Concrete in Duncan

Concrete work in Duncan, on fill that has not finished settling yet

Duncan is right across the county line from Greer at the I-85 interchanges, and it is growing as fast as anywhere in the Upstate. Almost every street going in is on freshly graded clay, which is the single worst ground to pour a driveway on without preparation. We prepare it.

Excavated driveway bed showing bright red Piedmont clay with a layer of compacted crushed stone being spread over it before concrete is poured

Duncan is a Spartanburg County town on the I-85 corridor between Greer and Spartanburg, close enough to the BMW plant, the Inland Port and the airport that it has become one of the fastest-growing residential areas on the corridor. Drive Highway 290 or the roads off the I-85 interchanges and the pattern is everywhere: former pasture and woods mass-graded into house pads, new subdivisions in every direction, and builder-grade driveways, walks and stoops poured directly on the graded lot. Those slabs are the ones that crack at the control joints by the third winter and drop at the garage door by the fifth.

The reason is the fill. When a rolling lot is cut and filled, the fill keeps consolidating for years unless it was compacted in lifts, and Piedmont clay fill swells and shrinks with the seasons on top of that. A driveway poured on it moves with it. Our new-construction and replacement work in Duncan starts by proof-rolling the bed and compacting it, cutting out any soft spots, then building a compacted crushed-stone base that spreads the load and drains the water the clay will not. Only then do forms, reinforcement and concrete go in, with the slab graded away from the house and jointed the same day.

Besides driveways, Duncan's larger new lots bring calls for detached garage, shop and barn slabs, patios behind homes that came with a bare back yard, retaining walls where the grading left a slope, and builder work across whole projects. For owners of two- and three-year-old homes whose driveway has already failed, we replace it on a real base and lift the sections that have only settled.

What we pour in Duncan

New-lot flatwork done right

Bed compacted and soft spots cut out, stone base placed and compacted, slabs reinforced and jointed, before the fill can move them.

Replacing failed builder driveways

Cracked or dropped builder slabs broken out and replaced on a compacted base, often while the house is still new.

Patios for bare back yards

Outdoor living slabs sized for the furniture, graded away from the house, plain, broomed or stamped.

Shop and garage slabs

Thicker, rebar-reinforced slabs and footings for the outbuildings larger Duncan lots make room for, with permits handled.

Retaining walls on graded lots

Walls with stone, fabric and drainage behind them where the grading left a slope the yard has to deal with.

Builder scheduling

Per-plan pricing and sequenced pours across a project for custom builders working in Duncan.

Streets, subdivisions and landmarks we work around

Highway 290 corridor
I-85 at Highway 290 and Highway 129
Main Street Duncan
Reidville Road side
Tyger River and Shoals Road area
Berry Shoals and the new subdivisions off Highway 290
Duncan 29334
The Lyman and Wellford edges
Spartanburg County school district side streets

Concrete services for Duncan homeowners

Asked by Duncan homeowners

The builder's driveway already cracked. Is that normal here?

Common, not normal. It was poured on fill that is still settling. If the slab is intact we lift it; if it has cracked through we replace it on a compacted base so it does not happen again.

Do you work with builders in Duncan?

Yes, on a per-plan basis across a project. One site visit sets the pricing and the sequence, and driveways go in after the heavy deliveries are done.

How deep does the stone base need to be on a new lot?

Four to six inches of compacted crushed stone, deeper where the probe finds soft fill. The depth is set on site, not guessed from the plan.

Can you pour a shop slab before the building arrives?

Yes, from the building's drawings, with anchor bolts and pockets set to the plan. Spartanburg County inspects the footing before the pour on a permitted building.

Is Duncan on your regular schedule?

It is one of the closest towns to Greer and we are there most weeks.

Do I need a permit for a driveway in Duncan?

Generally not for a residential driveway, patio or walk. Garage slabs and tall retaining walls are different, and we check with the town or the county for your address.

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