Concrete Contractors in Harrisburg, PA

Harrisburg is our home city, and most people who call concrete contractors here own a house that is older than anything in the suburbs around it. Harrisburg was incorporated in 1791, it is the Dauphin County seat, and it held 89,544 people in 1950 before falling to 48,950 by 2000. The 2020 census counted 50,099 residents and 24,727 housing units. A city that once housed almost twice today's population left behind blocks of brick rowhomes, narrow alleys and front steps that meet the sidewalk directly. That is the kind of concrete we spend most of our time on in the city: stoops, walks, rear parking pads, alley aprons, small patios and the occasional full driveway in East Harrisburg.

Neighborhoods that each ask for something different

Midtown and Uptown. These run north from Forster Street between Front and 7th, and they hold several historic districts, including Old Midtown, Mount Pleasant and Olde Uptown. Here the front step and the public walk are part of the streetscape. Many owners want their steps rebuilt to the same footprint, with a clean broom finish that sits right next to neighbors' work.

Allison Hill. The neighborhood sits on the bluff directly east of downtown, and most of its buildings are brick in Italianate, Victorian or Colonial Revival styles. Hills mean steps: we see a lot of multi-riser front stairs, retaining curbs and back yards that drop toward an alley.

Bellevue Park and East Harrisburg. Smaller rowhouse blocks give way to detached homes here, which is where the city's driveways, garage slabs and backyard patios are.

Shipoke and the riverfront. Downtown's low streets along the Susquehanna are where flooding becomes part of the plan.

The river sets the rules

The Susquehanna forms the city's western boundary and Paxton Creek empties into it inside city limits. The National Weather Service lists flood stage at Harrisburg as 17 feet. Hurricane Agnes pushed the river to 33.27 feet on June 24, 1972, the highest crest on record. The 1936 flood reached 29.23 feet, and the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee brought 25.17 feet on September 9, 2011. If your property sits low near the river, we talk through elevations, drainage and what a flood would do to a new slab before we form anything. A walk or patio that has been under water often loses its base, and the fix starts below the concrete, not on top of it.

Get a Free Estimate

Historic districts and street-facing work

The Harrisburg Historic District alone covers about 192 acres and 340 contributing buildings between Forster, 3rd and Hanna Streets and the river. It was placed on the National Register in 1976. The city's zoning code adds a Historic Overlay District, and Section 7-317 says an exterior alteration visible from a public street has to comply with that chapter, with no permit issued for regulated work until a certificate of appropriateness is granted. If you live inside a district and the steps, walk or apron can be seen from the street, ask the city early. We plan the work so it fits the review, and we schedule the pour after the paperwork, not before.

Weather that tests city concrete

Wikipedia's climate data for Harrisburg shows 29.9 inches of snow in an average winter, about 44 inches of total precipitation a year, and a January daily mean near freezing. That means many nights of freeze and thaw, plus salt on sidewalks and stoops. Older city steps were often poured without air entrainment, which is why so many have spalled noses and crumbling treads. Replacements get an air-entrained mix, a proper pitch so water runs off each tread, and a sealer recommendation for the first winter.

Tight lots and how we handle them

Rowhome work is mostly about access. There is rarely room for a truck in front, so we plan for pumping or wheeling, schedule around street parking, and protect the neighbors' steps and walls when we break out old concrete. Where a step meets brick or a stone foundation, we place an isolation joint so the two can move separately. Rear parking pads off the alley need enough slope to drain toward the alley without sending water into the basement. Call (717) 616-2142 to set up a visit anywhere in the city.