Concrete driveways, patios and repair in Sparks
From the old blocks around Victorian Square to Wingfield Springs and Kiley Ranch, we pour and fix concrete all over Sparks.
One city, three kinds of ground
Sparks started as a railroad town and you can still tell. The older streets around Victorian Square, Prater Way and Pyramid grew up around the Southern Pacific yard, and plenty of the driveways and walks there are original. Three inches thick, no steel, poured in the '50s. They've done their time.
Head north and east and it's a different story. Wingfield Springs, Kiley Ranch, D'Andrea and Sky Ranch went in from the '90s on, mostly on the clay that fills Spanish Springs Valley. That concrete is a lot younger, but plenty of it is already cracked, and the clay is usually why.
What's under a Sparks driveway
Down along the river it's sand and gravel, which is honestly great to build on. Up north it's clay that swells when it gets wet and shrinks when it dries. And around the old rail yard you can dig into cinders, old ballast and a century of fill nobody wrote down. Same city, three different jobs, and you don't know which one you've got until you dig.
So we dig a test hole before we price anything big. On gravel it gets a normal base. On clay we dig out deeper, bring in rock that won't swell, and pour thicker with real rebar. On old fill we keep going until we hit something solid.
Water matters too. The Truckee put water through the industrial side and the low ground along the river in 1997 and again in 2005, and summer sprinklers keep the clay up north moving all season. Getting the slope and drainage right is what keeps that movement from turning into cracks.
What we pour in Sparks
- Driveway replacements in the older neighborhoods
- Patios and side walks in Wingfield Springs and Kiley Ranch
- Third-car and RV strips next to an existing driveway
- Truck aprons and equipment pads in east Sparks
- Repairs on clay that's started to move
Neighborhoods we work in
We're all over Sparks: Victorian Square and the old downtown, Greenbrae, the Marina area, Sullivan Lane, the Pyramid Way corridor, Wingfield Springs, Kiley Ranch, D'Andrea, Sky Ranch and the industrial side east of McCarran.
Not on the list? If you're in or near Sparks, we almost certainly cover you. Call (775) 264-5350 and ask.
Sparks questions
Do I need a permit for concrete work in Sparks?
Not for most work on your own lot, like a patio, a shop floor or widening your driveway. The driveway approach at the street, the public sidewalk and curb cuts are the City of Sparks' side, so they need a right-of-way permit and an inspection. We take care of that.
Why is my 15-year-old driveway in Wingfield Springs already cracked?
Almost always the clay. A lot of builder driveways went in thin, on a minimal base, over clay that was bone dry on pour day. Once lawns and sprinklers went in, the clay started swelling and shrinking under it. Sometimes a few panels can be replaced. Sometimes it needs a full redo with a deeper base. We'll tell you which.
Do you pour commercial slabs in the industrial area?
Light commercial, yes. Truck aprons, dock approaches, dumpster pads and equipment slabs. Those get a thicker section and heavier steel, and around the old rail yard they usually need more digging because of the fill.