Out of parking, or stuck with a gravel lot that ruts and puddles? We build concrete lots on a packed base that drains and wears well.
Concrete parking lot building in Boston, MA adds new parking on your property with a slab built for how a lot actually gets used, and a lot done that way can serve for many years with little upkeep.
Most owners who call us have outgrown the driveway or are tired of a gravel or patched asphalt lot that sinks, puddles and breaks up every spring. The price moves with the size of the lot, how much soft ground has to come out, where the water has to go, how heavy the traffic is and whether there's an old surface to tear out first. The schedule turns on the season, the weather that week and how soon the city signs off on permits. You'll get the figure for your own lot at the estimate, once I've walked it with you.
I come out to see your lot and give the estimate myself, so the person who looked at your soil, your slope and your street entrance is the one running the job. Our own crew does the work, with me there running it.
We've been in business since 2017, nine years now, and I learned the trade beside older finishers who cared more about the prep than the finish. That's still how we work, with most of our care going into the ground you'll never see.
We're licensed and insured. Before we start, I'll tell you what you're paying for and why, including the parts that disappear under the concrete. When you're ready, call (857) 770-0722 or send the form with your lot's address and rough size.
Send us the lot's address, its rough size and where you'd like the entrance from the street, and we'll reply within one business day to set a time. I'll come out, walk the site with you and give you a free estimate, with no obligation to book.
In Boston, a lot that needs its own way in from the street starts at the curb. The city's posted application has you get a separate permit from Public Works to cut a city curb or connect a private driveway to a public way, and you apply for that before you apply to Inspectional Services for any permit that includes a driveway. If the work will take up sidewalk or street space or dig into a public road, that's another permit, so check with Boston Public Works for the current steps. Before work starts, we check with the city about the permits your lot may need and help you get the paperwork in order.
Water is the other thing the city watches. The Boston Water and Sewer Commission requires every construction or reconstruction project in Boston to hold stormwater on site, so a set amount of runoff from the hard surface soaks into the ground before it reaches a storm drain. It may also require particle separators, which catch grit, on new storm drains serving large parking areas, and since those usually sit on your property, keeping them up falls to you. The commission bases its stormwater charge on how much hard surface a property has, so ask them how a new lot changes yours. We're based in Boston and work across the cities around it, including Chelsea and Watertown, and on most lots we meet tight space, old fill and ground that's slow to drain, which is why we look at the water before we dig.
The cost comes down to your lot's size, how much soft ground has to come out and be replaced with packed stone, where the water needs to go and whether there's an old surface to break up first. A new entrance from the street and any stormwater work the city asks for add to it too. I'll give you a figure for your own lot after I've walked it with you.
Yes, the city's Inspectional Services Department issues a Use of Premises Permit for additions to your land, and that includes new parking areas on your property. If the lot needs a new way in from the street, the curb cut permit described above comes first. Work within 100 feet of a wetland also needs an Order of Conditions from the Boston Conservation Commission to make water or sewer connections or drain stormwater into wetland areas.
Pour when the concrete isn't likely to freeze soon after it's placed. A national concrete industry group urges caution about pouring outdoor concrete in late fall, winter or early spring, when it could freeze while it's still saturated. If you're planning a lot for next year, call early so the pour can land in a good stretch.
Freezing and thawing does most of the damage, especially to concrete that was the wrong mix or wasn't cured properly. For concrete exposed to hard freeze and thaw, the same industry group advises ordering good quality air-entrained concrete, which carries tiny air bubbles that give freezing water room, and curing it properly. When you compare bids, ask each contractor which mix they'll order and how they'll cure the new slab.
Skip deicing salts and chemicals the first winter, then use them in moderate amounts after that, which is what the same industry group advises. Plowing and shoveling are fine in the meantime. The group also suggests considering a breathable commercial sealer on the surface, and we can talk through whether it makes sense for your lot.
