Concrete Contractors in Alma, KS

Alma calls itself the City of Native Stone Set in the Flint Hills, and for concrete contractors that nickname is a useful reminder of what lies under the yard. Alma is the county seat of Wabaunsee County. The town was founded in 1867, when its first house went up, and incorporated in 1869. It had 802 residents and 357 housing units in 2020.

Rock close to the surface

The Flint Hills are underlain by a flinty limestone bedrock, with limestone and shale making up most of the region's rock. Weathering leaves clay soil mixed with chert gravel, and bedrock often sits just under the surface. That rocky, shallow ground is the reason early settlers could not plow much of the region and it became ranch country instead.

For a concrete project, shallow rock cuts both ways. It is a solid base once you reach it, but it can make digging for step footings, thickened slab edges and post holes much slower. Clay pockets between rock ledges can also hold water and swell. We plan excavation around what we find, level out high spots of rock and fill low spots with compacted crushed rock so the slab sits on uniform support.

Uneven ground calls for planning

Many properties in and around Alma are on rolling terrain. A patio or driveway on a slope needs:

1. A level plan. Sometimes that means stepping a patio in two levels or adding a short retaining edge. 2. Runoff control. Water coming downhill toward a slab should be diverted around it, not under it. 3. Forms set to grade. We shoot grades on site so the finished slab drains the way it should. 4. Steps where needed. A walk that climbs a hill may need a few steps rather than a steep ramp of concrete.

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Alma homes and driveways

Alma is a small town, and housing units dropped slightly from 381 in 2010 to 357 in 2020. Much of the concrete around existing homes is aging: driveways cracked by heavy trucks and frost, walks broken by tree roots, steps that have shifted. Replacing these is most of our Alma work.

We also pour slabs for shops and storage buildings on acreages outside town, where ranch and farm equipment needs a solid floor. Those slabs get more thickness, rebar and edges sized for the building.

Matching concrete to native stone

In a town that takes pride in its stone, some owners want new concrete to fit in. Colored concrete in warm tan or gray tones, or stamped patterns that resemble cut stone, can sit comfortably next to stone walls and foundations. We bring color charts and pattern samples so you can compare them against your house before deciding.

Timing a pour in the hills

Rolling, open terrain catches wind and sun. On a breezy summer day, fresh concrete can lose surface moisture faster than it should, which leads to plastic shrinkage cracks and a weak top layer. We schedule Alma pours for the cooler part of the day when we can, keep evaporation retarder on hand and start curing as soon as finishing is done. In late fall, we watch the forecast and use insulated blankets if nights will drop toward freezing while the slab is still young.

Footings that hit rock

When a step footing or a thickened slab edge runs into a limestone ledge, we do not pour over loose rubble. We clean the rock down to a sound surface, and where part of a footing bears on rock and part on clay, we dig the clay side deeper or replace it with compacted crushed rock so both halves settle alike. Uneven support is a common reason a new step cracks across the middle in its first winter.

We pour driveways, patios, stamped concrete, walks and steps, garage and shed slabs, and repairs in Alma, with air-entrained concrete on every outdoor slab. Before we work near the street, we check what the city requires. Call (785) 509-7585 to set up a visit.