Concrete Driveways, Patios & Decks in Ankeny — Local pros for every concrete project
A new driveway approach in Ankeny has to be at least 6 inches thick, matching the street where the two meet, and it needs a city right-of-way permit before the old one comes out.
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Concrete Services in Ankeny, Iowa
If you're planning concrete work in Ankeny, JLB's in-house crew can take it on: a driveway or front walk, a plain or stamped patio, stained concrete, a pool deck, a retaining wall, an ADA ramp, a parking lot or a warehouse floor. We install fiberglass pools too, and the estimate is free and on-site.
Most of Ankeny has gone up since 1990, much of it modern suburban construction on former farmland, and the city has written down exactly what it expects of new concrete along its streets.
Need foundation repair or basement waterproofing instead? Visit the Ankeny foundation & waterproofing hub.
How does Ankeny's glacial clay change a driveway or patio pour?
Ankeny sits on flat prairie on the Des Moines Lobe, the shelf of clay till the last glacier left behind. Building codes here set frost depth at 42 inches. Clay like this heaves when it freezes and sinks again in the thaw, and a slab poured on a soft or uneven patch cracks where the ground gives way under it.
So before any forms go up, JLB compacts and grades the base so the slab bears evenly. A standard car driveway then gets four inches of concrete in a 5–7% air-entrained mix, whose tiny air bubbles help the surface survive freeze and thaw, and the pour is protected while it cures so it gains full strength without the surface flaking. The approach out in the right-of-way is a different case: the city's 6-inch minimum applies there, as the table below shows.
What does the city ask of a new driveway approach or sidewalk in Ankeny?
Ankeny requires a permit to remove, build or rebuild a sidewalk or a driveway in the public right-of-way, the public strip along the street. That's where the driveway approach sits, the stretch of driveway between the street and the sidewalk. The city's Residential Sidewalk & Driveway Guidelines handout sets what the new concrete there has to be.
| Part of the job | What the guidelines require |
|---|---|
| Sidewalk width and thickness | At least 5 feet wide unless the city directs otherwise, and at least 4 inches thick; 6 inches thick where it runs through a driveway; at least 5 inches thick on an 8-foot-wide walk. |
| Sidewalk position | The back edge sits about 1 foot outside the property line. |
| Approach thickness | At least 6 inches, matching the street's thickness where the two meet. |
| Approach width | No more than 24 feet wide at the sidewalk, and only 14 feet on some plats; flares, the angled sides at the street, are typically 3 feet. |
| Slope | The street-side edge sits ½ inch per foot above the top of the curb beside it; grade no steeper than 1:20; cross slope no more than 2% (1:50), with 1.5% the target. |
| Weakened-plane joints | Grooves that tell the walk where to crack: every 4 feet on a 4-foot walk, 5 feet on a 5-foot walk and 8 feet on an 8-foot walk. |
| Expansion joints | Full-depth, ½ inch wide, at lot corners and around the sidewalk where it crosses a driveway. |
| Concrete and finish | Portland cement concrete with a non-skid broom finish, applied promptly. |
The city also wants a call for an inspection once the forms are set, at least one business day before the pour, and its guidelines require ADA ramps at street intersections.
Two Ways to Pay Over Time
12 Months Same As Cash
Pay the full balance within 12 months and you pay no interest.
5 Years at 6.99% APR
A lower monthly payment, spread over 60 months.
On approved credit. Ask for full terms at your free estimate.
No need to put the project off another season.
Our Concrete Services in Ankeny, One Page Each
Concrete Driveways
Broom-finished, exposed-aggregate, integrally colored or stamped, from tearing out the old drive to the final pass.
Driveways in Ankeny
Concrete Patios & Outdoor Spaces
A straightforward backyard slab is usually two to three days on site once the design is set.
Patios in Ankeny
Concrete Sidewalks & Walkways
Plain broom-finished walks or decorative ones, and every finish still takes a shovel and a snowblower through an Ankeny winter.
Sidewalks in Ankeny
Stamped Concrete
Brick, cut stone, slate and wood-plank patterns, colored through the full depth so a shovel nick never shows raw gray.
Stamped Concrete in Ankeny
Concrete Pool Decks
Steel tied into the slab, poured by the crew that sets the fiberglass shell, under one contract.
Pool Decks in Ankeny
Stained & Colored Concrete
Acid stain, non-reactive stain or color mixed into the concrete itself, for a patio, a garage floor or a pool deck.
Stained Concrete in Ankeny
Concrete Retaining Walls
Poured as one rebar-reinforced piece on a footing set below the 42-inch frost line.
Retaining Walls in Ankeny
Pool Installation
Kisol, Elegance by Kisol and Exclusive Pools shells, with most installs running four to eight weeks from dig to swim.
Pool Installation in Ankeny
Concrete Parking Lots
Steel or fiber reinforcement keeps a lot working as one slab instead of a field of loose pieces.
Parking Lots in Ankeny
Warehouse & Industrial Floors
Floors for warehouses and shops, with steel placed under each heavy point load.
Industrial Floors in Ankeny
ADA Ramps & Compliance
A 1:12 or flatter running slope, a cross slope under 2 percent and level 60-inch landings, on footings below the frost line.
ADA Ramps in AnkenyTwo Ways to Pay for It
12 Months Same As Cash
Pay the full balance within 12 months and you pay no interest.
Best if you can pay it off within a year.
5 Years at 6.99% APR
A lower monthly payment, spread over 60 months.
Best for bigger projects.
On approved credit. Ask for full terms at your free estimate.
No need to put the project off another season.
Concrete Questions Specific to Ankeny
At least five business days before the work. Ankeny takes right-of-way permit requests online, and its review period runs at least that long, so the permit should be in hand before the old driveway or walk comes out.
If you do, the city's guidelines require two driveways serving the same property to sit at least 20 feet apart.
Bituminous sealer. Ankeny's guidelines require the joint between the driveway approach and the curb to be sealed with it.
Our Central Iowa Offices
JLB Basement Waterproofing & Foundation Repair — Des Moines
97 Indiana Ave Suite #1Des Moines, IA, 50314(515) 717-8560 View on Google Maps
Ready to Pour? Get a Free Estimate.
A free on-site estimate tells you exactly what your concrete project in Ankeny takes — and what it costs. Call (515) 717-8560.
