Concrete Overlays in Yelm, WA

Concrete overlays in Yelm: what to know

Each slab is walked and sounded, and its hollow or crumbling patches are circled on a sketch. Damp stains are logged with a date and read again after a dry spell. Patches that fail get cut back to sound material, the base is compacted again, and the repair cures before any coat is applied. Moisture that returns on a later reading restarts the cycle for that section, so the file shows every reading in order.

YMC 13.16.070(B)(2)(a) sets the redevelopment threshold at 5,000 square feet or greater. Whether a thin overlay on an existing slab counts as new impervious surface or as redevelopment is a question we put to the public works director in writing before the coating plan is locked. Edges that meet a public walk or the road shoulder stay uncoated until the city replies.

Permits and rules in Yelm

Before a coating plan is drafted, we check each slab’s area against the 5,000 square foot redevelopment line and confirm the overlay treatment with the public works director in writing. Readings, repairs, and city answers are dated in the file. The topcoat is ordered only once every hold on the scope has closed, which keeps open questions off the finished surface.

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

How we approach it

Sound each slab on a dry day and circle soft or hollow patches
Remove unsound material and recompact the base under it
Measure each slab against the 5,000 square foot redevelopment line
Leave any edge touching a public walk uncoated until the city replies

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 Yelm

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

Questions from Yelm homeowners

Will a Yelm overlay be treated as redevelopment?

The redevelopment line is 5,000 square feet or greater under YMC 13.16.070(B)(2)(a). Whether a thin overlay on an existing slab qualifies is a question we put to the public works director in writing, and the reply is filed before the topcoat is ordered.

Can a Yelm slab with damp patches still be coated?

Not while the patches read damp. Each damp patch is left bare, marked, and tested on a later dry day, and every date goes into the scope. A patch that passes is noted beside its position on the sketch, so the crew coats only the cleared areas.

How are cracks handled before a Yelm overlay?

A narrow crack takes a flexible filler. A crack that is wider or still moving is opened up, cleaned, and rebuilt, so the topcoat is not asked to span the movement. Each repair is logged on the scope with its location.