Concrete Contractors in Hearne, TX

Hearne is a Robertson County town on State Highway 6, and as concrete contractors we look at Hearne jobs with one question first: where does the water go? On May 13, 2004, Wikipedia records that 17 inches of rain fell in one hour here. Storms like that do not happen often, but they show how quickly water can pile up against a slab that was not pitched right.

Drainage before decoration

A patio or driveway that sheds water in a normal rain can still trap it in a cloudburst. On Hearne jobs we:

• Pitch patios at least an eighth to a quarter inch per foot away from the house.
• Keep the finished slab below door thresholds and weep holes.
• Turn downspouts out past the slab edge, or run them under the slab in a pipe to daylight.
• Avoid creating low pockets where a driveway meets a garage or a walk meets a porch.
• Shape the yard beside new flatwork so water has somewhere to go.

Getting the grade right costs little extra on pour day. Fixing it later usually means tearing out concrete.

A town built around the railroad

The Handbook of Texas says the Houston and Texas Central reached the Hearne depot in April 1868, the town incorporated in 1871, and the crossing with the International-Great Northern made it a cotton-marketing center. The Handbook lists 5,172 residents in 1960; the 2020 census counted 4,544. Between 1943 and 1946, Wikipedia notes, a camp near the city limits held several thousand German prisoners of war.

For concrete, that means most of Hearne's homes are not new. Many driveways and walks are decades old: thin, unreinforced, patched, or broken where tree roots lifted them. Replacement is the most common need here, and it starts with taking out the old concrete and fixing the ground under it.

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Tree roots and old walks

Mature trees shade many older Hearne yards, and their roots are a common reason walks and driveways heave. When we replace a lifted panel, we cut the old concrete out carefully, look at the roots under it and talk with you about options. Sometimes the walk can be rerouted a few feet. Sometimes a thicker section with more reinforcement will bridge the area. Cutting large roots can harm the tree, so we do not do it without your say.

Ground and climate in Robertson County

The Handbook of Texas describes most of Robertson County as light-colored loamy or sandy surfaces over clayey or loamy subsoils, and places the county in the Claypan area of east central Texas. A claypan holds water near the surface after rain, which can soften the base under a slab. We remove soft material, compact a proper base and keep water moving off and away. The county averages about 38 inches of rain a year, with July temperatures running from 73 to 96 degrees and a growing season of about 265 days.

Choosing what to replace first

When an older Hearne property has several failing pieces of concrete, the order matters. A driveway that tips water toward the garage or a walk that holds a puddle against the foundation comes first, because each storm makes the damage under it worse. A cracked but level patio can usually wait. We walk the property with you, rank the problems by how much water each one is letting in, and quote them separately so you can spread the work over time.

Hearne sits at 295 feet, about nine miles south of Calvert. We check what the City of Hearne requires for your job before we schedule it, particularly for any work at the street.