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Concrete Contractor in Friendswood, TX
Slabs on Grade is a family-owned concrete contractor in Friendswood, TX, working on both sides of Clear Creek. We build driveways that meet the city's ditch and culvert details, repair and pour foundations on heavy clay, and fix slabs that storms left cracked. Every job starts with a free on-site estimate.
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- Family-Owned Since 2010
- Licensed & Insured
- Free On-Site Estimates
- Residential & Commercial
A Concrete Company for Friendswood's Creeks and Clay
Most of Friendswood drains to Clear Creek. Mary's Creek, Coward's Creek, Chigger Creek, Mud Gully, and Turkey Creek feed it as it winds through town. A 2019 flood study done for the city found that Hurricane Harvey flooded more than 2,000 single-family homes here in 2017. That history drives concrete work in Friendswood. Grade, drainage, and permits come before anything else.
As a concrete contractor in Friendswood, we plan every job around three local facts. First, most of the city sits on Lake Charles clay, which cracks open in dry spells and swells after rain. Second, many streets drain to open ditches, so a new driveway may need a culvert built to the city's own detail. Third, any paving inside the FEMA floodplain needs a separate city development permit.
Our base is in Pinehurst, about 60 miles north by road, and we have no Friendswood office. We drive down for every estimate, measure your site, and look at how water leaves your lot before we write a quote.
Request a Free EstimateFriendswood at a Glance
- County: Galveston (south of Clear Creek) and Harris (north of the creek)
- ZIP codes: 77546, plus 77549 for PO boxes
- Permits: City of Friendswood, for driveways, foundation repair, and any floodplain paving
- Soil: Mostly Lake Charles clay, a heavy shrink-swell clay
- From our base: About 60 miles from Pinehurst, mostly on SH 249 and I-45
Concrete Services in Friendswood
Driveways and foundations lead the list in Friendswood, because of the city's ditch rules and its heavy clay. Storm and flood damage keeps repair work close behind. You can also see all concrete services.
Concrete Driveways in Friendswood
Friendswood has two driveway standards, one for open-ditch streets and one for curb and gutter streets. On a ditch street, the approach sits over a culvert pipe at least 18 inches across. We build to the one your street uses.
Driveway servicesFoundation Repair in Friendswood
Lake Charles clay moves a lot, and many homes here have been through floods. We level and repair slab and pier-and-beam foundations, and we pour new ones for rebuilds and additions. The city issues its own foundation repair permits.
Foundation servicesConcrete Repair in Friendswood
Long dry spells pull Friendswood clay away from slab edges, and heavy rain soaks it again. We cut out broken sections of driveways, patios, and walks, then pour new pieces that tie into the old concrete.
Repair servicesRetaining Walls in Friendswood
Lots along Clear Creek and its feeder creeks often slope toward the water. A wall can hold that bank. But in the floodplain, the city says berms and barriers that push water onto other lots are illegal without a permit, so we design walls that drain.
Retaining wall servicesConcrete Patios in Friendswood
Big backyards call for big outdoor slabs. If your yard is in the FEMA floodplain, though, a patio counts as paving and needs a city development permit first. We check your flood zone before we quote.
Patio servicesSidewalk Repair in Friendswood
Walks poured in the 1980s, like those in Wedgewood Village, have had about 40 years of clay movement. When we replace a driveway, the walk that crosses it can be part of the same job and the same permit.
Sidewalk servicesStamped Concrete in Friendswood
Stamped and stained finishes suit the brick and stone homes in newer sections such as West Ranch. Around a pool, we use a textured pattern and sealer so the deck is less slick when wet.
Decorative concrete servicesEpoxy Garage Floors in Friendswood
If your garage took water in Harvey or a later storm, we check the slab for cracks and trapped moisture first. Then we lay down an epoxy or polyaspartic coating that wipes clean after muddy days.
Epoxy servicesConcrete Parking Lots in Friendswood
Shops and offices along FM 528 and Friendswood Drive need lots that shed water fast. In the floodplain, paving needs a city permit and may need engineered detention. We repair sections or pave new lots.
Parking lot services
What Clear Creek, Clay, and City Rules Mean for Your Concrete
- 01
The Clay Under Friendswood
USDA soil maps show Lake Charles clay across most of Friendswood, with Verland silty clay loam in spots near the center of town. The USDA says Lake Charles clay cracks a foot or more deep in dry weather, and those cracks can stay open 60 to 90 days in a year. Left alone, the ground even forms small humps and dips, 6 to 15 inches high. That same heave pushes on a slab. So we dig out soft soil, compact a firm base, and set steel rebar before any pour.
- 02
Harvey, Clear Creek, and Drainage
Friendswood is flat, low, and close to the coast. The city's 2019 flood study, by Rice University researchers, puts Harvey at about 40 inches of rain in four days. It also puts the 100-year, 24-hour storm at 17.65 inches under NOAA Atlas 14. After Harvey, the city worked to buy out lots that flood again and again, such as lots in Deepwood near the creek. For you, that means every slab we pour here slopes water away from the house and out to the street or ditch.
- 03
Friendswood Permits and Floodplain Rules
The City of Friendswood issues its own permits for home driveways and paving and for foundation repair. In the FEMA floodplain, city code also requires a development permit for paving, filling, and grading. New buildings and substantial improvements there must sit 2 feet above base flood elevation. A project counts as substantial when it costs 50% or more of the building's market value. We find out which rules touch your lot, and we pull the permits your job needs.
- 04
From NASA-Era Homes to New Builds
Quakers founded Friendswood in 1895, and it became a city in 1960. In the 1960s, hundreds of NASA workers moved in, and new subdivisions followed. Wedgewood Village was built out by 1985. West Ranch, a master-planned community begun in the late 2000s, finished new home sales in 2020. So one street may need a tired driveway replaced and a slab leveled, while the next wants a stamped patio or a coated garage floor.
Friendswood Neighborhoods on Both Sides of Clear Creek
Clear Creek splits Friendswood between two counties. Most of the city, including West Ranch, lies south of the creek in Galveston County. The northern part is in Harris County. That is where you'll find Wedgewood Village, southeast of FM 2351 along Blackhawk Boulevard. West Ranch covers 766 acres between I-45 and FM 528, bordered by Centennial Park, Chigger Creek, and Clear Creek.
Polly Ranch Estates is one of a kind. It was laid out in 1953 around a private runway, and about 50 of its roughly 250 homes sit along the airstrip. If you live there, ask us about a wide driveway or slab for your lot. We reach Friendswood from Pinehurst on SH 249 and I-45, then get around town on FM 2351, FM 528, and Friendswood Drive.
Neighborhoods
- Wedgewood Village
- Polly Ranch Estates
- West Ranch
- Sunmeadow
- Heritage Park
- Forest Bend
- Friendswood Lakes
- Autumn Creek
- Wilderness Trails
- Quakers Landing
- Falcon Ridge
- Coward Creek
ZIP Codes
- 77546
- 77549 (PO boxes)
What Affects Concrete Driveway Cost in Friendswood?
A Friendswood driveway price is set as much by the street and the flood map as by the square footage. That is why we quote after we see your lot, not before. Thickness, rebar, and finish still count. On our quote form, you can pick a budget range from under $5,000 up to $40,000 and more, and we will scope the job to fit.
Culvert and Ditch Work
On an open-ditch street, the city's detail calls for a concrete culvert pipe at least 18 inches across under the approach. Swapping a crushed pipe or reshaping the ditch adds labor and material.
Floodplain Permit Steps
Paving in the FEMA floodplain needs a city development permit. If the job adds or removes dirt, the city also wants a cut and fill plan sealed by a licensed engineer. Those steps add time and cost.
Width and Steel at the Street
Friendswood sets a 12-foot minimum width at the property line and #4 rebar at 16 inches each way inside the right-of-way. That approach often takes more steel than the rest of the drive, plus tear-out and haul-off.
Get a free, written estimate for your Friendswood project.
Request a Free EstimateHow a Friendswood
Concrete Project Works
Start to Finish
Each Friendswood job follows these six steps, with the city's ditch and flood rules built in.
Free On-Site Estimate
We measure, note whether your street has an open ditch or curb and gutter, and check your flood zone. Your written quote says which Friendswood permits apply.
Demo & Removal
We break out the old concrete and haul it away. At the street, we protect the pavement, since the city's detail makes the contractor pay for any street damage.
Grading & Forming
We compact the clay base, set forms, and grade so water runs to the street or ditch. On ditch streets, we set the culvert pipe to the city's detail.
Reinforce With Rebar
Driveways get steel rebar on 18-inch centers. Inside the city right-of-way, Friendswood's detail calls for #4 bars at 16 inches each way.
Pour & Finish
We pour 4,000 PSI concrete, above the city's 3,000 PSI minimum, at 5 to 6 inches thick. Sealed expansion joints go where the city's detail calls for them.
Cure, Seal & Walkthrough
The slab cures, we seal it if the finish needs it, and we walk the job with you. If the permit calls for an inspection, we schedule it.
What Our Customers Say
Also Serving Cities Near Friendswood
Friendswood sits between Pearland and League City, and we also work north in Pasadena and Houston. See all service areas.
League City, TX
Our neighbor to the east shares Clear Creek and much of the same clay, but League City runs its own permit office and flood elevation rules.
Concrete services in League City, TXPearland, TX
Just west of Friendswood and mostly in Brazoria County. The ground is similar, but the permits come from the City of Pearland.
Concrete services in Pearland, TXPasadena, TX
North of Friendswood in Harris County. We pour driveways, parking lots, and commercial flatwork there under Pasadena's own city permits.
Concrete services in Pasadena, TXHouston, TX
Friendswood is about 18 miles southeast of downtown. Some Friendswood addresses, such as Baybrook Mall, sit inside Houston, where right-of-way work goes through Houston Public Works.
Concrete services in Houston, TX
Concrete Questions From Friendswood Homeowners
Straight answers from our crew. Still have a question? Call us and talk to a real person.
Get a Free EstimateDo I need a permit to replace a driveway in Friendswood?
Plan on it. The City of Friendswood issues its own Residential Driveway/Paving permits, and its monthly permit reports list driveway replacements under that type. The city also publishes two driveway standards, one for open-ditch streets and one for curb and gutter streets, and your new approach has to match the one your street uses. If your lot is in the FEMA floodplain, the paving also needs a floodplain development permit. We pull the permits your job needs before we break out any concrete.
My Friendswood street has an open ditch. What changes for my driveway?
Your driveway crosses the ditch on a culvert pipe. Friendswood's open-ditch detail calls for a reinforced concrete pipe at least 18 inches across, a driveway at least 12 feet wide at the property line, and #4 rebar at 16 inches each way inside the city right-of-way. It also allows only one driveway on a lot with less than 120 feet of street frontage. We look at your old pipe during the estimate. If it is crushed, silted in, or too small, the fix goes into your written quote, so there are no surprises later.
Does Friendswood require a permit for foundation repair?
Yes. Friendswood lists Residential Foundation Repair as its own permit type, and pier and leveling jobs show up in the city's monthly permit reports. Foundation problems are common here because most of the city sits on Lake Charles clay. USDA soil data shows this clay opening deep cracks in dry months and swelling shut when rain returns. That movement can crack slabs, jam doors, and split brick. We handle foundation repair, including leveling and pier work, and we pour new slab and pier-and-beam foundations. We take care of the permit step for you.
Can I add a patio or slab if my Friendswood home is in the floodplain?
Often, yes, but expect extra steps. Friendswood treats paving, filling, and grading in the FEMA floodplain as development, and each one needs a city permit. When the work moves dirt, the city asks for a cut and fill plan signed and sealed by a licensed engineer. New buildings and substantial improvements in the floodplain must sit 2 feet above the base flood elevation. We check your flood zone at the free estimate, so you know about these steps before you commit to a design.
Do you work on both the Harris County and Galveston County sides of Friendswood?
Yes. Clear Creek is the county line, but both sides are inside Friendswood city limits, so the same city permit rules apply. One thing to watch: some Friendswood mailing addresses sit outside city limits, in the City of Houston or unincorporated Harris County. Baybrook Mall, for one, has a Friendswood address but sits inside Houston. We confirm which city your lot is in before we quote. Our base is in Pinehurst, about 60 miles north by road, and we drive down for every estimate.
Slab or pier and beam for a Friendswood rebuild or addition?
It depends on your flood zone and your engineer's plan. Inside the FEMA floodplain, Friendswood requires new homes and substantial improvements to sit 2 feet above the base flood elevation. A raised pier-and-beam floor is one way to reach that height. Outside the floodplain, a slab on grade is often the simpler choice. Either way, we build on a compacted base with steel rebar and follow your engineer's design for depth and beam layout.
Planning Concrete Work in Friendswood?
Call Slabs on Grade or request a free on-site estimate in Friendswood. We check your ditch, flood zone, and soil before we quote, and we reply to every inquiry within one business day.
(832) 422-0354