 31, 2026, a permit request in Bedford can follow either the 2021 or the 2024 codes. Starting January 1, 2027, every permit request follows the new set, which includes the 2024 International Residential Code with New Hampshire amendments, so if your job won't be permitted until after New Year's, plan on the newer codes.
How do I find where my septic system is before adding a patio or driveway in Bedford?
For an older house, start with a records search at the NH Department of Environmental Services, Subsurface division, which holds the records of earlier approved systems if any exist. New Hampshire didn't require approved septic plans until the mid 1970s, so an older system may have no plan at all. I'll ask about it at the estimate, because we don't want to drive equipment or pour a slab over a tank or leach field.
How much does a concrete driveway cost in Bedford, NH?
The cost of a driveway in Bedford comes down mostly to its size, how much soft ground has to come out under it and the finish you pick. Tearing out an old driveway, a long run from the street or a tight spot for the truck all add to it, and a plain broom finish, a light brushed texture that gives tires and boots grip on ice, costs less than stamped or colored work. I'll give you a figure for your own driveway when I come out, and the concrete driveway page has more on how we build them.
How do I keep a new concrete driveway from cracking in Bedford?
Start with a dug-out, packed base and control joints cut on time, because most cracks in new concrete trace back to a base that settles or joints that were cut late or skipped. Control joints are shallow cuts that give the slab a weak line to crack along, so when it shrinks and moves with the frost, the crack lands in the joint instead of across the middle. We also keep summer pours out of the midday heat, since a top that dries too fast turns weak and dusty later, though nobody can honestly promise a slab with no hairline cracks at all.
Merrimack, NH
Plan your Bedford concrete job with us
Calling ahead gives us time to sort out what your permit needs, so we're ready to dig as soon as it's issued and the ground allows.