Concrete Contractors in Kirkwood, NY

Kirkwood is a town of 5,495 people (2020 census) spread over about 31 square miles, with the Susquehanna River on its western edge and the Pennsylvania state line on its southern edge. For concrete contractors, that means two very different kinds of property: river-flat lots along Interstate 81 and U.S. Route 11, and rural homes on the slopes above them. We pour driveways, patios, garage and shed slabs, walks and steps, and we repair concrete across the whole town.

After 2006 and 2011

Wikipedia notes that the Susquehanna overflowed in June 2006 and September 2011, damaging hundreds of homes in Kirkwood. Floods like these do more than soak a basement. When water moves across a yard, it can carry away the fine soil and stone under a patio or driveway, leaving voids under the slab. The surface may look fine for a while, then crack or sink when a car rolls over the hollow spot.

When we look at an older slab on a river lot, we check for hollow-sounding areas, sunken corners and cracks that line up with the old water path. If the base is gone, we recommend removing the slab, rebuilding the base with compacted crushed stone and pouring new concrete. If your property is in a mapped flood area, we also check what local floodplain rules require before any filling or paving.

Hamlets from north to south

Wikipedia lists the hamlets from north to south: Popes Ravine, Brookvale, Five Mile Point, Kirkwood Center, Langdon, Kirkwood Village and Riverside. Five Mile Point is named for its distance from the Broome County Courthouse in Binghamton, and Kirkwood Village is the largest hamlet. Berkalew Island, west of the river's main channel, is also part of the town.

Properties in the river corridor tend to be on flatter, gravelly ground. Homes on the side roads and ridges sit higher, around the town's elevation of about 1,037 feet, often on long gravel or dirt drives. Many owners there want a concrete apron where the drive meets the road, a pad in front of the garage, or a slab for an outbuilding, rather than paving the whole length.

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A railroad town's name

Kirkwood became its own town in November 1859, splitting from Conklin because the Susquehanna made it hard to govern both sides of the river together. It is named for James P. Kirkwood, the civil engineer who built the local railroad. Jonathan Fitch, credited as the first settler, built a water-powered gristmill around 1781 at what is now Five Mile Point.

Slabs for rural properties

Rural Kirkwood properties often need more than a driveway:

• Garage and pole-barn slabs: thicker slabs with reinforcement for trucks and equipment
• Shed pads: level pads sized to the building with a little margin
• Aprons: concrete at the road end of a gravel drive to stop washouts and ruts
• Walks and steps: paths from the drive to the door, and replacement stoops

For heavier slabs we talk through thickness, reinforcement and base depth based on what the slab will carry, and we make sure the concrete truck can reach the site.

Services in Kirkwood

• Driveways and aprons
• Patios and stamped concrete
• Garage, barn and shed slabs
• Sidewalks and steps
• Repair and replacement of flood-damaged or settled slabs

Call (607) 499-4474 to set up a visit anywhere from Five Mile Point to Riverside.