Sterling Auburn ConcreteSterling Auburn Concrete

Concrete contractor in Falmouth, ME - driveways and slabs that sit flat

Sterling Auburn Concrete pours driveways, patios, steps, garage floors and foundations for homeowners in Falmouth, ME. We dig out and pack the base before any concrete shows up, because that's what keeps a slab flat.

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Concrete steps with white railings rise between stone-faced retaining walls to a brick home.
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About Falmouth, ME

We're a concrete contractor in Auburn, ME, and Falmouth is one of the places along the coast we drive down to for driveways, steps and slabs. It's mostly houses, with the shops and offices strung along Route 1. Near Casco Bay and the Presumpscot you find older homes on lower, tighter lots, and as you head inland past the turnpike the lots get bigger, newer and more wooded. It sits between Portland to the south and the run up the coast toward Brunswick, and we work in both.

Most of what we pour here is flatwork, the driveways, walks, patios and garage floors that lie on the ground. On the older lots there's usually a tired slab to break out first, so a Falmouth job is mostly decided before the truck shows up, in how deep we dig and what we pack back in.

Services in Falmouth, ME

  • Concrete driveway building

    Long driveways on wooded lots here usually sink where roots and wet ground got under them. We tear out the old one, dig to firm ground and pour on a packed base.

  • Concrete steps construction

    Front steps on older Falmouth houses often settle and pull away from the door. We break them out and pour new concrete steps on footings that go below where the ground freezes.

  • Concrete patio construction

    Backyards that slope toward the water make drainage the first thing I check on a patio. We pitch the slab away from the house so rain heads for the yard.

  • Garage floor concrete

    Older garage floors here are often thin and sloped wrong, so salty slush sits by the walls. We pour a new floor pitched toward the door, with rebar, steel that holds cracks tight.

  • Concrete retaining walls

    Falmouth lots that drop toward the water often need a wall to make a flat yard. We set walls on footings with drainage behind, since trapped water is what tips them.

  • Concrete footings

    Additions and garages on the inland lots mean digging through roots and rock first. We dig to solid soil, set the steel and pour the footings square so the framing starts true.

How a concrete job runs in Falmouth

Permits here come from the Town of Falmouth Code Enforcement Division, and work that builds or enlarges a building, like a foundation, a new garage slab or the footings for an addition, needs a permit before anyone digs. Falmouth's list of jobs that skip a permit covers things like painting, fences and small sheds, not driveways or patios, so I don't guess on those. Before we book any job, I check with the code office on what it needs, and when a permit is called for we handle the application and build the review into the start date. We're licensed and fully insured, which is worth asking any contractor about before they touch your yard.

What moves the price here is mostly what's under the job and how hard it is to get a truck to it. The schedule turns on the permit, the weather and the cure, and on tight lots near the water we work out where the ready-mix truck parks before pour day, because a loaded truck coming off the turnpike doesn't like to wait. We plan jobs in Westbrook and Gray the same way. Your own figure comes in the written estimate once I've walked the job.

Falmouth, ME properties and local conditions

Falmouth's own floodplain rules say parts of it flood from time to time, and on the low lots near the bay and the river you can see it in the old concrete. Water that sits under a slab softens the subgrade, the ground the slab rests on, and the slab sinks into it, usually at the corners first. We dig out the soft stuff, pack crushed stone in its place and pitch the new slab so water runs away from the house instead of under it.

On the wooded lots inland, the trouble is roots and rock. Roots lift a driveway from below and rock won't let you dig to an even depth, so we cut roots back from the edge of the pour and break out rock until the base is the same depth everywhere. The rock usually loses to the jackhammer. Usually.

Get a written concrete estimate for your Falmouth job

We reply within one business day to set a time, and I come out to Falmouth myself to look at the job, measure it and ask how you'll use it. The estimate is free, done on site and written down, and there's no obligation to book.

What happens after you call about a Falmouth job

  1. I come out and measure

    After you call or send the form, I come out to look at the job, measure it and ask how you'll use it, since a patio for a grill and a pad for a truck aren't built the same. You don't have to be home, but it helps, and you get a written estimate before anything's booked.

  2. Check the permit, set dates

    Once you're ready, I check what Falmouth's code office needs, and if there's a permit, the office says it generally issues one within two weeks, depending on workload, as long as it has complete plans. We set the pour date around that and the weather.

  3. Dig out and pack the base

    We dig down to firm ground, pack the base in layers and set the forms and any rebar before a truck is called. You won't see this part once the concrete's down, and if the budget gets tight I'd rather cut a fancy finish than cut this.

  4. Pour, cure and walk it

    We pour early so the top isn't drying out in the afternoon heat, cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the slab a straight place to crack, and keep it damp while it cures, the slow hardening that sets its strength. Before we pack up, we walk it with you and tell you when it's ready for feet and when it's ready for the car.

Frequently asked questions

How do I apply for a building permit in Falmouth, ME?

You apply to Falmouth's Code Enforcement office in person, by email at code@falmouthme.org or by mail to 271 Falmouth Road, and the office wants complete plans with it. Once the permit's issued, work has to start within a year, and it expires if the job isn't substantially complete within two years. On our jobs, the application is ours to file.

Does concrete work in Falmouth still have to meet code if it doesn't need a permit?

Yes, Falmouth says work that doesn't need a permit still has to meet the code and its other local laws. Falmouth enforces the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code, the state building code, and the state says following it is the building owner's responsibility. We build to it whether there's a permit on the job or not, so it isn't something you find out about later.

What counts as the shoreland zone in Falmouth, ME?

Falmouth's shoreland zone takes in land within 250 feet of a designated great pond, river or saltwater body, and land within 100 feet of the normal high water line of a designated stream or brook. For clearing, fill or soil work there, Falmouth asks you to call the office first, since a shoreland zone permit is likely. A driveway or patio means digging and fill, so on lots near the water we make that call before we book.

Do I need a special permit to pour concrete in a Falmouth flood zone?

In a special flood hazard area, yes, a flood hazard development permit from the Code Enforcement Officer comes before any construction, with some exceptions, and it's on top of your other permits. In Zones A and AE, new construction or a substantial improvement has to set the bottom of utility equipment at least one foot above base flood elevation. If the pad is for a generator or a heat pump, that height is part of the plan from the first visit.

How much does a concrete driveway cost in Falmouth, ME?

The price of a Falmouth driveway comes down mostly to its size and what has to happen underneath it, and your own number comes in a written estimate after I've seen it. Tearing out the old driveway, digging past roots or rock, bringing in base and pouring a thicker slab for heavy trucks all add to it. A stamped or colored surface costs more than a broom finish, the light brushed texture that gives boots and tires some grip.

What causes concrete driveways to crack in Maine, and will a new one crack too?

Most driveway cracks start underneath, from a base that was raked level instead of dug out and packed, or from water getting under the slab and freezing. Concrete also shrinks as it cures, so a fine crack now and then is normal, which is why we pack the base hard and cut the control joints on pour day. Rebar won't stop the shrinking, but it holds a crack tight and level instead of letting it spread.

Service areas

Explore the services

Auburn, ME

Book your Falmouth concrete estimate today

Call (207) 707-4423 or send the form, because one look at a sinking or cracked slab usually tells me whether the base or the concrete gave out, and that changes what the fix should be.

Request a quote(207) 707-4423
(207) 707-4423Request a quote