Concrete in Old Town Meridian, where the oldest slabs in the city are
Meridian had fewer than 10,000 people in 1990. Most of the concrete that predates the boom is in and around Old Town, and much of it is due.
Old Town is the part of Meridian that was here before the subdivisions: Main Street and the downtown grid around Broadway, Idaho and Pine Avenues, the blocks between Franklin Road and Cherry Lane, and City Hall on East Broadway, where Building Services takes permit questions. It has its own zoning district in the City's code (Old Town, O-T), and the City's Destination Downtown plan dates to 2009. The houses are older and the lots narrower than in the subdivisions, and the concrete shows its age. Driveways poured decades ago without a gravel base, carriage walks laid in short slabs that tipped one by one, and stoops that have been patched more than once are the usual calls. In a city where about three-quarters of the homes were built after 2000, Old Town is where most of the older flatwork lives.
Work here is close quarters. Many lots have detached sidewalks, mature street trees and short driveways running straight from the curb, so most jobs touch ACHD's right-of-way. ACHD's code puts carriage walks, driveway approaches and decorative concrete in the right-of-way on the owner, and makes sidewalk damage from a private tree the owner's responsibility too. A ¾-inch lift at a sidewalk joint counts as a hazard. We pull the ACHD permit, saw-cut clean edges so the new panels meet the old ones, work around roots where the tree is staying, and keep the 20-by-10-foot clear-vision triangle at the driveway free of anything over 3 feet. Behind the houses, patios are usually small and close to the property line. We check the 2-foot limit on how far an open structure can project into a setback before anyone sketches a patio cover.
What we do in Old Town Meridian
Older driveways replaced
Thin, base-less driveways broken out and repoured on compacted gravel with air-entrained concrete.
Carriage walks and stoops
Tipped walk panels and heaved stoops rebuilt; stoops on footings to the 24-inch frost line.
Tree-lifted sidewalks
Offset panels lifted, ground or replaced, with the ACHD permit and clean saw-cut edges.
Tight-lot patios
Small back-yard patios laid out around setbacks, easements and existing trees.
ACHD right-of-way work
Approaches, curb cuts and sidewalk panels permitted and built by a bonded contractor.
Foam leveling
Sound panels that sank at the garage or the walk lifted back to grade in a morning.
Neighborhoods and roads we cover
- Main Street & Pine Avenue
- Broadway & Idaho Avenues
- East Broadway (City Hall)
- Meridian Road (central)
- Franklin Road corridor
- Cherry Lane (central)
- Storey Park area
- Generations Plaza area
- Meridian Speedway area
- Fairview Avenue (central)
- Locust Grove Road (central)
- Linder Road (central)
Concrete services in Old Town Meridian
- Driveways, builder driveway replacement, approaches and sidewalks, RV and parking pads
- Patios, stamped and decorative concrete, walkways and steps, sport courts
- Shed and shop slabs, foundations and footings
- Repair and leveling, removal
Questions from Old Town Meridian homeowners
A street tree lifted the sidewalk in front of my house. Who pays?
Under ACHD's code, sidewalk damage caused by a private tree is the owner's responsibility. If the tree is in the public strip, ask ACHD before assuming. We can lift, grind or replace the panel and pull the right-of-way permit.
Can you replace the driveway without touching the approach?
Yes, if the approach is sound. We saw-cut at the property line and tie in with a joint. If the approach is cracked too, it's usually cheaper to do both in one mobilization under one ACHD permit.
My stoop has been patched three times. Is it worth patching again?
Probably not. If it has heaved or is pulling away from the house, a new stoop on footings or a drained base costs $1,800 to $3,800 and stops the cycle.
Is there anything special about building in the Old Town district?
Flatwork at grade needs no City building permit here, the same as elsewhere in Meridian. Work in the street right-of-way needs ACHD's permit. Bigger changes in the O-T district can involve planning review, and we'll tell you if your project crosses that line.
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