Concrete Contractors in Fourth Ward, NM

The Fourth Ward is the almost entirely residential district between Downtown and Old Town, roughly bounded by Central Avenue, 8th Street and Keleher Avenue, Lomas Boulevard and 15th Street. For concrete contractors, its defining trait is variety. The district grew at what Wikipedia calls a leisurely pace from the 1880s through the 1930s, so one block can hold houses built fifty years apart, each with its own walk, steps and driveway.

A catalog of house styles

Fourth Ward homes range widely in size and style: Queen Anne, Italianate, Tudor, Dutch Colonial, Prairie School, Mediterranean, Pueblo, Territorial, Mission and Bungalow. The district was added to the state register in 1979 and to the National Register on December 1, 1980, and it is named after the city's old fourth political ward.

That range matters for concrete because what looks right depends on the house:

• Victorian and Tudor houses suit narrow walks with plain or lightly tinted concrete and crisp edges.
• Pueblo and Territorial houses pair well with earth-toned integral color and softer, hand-troweled finishes.
• Mission and Mediterranean houses can carry a stamped tile or stone pattern on a patio or courtyard.
• Bungalows usually look best with broad, simple steps and a straight walk to the porch.

Built before cars, retrofitted after

Many Fourth Ward lots were laid out before cars were common. Driveways were added later, often as two narrow concrete strips or a short pad off an alley. Those older drives are thin, frequently cracked and rarely reinforced. Replacing them is often the first concrete project on these lots. Options include a full-width drive, a new set of ribbon strips that keep the older look, or a parking pad reached from the alley.

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Historic review

Because this is a listed historic district between two other protected areas, changes visible from the street may draw review, depending on the property and any local overlay. Before we propose widening a drive, moving a walk or changing a front step, we check the rules for your address and help you prepare drawings if an application is needed.

What we find under old work

A century of patching leaves layers. Under a Fourth Ward walk we may find an older walk, brick, cinders or loose fill. Pouring on top of that is a recipe for the same cracks. We remove it, compact a proper gravel base, set forms to the right height and slope, and pour at a thickness that suits the use. Steel goes into driveways and any slab that will carry weight.

Steps and porches

Entry steps take more abuse than any other concrete on an old house: weather, foot traffic, and in many cases a porch settling above them. We rebuild steps with an even rise and run, which matters for safety, and tie them to sound concrete or a new footing. Where an old step has pulled away from the porch, we look at why before we pour, since a step that is sinking because of water will sink again unless the water is dealt with.

Our services in the Fourth Ward

• Driveways: ribbon strips, full drives and alley pads
• Patios: backyard and courtyard slabs, plain or stamped
• Stamped concrete: tile and stone looks for Mission, Mediterranean and Pueblo houses
• Walkways: front walks at original widths, side paths, garden routes
• Slabs: shed, garage and casita pads
• Repair: single-panel replacement, step rebuilding, crack sealing

The public sidewalk at the street falls under the City of Albuquerque, and we check those requirements separately.