Concrete Contractors in The Villages, FL

The Villages is our home market, and concrete contractors who work here have to plan for something most towns do not have: a layer of community review on top of county permits. The census-designated place covers parts of Sumter, Marion and Lake counties, and it grew from 8,333 people in 2000 to 51,442 in 2010 and 79,077 in 2020. The 2020 census counted 53,054 housing units with a homeowner vacancy rate of just 1.3 percent. We pour driveway extensions, patios and lanai slabs, front walks, pads for carts, generators and air conditioners, and we repair or replace concrete that has cracked, settled or stained.

Why so much of the concrete here is a similar age

Between 2010 and 2019 The Villages was the top-selling master-planned community in the country, with 24,440 homes sold, according to Wikipedia. When that many homes go up in a decade, their driveways, walks and patios were poured in the same years, often by the same methods. Older sections near Spanish Springs and the original Orange Blossom Gardens area date back further still. On a visit we usually find one of three things: a driveway that is sound but too narrow for a car and a cart, a back patio that the owner wants to grow, or a slab with a cracked or sunken panel near the garage or a downspout.

Start with your district's ARC manual

Most of The Villages is run by Community Development Districts, and each district's Architectural Review Committee (ARC) has its own manual. The District 1 manual, for example, says concrete is allowed 3 feet off side and rear property lines with no vertical structures, and that driveway extensions are granted only when they are attached to the existing driveway and match its color or coating. Patio Villa driveways in that district may widen no more than 2 feet. Courtyard Villas have their own rules, including a 75 percent petition for pavers or coatings on shared driveways.

Rules are not identical in every district, so we read the manual for your district before we draw anything. We sketch the work on your site plan, measured to the property lines and easements, because that is what the ARC application asks for.

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ARC timing and county permits

The District Government ARC application says a complete application received by Friday at 5:00 p.m. is reviewed within 14 business days, and approved work has to be finished within nine months. It also says the owner remains responsible for any government permits. That depends on where your home sits. Sumter County's Building Services page says a driveway permit is required for residential driveway work, including widening where the drive meets the street, and residential driveway permits are free. Homes on the Lake County side near Lady Lake go through the Town of Lady Lake or Lake County instead. We check which office applies to your address and handle the paperwork with you, so the ARC approval and the permit line up before we schedule a pour.

Concrete jobs we do most often here

• Driveway extensions: widening for a golf cart or a second car, matched to the existing finish
• Patios and lanai slabs: new slabs off the back of the house and extensions to screened lanais
• Decorative finishes: stamped and coated surfaces where your district allows them
• Walks and paths: front entry walks, side paths to the lanai and walkway widening
• Pads: cart garage approaches, generator, HVAC and pool equipment pads sized to the rules
• Repair and replacement: cracked panels, settled sections, trip edges and stained surfaces

Florida weather and slab life

Central Florida concrete does not face the freeze-thaw damage northern slabs do. Its problems come from water. Summer storms can drop a lot of rain fast, sandy ground can wash out from under a slab edge, and roof runoff that empties onto a walk will undermine it over time. We set grade so water runs off the slab and away from the house, we compact the base, and we cut control joints where cracks would otherwise wander. Call (352) 706-8874 to set up a visit in any village, on either side of State Road 44.