Concrete Contractor in Merrillville, IN - Slabs That Shed Water Right

Yes, the Town of Merrillville requires a permit for a driveway, and on a single-family lot parking is limited to one garage and one driveway, with the driveway up to 36 feet wide and 6 feet from the side lot line. That matters most if you want to widen, because the width and the side setback decide how far over we can go. Permits go through the Planning & Building Department, so I check with them before we dig and handle the permit when your job needs one.

A shed does need a permit in Merrillville, and for a patio or steps I check with the building department first, since its list names new construction, additions and excavation and fill of land but not patios or steps by name. Sheds and other accessory buildings also need a plat of survey, the drawing of your lot and its lines, and have to meet the lot's zoning for setbacks, size, height and distance from the house. So I lay out a shed slab from your survey, not by eye.

Call the building department at 769-3631, because Merrillville requires every contractor working there to be licensed with Merrillville itself. Those licenses run out on December 31 each year, so ask whether the license is current for this year, not just whether the contractor has had one. Make that call before you sign anything.

The price of a Merrillville driveway comes down to its size, how thick it needs to be, whether the old slab has to be torn out and hauled, and how much work the ground needs before we pour. A stamped or decorative finish costs more than a plain broom finish, and if the budget is tight, I'd go plainer on the finish and keep the base, because the base is hidden on day one but it's what keeps the slab from sinking. My written estimate lists what's included, so you can see where the money goes.

Usually it's the base, because a slab poured on dirt that was raked level instead of dug out and packed sinks as that dirt settles. Water running toward the house or under an edge speeds it up, and so do control joints, the grooves that make concrete crack in a straight line there instead of across the middle, when they're cut late or skipped. On a new slab we dig down to firm subgrade, the ground the slab rests on, pack a stone base and cut the joints on time, so if the concrete does crack, it cracks where we chose.

You'll wait longer to drive on a new driveway than to walk on it, and I'll give you both waits before we pour, since they turn on the mix and the weather that week. That wait is curing, the stretch where the concrete gains its strength, and driving on it early is how edges chip and slabs crack before they've had a chance. If it's your only driveway, we'll talk through where you'll park in the meantime.