Concrete Contractors in Oakwood, OH

Oakwood is a small city of older houses, and the work we do as concrete contractors in Oakwood is mostly about fitting new concrete into an established setting. Wikipedia notes that many of Oakwood's houses were built before World War II, in styles including Tudor, Swiss chalet, Colonial Revival, white clapboard Colonial and Gothic Revival. The city covers about 2.2 square miles, all land, and counted 9,572 residents in 2020.

Built on high ground after 1913

Oakwood became a city in 1908, and its biggest growth followed the Great Dayton Flood of 1913. Advertising at the time promoted Oakwood lots as 275 feet higher than the corner of Third and Main in downtown Dayton. The population went from 1,473 in 1920 to 6,494 in 1930 and 9,691 in 1950. So a large share of the city's driveways, walks and steps were first poured in the 1920s through the 1940s. Many have been replaced since, but plenty of original or very old concrete is still in place.

Front walks and steps carry the look

On pre-war houses the walk and steps are part of the architecture. A Tudor with a curved walk, a Colonial with a straight path to a centered door, a stoop flanked by plantings: each calls for something different. When we replace them we:

• keep the original layout and width unless you want a change
• match the step height to the door and keep each rise even
• use a fine broom or a smooth troweled border that reads as traditional
• tie new concrete neatly into existing stone, brick or slate edges

If a walk has been patched with mismatched pieces over the decades, a full replacement with careful forming often looks more original than the patches did.

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Narrow driveways and old garages

Many Oakwood driveways are narrow, sometimes running between two houses to a detached garage at the back. Space for forming and for the truck is tight, so we plan the pour carefully and sometimes pump the concrete. Old ribbon driveways, two concrete strips with grass between, still show up here; some owners keep that look and some fill it in. We can do either.

Hawthorn Hill and the west end

Orville Wright's home, Hawthorn Hill, still stands at the corner of Harman and Park avenues. The western end of the city has many large properties and historic houses, often with long front walks, wide steps and terraced yards. Terraces mean retaining edges and steps between levels, and those need footings deep enough to stay put through freeze and thaw.

Oakwood projects

Front walks and steps, driveways and garage aprons, back patios, garage floors and section repairs. Oakwood sits at about 981 feet, so drainage is about each lot's own grade more than flooding. Any work in the street right-of-way is permitted through the city, and we confirm it before we start. Call (937) 971-5409 to arrange a visit.