Concrete patios, driveways and repair in Bennington
Rolling hills, steep driveways, and a lot of new houses on fill that hasn't finished settling yet.
Concrete work in Bennington, Nebraska
Bennington used to be a small town of a couple thousand people. Now it's one of the busiest building areas in Douglas County, with new subdivisions spreading north of Fort Street along 156th and 168th. The old part of town is still there with its century-old houses, but most of our work here is on the new side.
That means backyards: patios, walkways, fire pit pads, sport courts and shed slabs. We also fix a fair amount of fairly young concrete, which surprises people until they see what it was poured on.
Steep lots and fresh fill
This is hilly country. To get flat building lots, developers cut the tops off some hills and filled in the low spots, so plenty of houses sit partly on original ground and partly on fill. The line between them isn't always where you'd guess. And you end up with a lot of steep driveways.
A steep driveway changes a few things. Water comes down it fast, which is fine until it piles up against the garage door. We pitch the slab so it sheds water off the sides before it gets there. It also needs a broom finish run across the slope so you've got grip in January. A smooth finish on a hill is a sledding run.
When newer concrete out here cracks or sinks, it's almost never the concrete's fault. It's what's under it. If we're fixing one, we deal with the base first. Pouring new concrete on the same bad base just gets you the same crack in four years.
Parts of Bennington we work in
Pretty much all of it, including Old town Bennington, 156th Street, 168th Street, Fort Street, Bennington Road and North Douglas County acreages. If you're in or near Bennington and don't see your street, call (531) 236-6623 and ask. It takes about thirty seconds.
Bennington questions
My driveway is steep. Does that change anything?
Yes: the finish, the joints and the drainage. The broom texture goes across the slope for traction, joints get laid out so the slab isn't fighting itself, and we pitch it so water runs off the sides before it reaches the garage.
Should I seal new concrete?
Once it's a year old, yes. Use a penetrating silane or siloxane sealer, not the shiny acrylic kind that peels. Put it on again every three to five years. More important than any sealer: no salt on it the first winter.
Will an extension match my old patio?
The finish and the joint pattern, yes. The color, not right away. New concrete is lighter and it darkens over a couple of seasons. If you need a perfect match, staining both slabs the same color later is the only way to get it.