Carlsbad Concrete Group has become Southern California's top-rated team in finished concrete projects, specializing in thickened RV pads, board-formed courtyard walls, and engineered cantilevered retaining walls. We offer ADU slab foundations and rebuilt entry stairs.
Our team provides phased drive aisle replacement, delivering outdoor rooms that feel finished for homes and steady schedules for both residential and commercial projects. Backed by 11 years in business and a 1-year written workmanship warranty, we've completed over 1,460 projects, from a 46-panel association walk survey to a 9,200 sq ft drive aisle.
From a mock-up panel approved before the board forms go up to the inspector booked ahead of the truck, our team handles every detail. Serving Carlsbad and neighboring Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Harmony Grove and Poway, we keep a written record of each job, and six of them are laid out below.
Request a free estimate, and we will show you the finish, the layout and the estimated numbers for a project like yours.
Rachel, Olivenhain, Encinitas
A sloped back yard losing soil onto the patio after every winter rain
What we recommended: An engineered cantilevered wall with a drain line and gravel behind it, built to the plan the permit needed
The result: A flat, usable yard above and a dry patio below
Sean, Lomas Santa Fe, Solana Beach
A narrow side yard of loose gravel where a boat trailer kept sinking
What we recommended: A thickened slab on compacted base with rebar, sloped toward the street so water leaves the lot
The result: A firm pad that holds the boat trailer and a storage shed on one small footprint
Thomas, Old Del Mar, Del Mar
Uneven original entry steps on a steep street, with risers that varied by more than an inch
What we recommended: Rebuild the run with equal risers, a wider landing and a new handrail footing
The result: A safer climb to the front door with every riser the same height
Charles, the Covenant, Rancho Santa Fe
A courtyard entry wall for a new contemporary addition that needed to sit well beside Spanish Colonial Revival neighbors
What we recommended: Board forms set with staggered joints, a mock-up panel approved first, and a warm gray mix
The result: A wood-grain wall that reads as part of the landscape at the gate
Jason, Harmony Grove Village, Harmony Grove
A detached ADU planned at the back of a newer lot, with plumbing set before the pour
What we recommended: Footings and slab poured to the engineer's plan, with the inspector booked before the truck
The result: A slab signed off first time and ready for framing the next week
Robert, an apartment community near Poway Road, Poway
An apartment drive aisle with failed asphalt patches where trash trucks turn
What we recommended: Replace the turn area in concrete in three phases so residents kept parking every night
The result: A drive aisle that carries the trash trucks without new potholes
Investment and duration figures are estimates. Your written quote sets the final price and schedule.
Sean had a narrow side yard of loose gravel where his boat trailer kept sinking. We recommended a thickened, broom-finished slab on a compacted base with rebar, sloped toward the street so water leaves the lot. The 520 sq ft pad was an estimated $4,900 to $6,800 job and took an estimated 2 to 3 days. Result: a firm pad that holds the boat trailer and a storage shed on one small footprint.
Charles was adding a contemporary wing that had to sit well beside Spanish Colonial Revival neighbors. For 180 sq ft of courtyard entry wall, we suggested rough-sawn board forms with staggered joints, a warm gray mix and a mock-up panel approved before the full wall was poured. His wall was an estimated $13,500 to $18,500 project over an estimated 1 to 2 weeks. The finished face shows the wood grain and reads as part of the landscape at the gate.
Rachel's sloped back yard lost soil onto the patio after every winter rain. We recommended an engineered cantilevered wall, 54 linear ft and 5 ft tall, with a drain line and gravel behind it, built to the plan the permit needed. The smooth sacked wall was an estimated $17,500 to $23,500 job and ran an estimated 7 to 10 days. She now has a flat, usable yard above and a dry patio below.
Jason planned a detached ADU at the back of a newer lot, with plumbing set before the pour. We poured footings and a 780 sq ft slab-on-grade with thickened footings and a vapor barrier to the engineer's plan, and booked the inspector before the truck. The foundation came in at an estimated $9,200 to $12,800 and took an estimated 4 to 7 days. The slab was signed off first time and ready for framing the next week.
Thomas lived on a steep street where the original entry steps had risers that varied by more than an inch. We rebuilt 8 steps with equal risers, a wider landing and a new handrail footing, in integral sand-colored concrete matched to the Tudor trim. His steps were an estimated $3,400 to $4,800 and took an estimated 3 to 4 days. Every riser is now the same height, and the climb to the front door is safer.
Robert manages an apartment community near Poway Road where trash trucks had broken the asphalt at the turn. We replaced 9,200 sq ft of drive aisle in 6 in. reinforced concrete, in three phases so residents kept parking every night. The work was an estimated $46,000 to $64,000 and ran an estimated 2 to 3 weeks. Result: a drive aisle that carries the trash trucks without new potholes.
Most projects on this page fell inside the estimated job ranges below, and the size, the finish and the tear-out moved each one. The table lists the job types we quote most often, with estimated investment and estimated time on site.
| Job type | Est. investment | Est. duration |
|---|---|---|
| RV pad or side-yard slab | Est. $2,400 to $8,400 per project | Est. 2 to 3 days |
| Board-formed architectural wall (about 200 sq ft) | Est. $6,000 to $20,000 per project | Est. 1 to 2 weeks |
| Engineered retaining wall (about 50 linear ft) | Est. $8,000 to $24,000 per project | Est. 5 to 10 days |
| ADU or addition slab foundation | Est. $3,600 to $14,000 per project | Est. 3 to 7 days |
| Entry steps and landing | Est. $1,000 to $5,000 per project | Est. 2 to 4 days |
| Parking lot and drive aisle | Est. $20,000 to $105,000 per project | Est. 1 to 3 weeks |
Rachel's 54 ft wall sat near the top of its row because a taller, longer wall needs more steel and footing. Most projects are typically poured 1 to 3 weeks after a signed quote, longer when a permit is needed.
Prices on this page are estimates for Carlsbad and nearby cities and are subject to change. The written quote after your site walk sets the final price and the schedule, and it depends on the square footage, the finish and the access for the truck.
The finish in each case study came from how the surface gets used, not from a brochure. Board-formed concrete where a wall faced the street, and broom finish wherever tires or feet need grip.
| Finish | Est. installed price | Where it worked in these projects |
|---|---|---|
| Stamped concrete | Est. $8 to $19 per sq ft | Patios that should read as stone |
| Thickened broom slab | Est. $6 to $13 per sq ft | Sean's Solana Beach RV pad |
| Board-formed wall | Est. $30 to $100 per sq ft of wall face | Charles's Rancho Santa Fe entry wall |
| Broom finish | Est. $6 to $13 per sq ft | Robert's Poway drive aisle |
| Exposed aggregate | Est. $7 to $18 per sq ft | Susan's pool deck near the lake in Lake San Marcos |
Integral color in the mix, as on Thomas's Del Mar steps, holds its shade better than a surface stain, because the color runs through the whole slab.
Below the case studies, the galleries group finished photos by the service behind them. Browse RV pad and side-yard slabs, board-formed architectural concrete, engineered retaining wall builds, ADU and addition foundations, poured entry steps and stairs and parking lot concrete replacement. Each gallery shows the finish, the size and the setting, so you can point at the look you want during your estimate.
A project record with first names, neighborhoods and estimated numbers is easier to trust than a page of adjectives. Every job here sat on a compacted crushed rock base checked before the pour, with rebar set on chairs in the middle of the slab. Our finishing foreman was on each pour, and our 1-year written workmanship warranty covers the work. You can meet the crew who built these projects.
We take on projects across a 35-mile radius of our Carlsbad yard, from Aviara and Bressi Ranch to Solana Beach side yards, Rancho Santa Fe estate projects, Fairbanks Ranch patios and courts, Harmony Grove foundations and Elfin Forest drainage work. Bonsall, Poway and Lake San Marcos are on our full concrete service area list.
No, each figure is an estimated range for that job, and your written quote after the site walk sets the final price.
Most residential projects here took an estimated 3 to 7 days on site, and a board-formed wall typically takes an estimated 1 to 2 weeks.
Yes, Robert's phased drive aisle near Poway Road was a commercial job, and we run commercial concrete construction for offices and associations too.
Yes, Sean's 520 sq ft pad in Lomas Santa Fe holds a boat trailer and a shed, with the slab sloped toward the street.
A board-formed face cannot be changed once poured, so a small test panel lets the owner approve the grain and the mix before the full wall.
Yes, we pull the permit for retaining walls, foundations and driveway approaches and book every inspection, as on Rachel's wall and Jason's ADU slab.
Yes, both appear in these case studies, along with Solana Beach, Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe and Poway.
Call today, and we will walk your site and give you a free, itemized quote for the base, steel and finish you choose.
Call us or send the form, and we will book a site walk and measure the job.
Calls only, we do not receive text messages.
