Concrete Contractor in Helena, MT - driveways and slabs built on solid ground
Helena Concrete is a concrete contractor based in Helena, MT. We dig out, pack and pour driveways, patios, steps and garage floors for homeowners, and footings and foundations for builders, across the city.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
Helena houses, from steep old streets to new lots
Helena is where I learned this trade, pouring beside my dad on his crews, and it's still where most of our calls come from. In the older neighborhoods the houses sit on steep, narrow streets, and the driveways, walks and steps are often decades old, patched more than once and tipping where the ground under them moved. Farther out, newer houses sit on bigger lots that run right up against open land, and those calls are more often a first driveway, a back patio or a garage floor for a new shop.
We do the same work out in the valley, in Helena Valley Northwest and Helena Valley West Central. In the city, the house and the slope usually decide the job, because an old house on a hill means tearing out, regrading and getting water to run away from the foundation before we pour anything new.
Concrete work we do on Helena properties
Concrete driveway building
Helena driveways take snow, ice melt and freeze-thaw every winter, so we dig out the soft dirt, pack a real base and slope the slab to shed melt.
Concrete patio construction
A patio on a sloped Helena lot needs a plan for runoff, so we set the grade to carry water away from your house, not toward it.
Stamped concrete services
Stamped concrete gives a patio or walk the look of stone or brick, which suits older Helena houses, and we seal it to hold up through winter.
Concrete sidewalk building
Old Helena front walks heave where roots and frost moved them, so we tear out the bad sections and pour new ones on packed ground.
Garage floor concrete
A Helena garage floor sees salty slush dripping off the truck all winter, so we pour it thick enough for the load and pitch it toward the door.
Decorative concrete
Colored or textured concrete can match an older Helena house better than plain gray, and we'll talk through which finishes take a Montana winter well.
Concrete retaining walls
Plenty of Helena yards climb a hillside, and a concrete retaining wall holds that slope back when it's built on a footing below frost with drainage behind it.
Concrete floor installation
Basements, shops and outbuildings around Helena need a floor that stays flat and dry, so we prep the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, before we pour.
Concrete pool decks
A Helena pool deck has to drain fast and grip wet feet, so we slope it away from the water and give it a texture that's safe barefoot.
Concrete steps construction
Front steps on older Helena houses often pull away from the porch or settle at one end, so we rebuild them on footings set deep enough for winter.
Slab foundation building
For a new garage, shop or addition in Helena, we build the slab foundation and get the ground under it dug out, packed and drained first.
Foundation installation
Builders call us for foundations on new Helena houses, and we dig, form and pour them deep enough for frost and square enough for the framers.
Concrete parking lot building
Churches, shops and small offices around Helena need a lot that drains and carries daily traffic, so we build the base for the load, not just the surface.
Concrete footings
Footings carry everything above them, so we dig them below frost and pour on firm ground for Helena porches, decks, additions and garden walls.
Foundation raising
When a slab or foundation has sunk on soft or washed-out ground, raising it toward level can save a teardown, and we'll tell you straight when it can't.
Concrete cutting
We cut openings, trenches and control joints, the saw lines that tell a slab where to crack, in old and new Helena concrete.
Get a free estimate for your Helena concrete job
We'll reply within one business day to set a time. I'll come out to your Helena property myself, walk the site and give you a free estimate, with no obligation to go ahead.
- Based in
- Helena, MT 59601
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–11 PM
What working in Helena means for your permit and price
In Helena, the city's building official issues building permits for work that builds, alters, repairs or tears out a building or structure, and the permit has to be in hand before the work starts, so it sets the earliest day we can dig. The city keeps a list of house work that needs no building permit, like fences and some decks, and when a concrete job isn't plainly on it, the city's Building Division is who answers that for your address. We find out which office covers you and take care of the paperwork when a job calls for one, and we're licensed and insured, which you're welcome to ask about when I come out.
The price mostly moves with how much old concrete comes out, how much digging and base the ground needs, and how easy it is to get a truck to the pour, which matters on the steep, tight streets in the older neighborhoods. The schedule turns on the permit and the weather, since we won't pour into frozen ground or the midday heat, and your estimate gives you your own figure. We do the same work in Helena Valley Southeast and the rest of the valley, where lots are bigger and the ground under a new slab is often fill that needs packing.
Why Helena concrete takes such a beating
Helena winters are hard on concrete, because water gets under a slab, freezes, swells and lifts it, then lets it drop again in the thaw, over and over. A slab poured on raked dirt moves right along with that ground, so we dig out the soft soil, pack a gravel base and slope the surface so melt runs off instead of soaking in along the edges.
On older houses we see the same mistakes made years ago: walks and patios that fall toward the foundation, steps pulling off the porch and garage floors cracked in places nobody planned. We tear out what's failing and fix the grade first, because a new slab poured on the old mistake just repeats it.
How a concrete job runs when you call us in Helena
Here's how a job runs from your first call to the day you get your driveway back.
Call or send the form
You reach us at (406) 324-9341 or through the form, and we get back to you to set a time that works. Tell us what's going on, whether it's a sinking walk or a new garage floor.
I walk the site with you
I come out myself, look at the old concrete, the slope and where the water goes, and listen to what you want. You get an estimate that spells out the dig-out, the base, the slab and the finish, so you can see where the money goes.
We sort out permits and weather
If you go ahead, we handle the permit side when the job needs one and pick a pour day around the forecast. You don't need to be home for the work, but we'll let you know before the truck comes.
We pour, finish and clean up
My crew and I dig out, pack the base, set the forms and the rebar, the steel that holds a slab together if it cracks, then pour, finish and cut the joints. We clean up when we're done and tell you when you can walk on it and when you can drive on it.
Questions about concrete work in Helena
How do I apply for a building permit in Helena, MT?
You apply online through the city's Civic Access portal, where owners apply for and manage building permits. An owner or their agent can file, so when we're doing a job that needs one, we file it for you.
What building codes apply to a concrete foundation in Helena?
The city enforces the International Codes along with its own design minimums for Helena, including a footing depth for frost and a seismic design category that's typically D0, or worked out from the soil on your site. For a foundation, that soil matters, so we plan the footing and the steel around what we find before we pour.
How deep do footings need to be in Helena, MT?
The city's minimum is 42 inches to the bottom of the footing, because the ground here freezes deep and frost pushes up anything sitting above it. We dig to that depth, or deeper where the site calls for it, for steps, retaining walls, additions and foundations alike.
How much does a concrete driveway cost in Helena?
Your price is set by your site, so I give you a real number only after I've seen it at the estimate. Beyond the tear-out and base work, a plain broom finish, the light brushed texture that gives tires and boots some grip, costs less than stamped or colored concrete, and a steep, tight driveway takes more work to form and reach. If you need to trim the budget, cut the finish before the base, because the base is buried on day one and it's what decides whether the slab settles.
How long before I can drive on a new concrete driveway in Helena?
You can walk on new concrete well before you can drive on it, because it keeps gaining strength for days while it cures, the slow hardening that needs moisture and mild temperatures. Cold Helena nights slow that down, so I give you the walk-on day and the drive-on day for your pour based on the weather that week.
What causes concrete to crack in Helena, and will a new slab crack too?
Most cracking here comes from water and frost working on a base that was never dug out and packed, so the ground moves and the slab breaks wherever it's weakest. Concrete does shrink and can crack some, which is why we cut the control joints early so any crack follows a line we chose, and we pack the base so the slab isn't riding on loose dirt.
Get your Helena concrete job on the calendar
Pour days fill up once the warm weather comes, so calling early gives us room to line up your permit and your pour around a good stretch of weather.