Curb and Gutter
Whether you’re a business owner or a homeowner, you likely have never spent much time thinking about curbs. But you might want to give them some thought. Why? Because a well-constructed curb, designed, installed, and maintained by a reputable concrete company like Ga Concrete and Grading, not only guides water away from your property and into storm drains, it also prevents drivers and even pedestrians from going where you don’t want them to go. As if that weren’t enough, your curb can be a landscaping feature that adds character and value to your property.
When it comes to installing a curb, form and aesthetics should always follow function. Therefore, the first decision you will need to make is whether or not you want vehicles to be able to drive over your curbs. Then you choose from three basic kinds of curbs:
- Barrier
- Mountable
- Decorative
Barrier Curbs
As their name implies, barrier curbs are the kind of concrete curbing that support safe and orderly traffic patterns. Barrier curbs are elevated from the street or parking areas so as to prevent vehicles from driving over them and onto the surrounding sidewalks, landscaping, etc. In other words, they act as a line of demarcation between where people can go on your property and where they can’t. When installed in a parking lot, barrier curbs also make it easier for drivers to see and maneuver into the designated parking spaces.
Mountable Curbs
Mountable curbs are those designed to allow vehicles to drive over them. This kind of concrete curbing generally appears at the entrances to parking lots, but they also are popular and often mandated additions to sidewalks at intersections so that people confined to wheelchairs can easily access both the sidewalk and the street. They also make it easy for people pushing strollers or using walkers to do likewise. Mountable curbs therefore always slope downward from the sidewalk or parking lot to the adjoining street.
Decorative Curbs
You know the old term “curb appeal?” Usually, it applies to the appearance your property presents to the street, but in the case of decorative curbs, “curb appeal” means the curb itself is beautiful. While barrier and mountable curbs are all about functionality, decorative curbs are about beauty as well as functionality. These are the colorful curbs you often see around landscaping elements that discourage pedestrians from walking on the grass, trampling the flowers, etc. If you believe that colorful decorative concrete curbing can add eye-appeal to your property while protecting your expensive landscaping, call GA Concrete and Grading to see the myriad of colors we offer.
Don’t Forget about Gutters
For any curb installation involving a street or parking lot, installing a gutter first is an absolute necessity. Why? Because your gutter forms the base of your curb, inclined just enough to divert water away from your property into the nearest drainage system. This not only keeps your property as clear of water as possible, but also helps prevent flooding of your parking areas and lawns during heavy rains.
Maintaining Your Curbs and Gutters
It goes without saying that GA Concrete and Grading uses the best construction materials available when creating and installing curbs and gutters. Nevertheless, by its very nature, concrete curbing eventually starts deteriorating, after years of service. When it comes time to repair your curbs, once again GA Concrete and Grading comes to your rescue. Whatever your concrete needs give us a call we have you covered!
GA Concrete and Grading has poured miles of curb and gutter with our curb machines. We have a Puckett Brothers 850 Slipform curb machine that can pour curb faster than most machines. Its also small enough to get into tight places and make a 3 ft radius.
We also offer other concrete services:
Also take a look at our sister company if you have any landscaping needs Barber Landscaping
If you want to learn more about concrete itself check out some of our blog posts that answer customers most common questions.
Can you pour concrete in freezing weather?