Concrete Overlays in Burien, WA

Concrete overlays in Burien: what to know

With about two-thirds of Burien’s housing built in 1969 or earlier, many driveways, walks, and back patios are decades-old slabs, stained, scaled, or patched. An overlay works when only the surface is worn. A slab that has crept downhill on a sloped lot, or sunk at one corner, carries that movement straight through a new topping. Patches, filled saw cuts, and old trench lines also show through a thin topping, so they are repaired first.

Two city rules shape the work. The parking chapter makes the owner responsible for maintaining parking and access surfaces, surfacing included. The surface water chapter keeps sediment and similar materials out of the storm drain system, so slurry and wash water from surface prep stay on the lot.

Permits and rules in Burien

An overlay leaves the footprint where it is, but the building code’s 500 square foot exemption counts new and replaced surface, and the code language does not address a topping. The sidewalk and apron sit in the right-of-way, which Public Works administers. We look up how the Permit Center classifies resurfacing for your slab, apron, and walk before we quote.

Rules change and vary by parcel, so we confirm the current requirements with the city before we start.

How we approach it

Sound the slab for hollow spots and downhill creep before choosing an overlay
Contain slurry and wash water so none reaches the street or a catch basin
Feather the buildup at the garage door and where the walk joins
Leave the apron and sidewalk out unless a right-of-way permit covers them

For the full process, see our Concrete Overlays page.

Building in the cold months? See our guide to winter concrete pours.

Our concrete overlays work, serving Burien

Examples of our work. We build concrete overlays in Burien and the cities around it. See all of our work

Questions from Burien homeowners

Can I resurface my old Burien driveway instead of replacing it?

Often, if the slab sits flat and its cracks have stopped opening. Slabs on sloped lots can settle or creep, so we look for sunken and heaved sections first. Those sections are replaced before any overlay goes on, because a topping follows the slab beneath it.

Where does overlay wash water go in Burien?

Not into the street. The city’s surface water chapter bars sediment and similar materials from the storm drain system, and driveway drains are the owner’s to maintain. Wash water and slurry are contained on your lot, settled, and kept away from catch basins.

Is an overlay treated as a new driveway under Burien’s 500 square foot rule?

That is unclear. The exemption counts new and replaced surface, and a thin topping is arguably neither. We ask the Permit Center how it reads your project and tell you before work starts. Sidewalk and apron work is right-of-way work and handled separately.