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Watertown Concrete
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Concrete sidewalk building in Watertown SD - a walk built to hold up through winter

Walk out front cracked, uneven or chipping? We build a new one on a packed base, with the city permit and inspections handled in order.

Request an estimate(605) 954-0565
Wide concrete driveway with straight expansion joints leads to a white garage door on a brick house.

What does it take to build a new sidewalk in Watertown?

Concrete sidewalk building means preparing the ground, setting forms and pouring a new walk. Watertown Concrete builds them for homes in Watertown, SD and the cities around it, including the public walk along the street that the city holds you responsible for.

In Watertown the public walk along your lot is yours to look after, so when it cracks, sinks or starts chipping, the city expects you to repair or replace it and keep it cleared of snow all winter. The price mostly turns on how long and wide the walk is, how much old concrete has to come out and how much digging and packing the ground needs. The schedule turns on the permit, the city's inspections and the weather. We check with the city about the permit before we set a date, and I'll give you your own figure once I've come out and looked at the walk.

Why Watertown homeowners call us for sidewalks

You'll deal with the person who knows your job from the first look to the final pour, and you'll get a plain reason behind every step we take.

  • I come out myself

    I'm the one who looks at your walk and writes the estimate, and I'm on site while our crew forms, pours and finishes it.

  • Building walks since 2013

    I learned concrete replacing walks and steps at rental properties, then started this business in 2013 to build them better.

  • Licensed and fully insured

    We're licensed and fully insured, and you're welcome to ask me about either one when I come out.

  • You learn how to care for it

    I explain your walk as we build it, so you know how to look after it long after our crew leaves.

  • Satisfaction guaranteed

    Satisfaction guaranteed on every job, and the first step is a call to (605) 954-0565 about your walk.

Concrete sidewalks we build around your house

Which walk you need comes down to where it runs, what it connects to and how much foot traffic and snow it sees, so I'll ask how you use it first.

  • The public walk along the street

    This is the walk the city holds you responsible for, so we take care of the city permit and inspections in the right order, which matters if you hope to get part of the cost back. It's built to the construction standards the city hands over with the permit, then given a broom finish, a light dragged texture that gives your boots grip in slush.

  • Walks to your door or around the yard

    What decides how long a walk lasts is the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, so we dig it out and pack it instead of raking dirt level, and we cut control joints, shallow grooves across the walk, so any cracking follows lines we chose. If money gets tight I'd go simpler on the finish before I'd skimp on the base, because nobody can fix a soft base once the concrete is on it.

  • A walk planned with other new concrete

    If you want color or a pattern on the walk to your door, decorative concrete goes on the same packed base as a plain walk. When the walk meets a garage getting new garage floor concrete, planning both together lets the heights and drainage line up where they meet.

What happens when you call about a new sidewalk?

We plan a sidewalk around how you use it and the city's steps for a public walk, so you know what's coming before anything gets broken out.

  1. You get in touch

    Call us or send the form with the walk's rough length and width, and tell us whether it runs along the street.

  2. I look at the site

    I come out, look at the old walk and the ground around it, and talk through what you want and the options that fit.

  3. Estimate and permit

    You get a written estimate that says what's included, then we sort out the permit before setting a date inside its 90-day window.

  4. Forms, pour and finish

    Our crew forms, pours and finishes the walk, and I keep you posted and show you the base and forms before we pour.

Questions about a step? Call and talk it through.

(605) 954-0565

Questions about sidewalks in Watertown

Do I need a permit to replace the sidewalk in front of my house in Watertown?

Yes, for the public walk along the street, because the city requires a permit before any work starts in the public right-of-way. We check with the city before we set a date and can handle the paperwork for you.

Will the city of Watertown help pay for a new boulevard sidewalk?

It can. The city's sidewalk flyer lists a reimbursement of $2.00 per square foot to replace a boulevard sidewalk when the permit is issued beforehand and the walk meets ADA accessibility standards. A walk poured without a permit, or one that misses those standards, gets nothing back, so check the current rate and permit fee with the City Engineer's Office before work starts.

How much does a new concrete sidewalk cost in Watertown?

Installing a concrete sidewalk usually costs about $12 to $14.50 per square foot across the US, and that's a national figure for the installed walk, not our price. I'll give you your own figure once I've seen the walk, and on a public walk the city's share can bring your cost down.

What is the best way to make a concrete sidewalk last through South Dakota winters?

The main thing that holds back freeze-thaw damage is air-entrained concrete, a mix with tiny air bubbles spread through it that give freezing water room to expand. Ask whether the concrete for your walk is air-entrained before the pour is booked, and I'll tell you what we're ordering and why.

How do I keep a new sidewalk from flaking when I salt it?

Hold off on salt until the new walk has had time to dry out, because surface scaling, the thin flaking linked to de-icing salt, is the most common frost damage concrete gets. Less water in the mix, proper finishing and good curing, the early stretch when the concrete hardens and gains strength, all help it resist salt, and we'll go over the timing with you when the walk is done.

Can I choose my own contractor for a city sidewalk in Watertown?

Yes, the city leaves it to you to hire and arrange the contractor you want, and you can also do the work yourself. Whoever builds it, the permit and the city's standards still decide whether you get any money back, so ask any contractor how they'll handle both.

What Watertown checks on a new concrete sidewalk

On a public walk the city sets the steps, and we follow them in order. The permit application goes in online, since Watertown takes no paper applications, and nothing gets broken out until the permit is issued. Before the pour the city inspects the forms to make sure the walk will meet ADA standards for slope, width, subgrade and thickness, then comes back for a final inspection once the concrete is in. We book each inspection at least 24 hours ahead and take them in that order, which keeps the cost share we covered above within reach.

On jobs around Watertown, most walks we replace have cracked, sunk at a joint or flaked after years of salt and shoveling, and the new one usually has to meet a driveway, steps or the curb at the right height. We work out those meeting points on the first visit so the walk lines up before the forms go in.

Get a sidewalk estimate from Watertown Concrete

Call (605) 954-0565 or send the form with the walk's rough length and width, so I know what to look at when I come out.

Request an estimate(605) 954-0565