LCC process overview

The project starts with a phone call to (980) 890-4815 or a written enquiry through the business record. The intake captures the four fields that decide whether Local Concrete Charlotte can quote the job: the address (in service area), the service (one of the six the recorded holder pours), the approximate size, and any deadline.

• Address in the Charlotte metropolitan area — Charlotte, Huntersville, Mooresville, Cornelius, Davidson, Concord, Matthews, Waxhaw, Indian Trail.
• Service — driveway installation, driveway replacement, stamped concrete, pool deck, large flatwork or foundation slab.
• Approximate size — length, width or square footage; a photo helps.
• Deadline — a pool build target, a permit closing date, a sale of the property.

Intake takes about 5 minutes and produces a project number. Every later file for the job is stored against that number.

Christian, the founder and lead concrete contractor, or a senior estimator meets the client on site. The site visit is where the working plan for the job is drawn.

• Measure the pad — length, width, connections to existing hardscape.
• Read the subgrade — soil type, existing base, drainage, ponded water on a wet day, tree roots.
• Note abutments — house wall, foundation, garage floor, existing drive, street apron.
• Note access — where the truck will park, chute reach, whether a pump is needed.
• Discuss finish, color, pattern where the service is stamped.
• Photograph the site against the intake fields.

The site visit takes 30 to 60 minutes. It produces a site brief filed against the project number.

The quote is drawn against the site brief. It carries three sections.

• Scope — the pad measurements, the service, the finish, the reinforcement, the mix design, the jointing, the cure regime, any demolition of existing hardscape, any subgrade work, any drainage work.
• Line-item price — labor, mix, reinforcement, forms, finishing, cure, sealer if included, demo if included.
• Terms — deposit, progress payment if any, balance on walk-through, warranty, exclusions.

Quotes are written not verbal, sent by email against the project number, and valid for 30 days. A quote is not a contract.

The contract is a signed version of the accepted quote with fixed dates and a clear payment schedule.

• Scope of work — as in the quote, unchanged.
• Price — as in the quote, plus any agreed adjustments in writing.
• Payment schedule — deposit at contract signing, progress payment at start of work where the job is over three weeks, balance on walk-through.
• Timeline — target start date, target pour date, target walk-through date.
• Warranty — one-year workmanship warranty on the pour; material warranties per manufacturer for sealer and admixtures.
• Exclusions — repairs to existing hardscape outside the scope, landscape restoration, permit fees (invoiced at cost).

Not every concrete job needs a permit. In the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, driveway aprons in the street right-of-way, structural foundation slabs, and slabs over a threshold size or in certain districts do. Ordinary residential flatwork replacing an existing pad in kind typically does not. The permit call is made against the plan reviewer at the jurisdiction; see NC permit basics for the full rules.

Where a permit is required, Local Concrete Charlotte pulls the permit and files inspection requests at the required checkpoints — typically at subgrade and at final. Permit fees are invoiced at cost and are excluded from the base quote.

The schedule is set once the contract is signed and any permit is in hand. Three windows are booked.

• Demolition window if an existing pad is being removed — one to two days depending on size.
• Subgrade window — one to three days for excavation, base, forms and reinforcement. Coordinated with any subgrade inspection.
• Pour window — a single day for the pour and finish; weather-dependent. Pushed to the next dry day if rain is in the forecast during placement or the two hours after.

Cure runs seven days from pour date; sealer application (where included) is scheduled 28 days after pour for driveways and 7–14 days after pour for stamped surfaces, per Curing and sealing on the installer playbook.

Subgrade work is where the pad is actually made. Demolition first, if any existing hardscape is coming out. Excavation to the depth the mix and reinforcement need. Aggregate base placed and compacted in lifts. Drainage details cast in — French drain, trench drain, downspout leaders extended. Forms set and staked. Reinforcement placed on chairs. Vapor barrier under any slab abutting a heated space.

Subgrade is checked against the job sheet before the truck is called. The full spec sits at Subgrade preparation on the installer playbook.

Pour day runs the pour-day checklist end-to-end. Weather, subgrade re-check, forms, reinforcement, mix ticket at the truck, placement, screed, bull-float, finishing call, saw-cut window, cure kick-off. Foot traffic 24 hours, vehicle 7 days, heavy vehicle 28 days.

The full pour-day sequence is on the installer playbook at /pour-day-checklist/. The client is welcome on site during the pour and is called back for the walk-through once the cure window opens.

The walk-through happens once the cure window has closed enough for the client to walk the slab safely — typically 7 to 14 days after pour, depending on the service. Christian or a senior lead walks the pad with the client, checks the pad against the contract scope, notes any punch-list items, and closes the job.

• Check the pad against the contract measurements.
• Check jointing against the layout on the job sheet.
• Check the finish against the selection — broom pattern, stamped color and pattern, exposed aggregate reveal.
• Note any punch-list items in writing; assign a return-visit date if any is needed.
• Deliver the maintenance sheet — sealer interval, re-seal schedule, joint filler if applicable, cleaning notes.
• Take the balance payment against the contract.

The walk-through produces a completion memo filed against the project number and closes the job in the project file. The one-year workmanship warranty starts on the completion date.