Concrete contractor in Yulee, FL - slabs built for low, sandy lots

Foundations, footings and other structural work on a single-family home still need a building permit, and so does work on a property in a flood zone or flood hazard area. The Nassau County Building Department issues permits for the unincorporated parts of the county, and for small patios and porches on owner-occupied homes it also offers a Residential Building Exemption Permit. Before we schedule, we find out which office covers your address, and we take care of the permit paperwork when the job calls for one.

It may, if it's a non-structural project on a single-family home valued under $7,500 and the county approves the exemption in writing before work starts. Under the county's guidance, that approval has to stay on site during the work, and because exempt work gets no county inspection, the owner is responsible for it meeting code. We'd rather know where your job stands before we pour, so we sort that out first.

The state's licensing department, the Florida DBPR, issues contractor licenses that are good anywhere in Florida, and the county Building Department in Yulee also issues registered licenses for contractors who work only in Nassau County. The county no longer asks for a separate local occupational license to do business in its unincorporated areas. We're licensed and insured, and you're welcome to ask me about it when I come out.

It's the land the FEMA flood map shows inside the base flood, the one most people call the 100-year flood. In unincorporated Nassau County that area is made up of the A and V zones, and floodplain management rules apply there, which is part of why work in a flood hazard area still needs a permit.

The biggest pieces are the size of the driveway, whether an old slab has to be broken out and hauled off, and how much soft ground has to be replaced with packed base. A thicker slab for a truck or boat trailer, rebar, the steel bars that help hold a slab together, and a stamped or colored finish all add to it, while a plain broom finish keeps it down. I'll measure when I come out, and the estimate lists what's included so you can compare.

Sinking usually starts underneath, when a base was raked level instead of dug out and packed, so the sand settles or washes out with the next heavy rain. Small hairline cracks are normal for any concrete, so we cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the slab a straight place to crack, before it can pick its own spots. I'll tell you what to expect before we pour, so a small crack later doesn't come as a surprise.