Commercial Concrete Work: Parking Lots, Sidewalks, Curbs, Pads and Slabs
Our commercial concrete services cover new concrete and full replacement in Eau Claire, Altoona, Chippewa Falls and nearby Chippewa Valley towns. In practice that is a parking lot broken up where trucks turn, walk panels heaved or settled by the front door, or new concrete on a building site. Parking lots and sidewalks are both listed on our Google profile.
On a replacement we tear out the failed concrete, rebuild the base where it has given way, set forms to grade, then pour, finish and joint. We do not patch, lift or level concrete.
The City’s repair program for public walks is explained under sidewalk replacement in Eau Claire. Curb and gutter, dumpster pads and equipment pads are work to call about, because scope depends on the site and the plans. For a building slab, start with concrete slabs, footings and steps. For a house, start at the Eau Claire concrete company homepage.
Concrete Parking Lots: What Sets Thickness, Joint Layout and Drainage
A concrete parking lot holds up when the slab is thick enough for its traffic, the joints are where the cracks want to go, and the water has somewhere to run.
Parking lot thickness is an engineering decision based on truck traffic, soil support and concrete strength, so the number belongs on the drawings, along with the joint plan. Tell us what drives on the lot: one that only sees cars is a different pavement from one where a garbage truck runs the same lane every week.
Concrete shrinks as it hardens, and it will crack somewhere. Control joints are planned cracks: a weakened line in the slab so that the crack forms there, in a straight joint. Spacing follows thickness, and a good layout keeps panels close to square, runs a joint out of every inside corner, and isolates the slab from fixed objects such as buildings and light pole bases.
Under the slab, uniform support matters more than sheer strength. Ground that is firm in one spot and soft in the next lets a slab bend, crack and settle unevenly.
Drainage comes from the grades, and the forms set the grades. A low spot that holds a puddle in summer holds ice through an Eau Claire winter. Where an accessible route crosses the lot on an ADA-covered site, the fall that sheds water has to stay inside the cross slope limit in the table below.
ADA Ramps, Slopes and Accessible Routes
Slope is the least forgiving part of a commercial pour. A ramp that comes out a little too steep cannot be troweled back into line, so the usual fix is to tear it out and pour it again. The slopes come from the plans, and they are made or missed when the forms are set.
The slope limits in the table come from the 2010 ADA Standards and apply only to sites those standards cover. A ramp drawn right at a limit leaves no room for construction variation. The U.S. Access Board’s guide to ramps and curb ramps suggests designing exterior ramps a little flatter, to a 7.5 percent running slope and a 1.5 percent cross slope.
| Item | Figure | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Ramp running slope | 1:12 maximum, with a limited exception for existing sites | ADA-covered sites |
| Cross slope | 1:48 maximum | ADA-covered sites |
| Curb ramp side flares | 1:10 maximum | ADA-covered sites |
| 90 degree parking stall | 9 by 18 feet minimum | Parking lots inside Eau Claire city limits |
| Drive aisle at 90 degree stalls | 24 feet two-way or 12 feet one-way, minimum | Parking lots inside Eau Claire city limits |
ADA rows: 2010 ADA Standards, sections 405.2, 405.3 and 406.3. City rows: Land Development Ordinance, Table 17.08.05(G), PDF dated October 1, 2025.
Detectable warnings, the truncated domes on curb ramps, depend on who governs the ramp. Federal standards require them at transit facilities and on projects funded by the Federal Highway Administration, and not at non-transit facilities. The City requires them on its public curb ramps, so check state and local requirements first.
City of Eau Claire Rules for Commercial Concrete: Site Plan, Parking and Right-of-Way
Approvals belong at the front of a commercial job. A pour can be moved by a day, but an approval nobody applied for stops everything behind it. Inside Eau Claire city limits, these are the ones to ask about.
The City requires Administrative Site Plan approval before a building permit for new development and redevelopment that no other approval process covers, and the plan has to be prepared by a professional. Whether replacing an existing lot counts is a question for the Planning Division, so describe the scope to them first. Stall and aisle minimums are in the table above, and accessible parking under the ADA is required even where no other parking is.
A lot replaced one section at a time can add up. Rebuild enough of an existing lot within five years and the whole lot may have to be brought up to the City’s landscaping rules.
A job that disturbs enough ground or adds enough new hard surface can also need a Land Disturbance Permit under a 2026 ordinance. Nothing posted says whether replacing existing pavement counts, so ask Engineering.
The public sidewalk, the boulevard and the driveway approach sit in the street right-of-way, which is public ground. The City’s posted code bars excavation there without a permit from Engineering. That permit’s conditions include a bond or security deposit of at least $10,000, and liability coverage of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence. When comparing commercial concrete contractors for right-of-way work in Eau Claire, ask who applies for the permit and how those conditions will be met.
Phasing Commercial Concrete Work Around an Open Business
A lot that serves an open business rarely gets to close all at once. The work is split into sections so customers, deliveries and the garbage truck keep a way in. A phased job runs longer on the calendar than one closure would.
The steps below are general practice among commercial concrete contractors on an open site, and the order is worked out job by job.
- Mark what stays open
Entrances, accessible stalls and their route to the door, and the truck routes go on a site sketch first.
- Split the lot into sections
Each section is torn out, placed, cured and reopened before the next one closes.
- Size each closure by the cure
Passenger vehicles stay off for at least seven days, longer in cool weather, on the state ready mixed association's advice. One trade publication says RVs and heavy trucks should wait at least 28 days.
- Route people around the work
Barricades, signs and a marked walking path go up before tear-out.
Scheduling: Pour Season, Right-of-Way Work and Spring Road Limits
Temperature sets the concrete season. Concrete should never go down on frozen ground, and it gains strength slowly in the cold, so a slab poured in cool weather stays closed to traffic longer.
Nobody publishes a safe pour season for Eau Claire, so these are the dates on record that bear on a commercial concrete schedule.
- March 5 to April 13, 2026 The 2026 spring weight postings, one year's record
Road authorities can post special weight limits while a roadbed is weak in spring. Eau Claire County posted 5 tons per axle on 12 county highway segments, on or after March 5. The Town of Washington posted 12 tons on about 40 town roads.
- May 8 and October 4 Median last spring freeze and first fall freeze
NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for the Eau Claire airport. About one year in ten, the last spring freeze comes after May 21 or the first fall freeze by September 20.
- October 1 through May 15 City contract specification
On its own contract work the City stops concrete placement between these dates, or when falling shade temperature drops below 40 F, unless the City Engineer gives written permission. It does not govern private slabs.
The City has not said whether its contract dates apply when an owner hires a commercial concrete contractor in Eau Claire for right-of-way work under a permit, so ask Engineering. Each road authority posts its own spring weight limits, and deliveries on a posted road depend on that authority and the supplier.
Common Mistakes on Commercial Concrete Flatwork
- Sawing joints late
Saw too late and the slab cracks on its own. Saw too early and the edge ravels. National ready mix guidance puts conventional saw cuts within 4 to 12 hours of finishing.
- Salting a new lot its first winter
No deicers the first winter, and sand for traction. The state and national ready mix associations agree on that, so tell the snow contractor before the first storm.
- Starting before the permit
The City doubles permit fees when work starts before the permit or other Inspections approval is in place.