Concrete contractor in Portland, Maine

A residential concrete job runs through seven steps, and the concrete itself only arrives at the sixth.

1. Questions. By phone or through the form, we learn what you want, what is there now, the rough size and how a truck reaches the spot.
2. A look at the site. We measure, check the grade and drainage, look at the soil and any old concrete, and find out whether the work reaches the street, a historic district or the shoreland zone.
3. A written quote and contract. Maine's Home Construction Contracts Act requires a written contract signed by both sides for home construction work over $3,000 in materials or labor, lists what it must contain, and limits the first payment to one-third of the price (10 M.R.S. §1487). We write ours to that standard, with the Attorney General's consumer statement attached, and any change goes on a written change order signed by both of us.
4. Dig Safe. Maine law requires notice to Dig Safe at least 3 business days, and no more than 30 calendar days, before machine digging starts, and utilities have 2 full business days to mark their lines. We pre-mark the dig area in white and make the call; the marking costs you nothing.
5. Forms and base. We dig to the planned depth, take out soft soil, place and compact the gravel base, set the forms to the finished slope, and lay the rebar or wire mesh the quote calls for.
6. Pour and finish. The concrete is placed, struck off and floated, and final finishing waits until the bleed water has left the surface, because finishing too early is a known cause of scaling. Then comes the broom finish or the texture you chose. Control joints are tooled in during finishing or saw-cut 4 to 12 hours afterward.
7. Curing. New concrete is kept moist or sealed under curing compound, paper or plastic for at least 7 days, longer when temperatures sit near 40°F. Concrete left to dry out can lose as much as half its potential strength.

The price follows from those steps: the size and thickness, how much old concrete comes out, how much base the ground needs, how close the truck can get, the finish, and whether the pour needs cold-weather protection. Our page on what concrete work costs in Portland walks through each one.

We schedule most outdoor pours between spring and fall, because fresh concrete must not freeze before it gains strength. At Portland International Jetport the median last spring freeze is April 26 and the median first fall freeze is October 15.

Cold weather starts sooner than the first frost. The American Concrete Institute treats a pour as cold-weather work whenever the air temperature has fallen to, or is expected to fall below, 40°F during the protection period. Fresh concrete has to be kept from freezing until it reaches at least 500 psi, which NRMCA puts at about two days for most concrete kept at 50°F. Concrete that freezes before then can lose more than half its potential strength and will not be durable.

When a pour runs into cold weather, the plan changes. Snow, ice and frost come off the base and forms, and every surface the concrete will touch has to be above freezing, which can mean insulating or heating the ground first. NRMCA recommends that concrete for sections under 12 inches thick be at least 55°F when it is placed. Water curing is ruled out when freezing is near, so curing compound, paper or plastic takes its place, and accelerating admixtures speed the set but do not keep concrete from freezing.

New concrete should also be kept from freeze-thaw cycles until it reaches 3,500 psi. For a late-season job, the guide to pouring concrete in cold weather covers the protection step by step.

We work across Portland, on the peninsula and off it, take island jobs case by case, and cover six nearby towns that each have a page of their own.

In the city that includes Munjoy Hill, the West End, the East End, Deering Center, Back Cove, Rosemont, Stroudwater and North Deering. Portland's housing is old, with 45.8% of its homes built in 1939 or earlier, so on older lots we check what an existing slab or foundation is sitting on before we plan new work.

The islands take planning. Peaks Island's car ferry carries commercial vehicles by reservation, while the car ferry serving Great Diamond and Cliff Island has a 5,500-pound weight limit that rules out a mixer truck. We work out how concrete and equipment reach an island site before we quote.

Outside the city we work in South Portland, across the Fore River; in Westbrook, where the Presumpscot River runs through the center; and in Scarborough, Falmouth, Cape Elizabeth and Gorham. We also take jobs in Windham, Cumberland and Yarmouth. The towns with their own pages are linked below.