Concrete Companyin Long Beach, CA
A concrete company in Long Beach can pour private walks, driveways and decks up to 30 inches above grade, and retaining walls up to 4 feet, without a building permit. Taller walls, grading, the methane zone and coastal or historic addresses add steps. Plain flatwork runs about $8 to $14 per square foot, using our Los Angeles ranges.
Concrete in Long Beach follows the city's building waves. Willmore City was subdivided in 1880, the 1933 earthquake did most of its damage to unreinforced masonry buildings, and the postwar suburbs of the 1950s helped push the population to 344,168 by 1960. With 77.1 percent of homes built before 1980, a great many driveways, walks and slabs have decades of wear on them.
MDG Builders, CSLB #1040337, manages concrete jobs as a general contractor. We set the scope, find out from the City which approvals apply and coordinate the dates, and a subcontractor licensed in the C-8 concrete class forms and finishes the work, as the guide to how general contractors use subcontractors explains. Pricing detail lives on our concrete page, and the Long Beach overview lists the other trades we manage in the city.
What Long Beach's Permit Center, bulletins and noise code say about concrete
Where concrete permits come from in Long Beach: City of Long Beach Community Development Department.
- The City lists private concrete pathways, driveways and decks up to 30 inches above adjacent ground as exempt from a building permit, and retaining walls or planter boxes up to 4 feet (measured from the bottom of the footing) as exempt unless they carry a surcharge or sloping earth, impound flammable liquids, or sit on slopes steeper than 20 percent.
- Per the permit FAQ (item 12), a grading permit is needed unless an exception applies, such as an excavation under 2 feet deep, and the Building Standards Code page lists Chapter 18.75 for grading, excavations and fills.
- Methane Bulletin IB-055 says hardscape covering 5,000 square feet or more within 15 feet of a structure that needs methane mitigation must be vented with pavement vents or a landscaped strip at least 2 feet wide along at least 80 percent of the building perimeter.
Sources for these rules
Which concrete work in Long Beach skips a building permit, and which needs one?
The City's permit FAQ exempts unroofed walks, driveways and decks not more than 30 inches above grade. It also exempts retaining walls and planter boxes up to 4 feet high, measured from the bottom of the footing, unless they carry a surcharge or sloping earth, impound flammable liquids or sit on a slope steeper than 20 percent.
A patio cover is not exempt, and the Building Official makes the final call on minor work. The same FAQ says a grading permit is needed unless an exception applies, such as an excavation under 2 feet deep. Under the Master Fee Schedule effective October 1, 2026, standard plan review costs 85 percent of the building permit fee but not less than $154, and fees follow the job's valuation, so ask the counter for your figure.
The Permit Center at 411 W. Ocean Boulevard takes applications in person and by appointment.
Call 562.570.PMIT (7648) before the pour is booked, since a ready-mix truck cannot be sent back once it arrives.
Block walls and retaining walls: when does Long Beach want an engineer?
The City's CMU wall bulletin, IB-009 (revised January 24, 2025), requires a building permit for a block wall over 4 feet. It tells owners to hire a California-licensed design professional where the site slopes more than 10 percent or has expansive soil, liquefaction or flood hazard. It also warns that a 6-foot corner cutoff may be needed beside driveways and sidewalks.
The State's liquefaction zone, as carried on the Los Angeles County hazard map, covers parts of Long Beach. Points checked in Belmont Shore, North Long Beach and Wrigley fell inside it, and downtown, Bixby Knolls and Naples did not. That was a point sample, not a parcel map, so ask who checks your address.
Licensing splits the work. CSLB's C-8 class covers forming and pouring concrete, C-29 covers concrete block walls, and the fencing class leaves masonry out. Poured walls go to a C-8 firm and block walls to a C-29 firm, and we ask for the license number before the quote. The license check guide walks through the CSLB lookup.
Does concrete work in Long Beach's methane zone need venting?
Long Beach sits over oil. Alamitos No. 1 came in during 1921, the Wilmington field discovered in 1932 lies mostly inside the city, and Chapter 18.79 of the Municipal Code now requires methane mitigation in the City's mapped zone. Bulletin IB-055 says hardscape covering 5,000 square feet or more within 15 feet of a structure that needs mitigation must be vented, either with pavement vents or with a landscaped strip at least 2 feet wide along at least 80 percent of the building perimeter.
A patio or walk falls far below that size, and we found nothing saying a small private slab triggers the chapter. Additions under 50 percent of the existing structure's area are exempt from it, while larger projects need soil gas testing by a Qualified Professional and a recorded covenant. We never found the zone's boundaries, so we ask the Permit Center whether an address is inside before designing a large courtyard or parking pad.
- Is the address inside the City's mapped methane zone?
- Will the paving next to a new addition add up to 5,000 square feet or more?
When can a Long Beach concrete company pour: noise hours, heat and winter rain?
Under bulletin IB-027, construction noise is barred before 7:00 a.m. and after 7:00 p.m. on weekdays and federal holidays, and before 9:00 a.m. and after 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays. Sunday work needs a permit from the Health Department's Noise Control Officer, and a violation is a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $500.
That matters because concrete has to be placed and finished while it is workable. NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals show about 23 days a year at or above 90 F, an August average high of 83.2 F, and 12.02 inches of rain, with 81 percent of it falling from December through March. A summer pour may call for the earliest legal start, and a winter pour needs a plan for covering the slab if rain is forecast.
Ask how the crew handles a rain call, a short-load charge and a Saturday start, and have the answers in the written proposal.
Cracked or sunken driveway and walk in a pre-1980 Long Beach house: repair or replace?
About 34.1 percent of Long Beach homes predate 1950 and 77.1 percent predate 1980, so much of the city's flatwork is older than modern base preparation and joint practice. The City pages we read do not set slab thickness or joint spacing, so we treat those as industry practice and explain them in the proposal rather than citing a code.
Our concrete page puts driveway replacement, including demolition of the old slab, at $9 to $20 per square foot in Los Angeles, a medium to low confidence range built on Angi's pages. Replacement is not always the answer. A slab that is level and cracked only at joints may be cut and patched, while one that has settled or lifted usually is not worth patching.
The apron and sidewalk at the curb belong to the public right-of-way, and we did not find a City page on approach permits, so we ask Public Works before quoting any work that touches the curb.
- Is the slab level, or has it settled or lifted?
- Does the job reach the curb or the sidewalk?
Concrete work in the Coastal Zone or a historic district: what does Long Beach review?
In the Coastal Zone, the City says all development needs a Local Coastal Development Permit or a Coastal Permit Categorical Exclusion before work starts, and Express and over-the-counter review are not available. The exclusion can be appealed to the California Coastal Commission, and under the City's form work may not begin until the appeal period ends. We could not confirm whether a patio or driveway replacement qualifies, so that question goes to Planning with a site plan.
In a historic district, fences and garden walls need a Certificate of Appropriateness before a building permit issues, per bulletin BU-041. The City lists 18 districts, among them Bluff Heights, Rose Park and California Heights. Whether a replaced walk or driveway needs review is not spelled out on the pages we read, so ask Historic Preservation at (562) 570-6194. Interior work and plain maintenance with no exterior change need none.
- Is the address in the Coastal Zone, a historic district, or both?
- Does the plan touch a front wall, a fence line or only a rear patio?
- Who files the application, and how long does the City say review takes?
Concrete details from Long Beach and nearby lots
Six views of forms, rebar, screeding and finished flatwork from Long Beach and the cities around it. Tap a photo to enlarge it.
What concrete costs around Long Beach
The ranges used here come from our concrete page, which draws on Angi's Los Angeles pages, HomeGuide and the Concrete Network, and they are not a Long Beach quote: plain slabs of 300 square feet or more at $8 to $14 per square foot, decorative finishes at $15 to $30. Retaining walls have no published per-foot figure, because height, footing, steel, drainage and engineering set the price, and haul-off, permit fees and engineering are listed as separate lines. Compare concrete in Los Angeles, concrete in Glendale and concrete in Pasadena, or see decks in Los Angeles and fencing in Los Angeles for the work that often shares the lot.
| What it covers | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Patio, walkway or slab, broom finish, 300 sq ft or more | $8 to $14 per square foot |
| Decorative: stained, stamped or exposed aggregate | $15 to $30 per square foot |
| Driveway replacement, with demolition of the old slab | $9 to $20 per square foot |
| 20 by 20 foot plain patio (400 sq ft) | About $3,200 to $5,600 |
| 20 by 20 foot decorative patio (400 sq ft) | About $6,000 to $12,000 |
| Small jobs under 300 sq ft | Usually above the per-foot range |
| Retaining walls | Set by the written proposal |
Other work we manage in Long Beach
Long Beach concrete questions, answered
How much should a 20x20 concrete patio cost in Long Beach?
About $3,200 to $5,600 for a plain, broom-finished 400 square foot patio, found by applying the $8 to $14 per square foot range on our concrete page to 400 square feet. That range rests on Angi's Los Angeles pages and HomeGuide, with medium confidence. Small jobs usually price above per-foot averages because of minimum charges, so a patio under 300 square feet should be compared by its total, not by the per-foot figure.
How much would a 20x20 stamped concrete patio cost in Long Beach?
Roughly $6,000 to $12,000, by multiplying the $15 to $30 per square foot decorative range on our concrete page by 400 square feet. The range comes from Angi's Los Angeles stamped patio page and carries medium to low confidence. Pattern, color, sealer and joints move the price within it, and the written proposal is the real number.
How much does a 15x30 concrete patio cost in Long Beach?
Around $3,600 to $6,300 for a plain slab, from multiplying the $8 to $14 per square foot range by 450 square feet. A decorative finish at $15 to $30 per square foot would put the same patio at $6,750 to $13,500. Base depth, reinforcement, forms, access and drainage decide where a real job lands.
How much do contractors charge for concrete work in Long Beach?
For a plain patio, walk or slab of 300 square feet or more, about $8 to $14 per square foot, from our Los Angeles ranges. Decorative work runs $15 to $30, and driveway replacement with demolition runs $9 to $20. Retaining walls have no published per-foot price, so they are quoted from the site after a visit. Haul-off of old concrete, permit fees and any engineering appear as their own lines in the written proposal rather than inside a square foot price.
Can I pour a concrete patio without a permit in Long Beach?
Possibly. The City exempts unroofed walks, driveways and decks not more than 30 inches above grade, but a ground-level patio slab is not named, and the Building Official decides. A patio cover needs a permit, and zoning or coastal rules can apply. Call 562.570.PMIT (7648) with the size, height and address before ordering concrete.
Can I expand my driveway without a permit in Long Beach?
A flat private driveway is on the City's exempt list, but that is the building permit only. We found no City page on front yard paving limits or on curb approach permits, so widening a driveway should go to Planning for zoning and to Public Works for anything at the curb before any concrete is ordered.
What is the maximum height of a retaining wall without a permit in Long Beach?
Four feet, measured from the bottom of the footing, if the wall carries no surcharge or sloping earth, impounds no flammable liquids and does not sit on a slope steeper than 20 percent. Concrete and masonry walls of 4 feet or less are also exempt. Block walls over 4 feet need a permit, and a design professional where soils are poor.
What license should a Long Beach concrete company hold?
CSLB's C-8 class covers forming, pouring and finishing concrete, and C-29 covers concrete block walls. Under Business and Professions Code 7048, work needing a permit cannot use the under $1,000 exemption from licensing. Ask for the license number, confirm it on CSLB's site, and ask for a certificate of insurance before signing.
Can a concrete company work early mornings or Sundays in Long Beach?
Only inside the noise hours. City bulletin IB-027 bars construction noise before 7:00 a.m. or after 7:00 p.m. on weekdays and federal holidays, and before 9:00 a.m. or after 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays. Sunday work needs a permit from the Health Department's Noise Control Officer, and violations carry a fine of up to $500.
Does a patio or driveway in Long Beach's methane zone need venting?
Only at large scale, as far as the City's bulletin says. IB-055 requires venting for hardscape of 5,000 square feet or more within 15 feet of a structure that needs methane mitigation. Smaller patios and walks are not mentioned, and we could not read the zone map, so ask the Permit Center whether your address is inside.
Describe the pour and where it sits
Tell us the street, the size of the slab or wall, whether it reaches the curb or a slope, and what the old concrete is doing. We check the methane, coastal and historic maps before we call.