Concrete sidewalk building in Tuscaloosa AL - a walk that grips underfoot

A broom finish keeps a walk from getting slick, because national trade guidance has sidewalks textured with a coarse or fine push broom after the top is smoothed. Our walks get it unless you choose a decorative top, and you can ask any contractor for it by name.

One university's walkway spec, written for another state, keeps traffic off new pavement for at least 14 days, so treat that as a guide and not a rule. Trade guidance says to start curing, the wait while the concrete gains strength, as soon as finishing is done, and I'll tell you how we're curing yours and when it's ready.

It may get a hairline crack, because concrete shrinks as it dries, so we cut control joints, straight grooves across the walk, to give it a place to crack where you won't notice. Packing the ground underneath matters more, since settling is what usually breaks an old walk into uneven slabs.

Bring them up before the pour, because one tree research report says the best time to deal with roots lifting a sidewalk is when the tree goes in or the concrete does. That's when changes under or beside the walk can slow root growth, so I'd rather talk roots at the estimate than after.

The City of Tuscaloosa requires permits for all new construction, remodels and alterations, and anything permanent in the right-of-way along the street needs a right-of-way use permit before it goes in. We check with the permit office for your address and pull the permits our part of the job needs.

You might, because work next to Lake Tuscaloosa may need a Land Development Permit, and work in the Lake Tuscaloosa, Harris Lake or Lake Nicol watersheds may need a Site Stabilization Plan. The Office of the City Engineer answers questions on those, and if your lot needs them, I'll point you there and we'll build from the plans they approve.