Concrete sidewalk building in Bozeman, MT - a walk built to handle winter

In Bozeman, the property owner does. The city requires owners to maintain or repair the public sidewalks next to their property, so a cracked or worn walk out front is yours to fix. That's one of the most common reasons we get a call, and I'm glad to come look at it with you.

Concrete work in Bozeman usually costs about $5 to $19 per square foot, and that's the range for the area, not a price of ours. Where a sidewalk falls in it depends on its size, how much old concrete comes out, the base work and the finish. My written estimate shows what your price covers.

A sidewalk in the public right-of-way starts with a sidewalk and driveway application to the City Engineer's office, and the city inspects it before the pour, booked at 406-582-2280. Work on Main Street or North Rouse Avenue also needs the state transportation department's approval. For any other walk, we check permit questions with the office that covers your address.

Pour when freezing weather won't follow right after. National guidance urges caution about pouring outdoor concrete in late fall, winter or early spring if it may freeze while still saturated, and the city rates Bozeman's weathering as severe. I'd rather move a pour date than rush one, so we pick it with the forecast in mind.

Dense concrete with entrained air, tiny bubbles worked into the mix, lowers the chance of the surface flaking when it's placed and cured well too. Curing keeps the new slab at the right temperature and moisture so it performs its best, usually with a liquid curing compound or wet burlap under plastic. Ask any contractor how they handle all three.

Skip deicing chemicals on the new walk through its first winter, then use them in moderate amounts after that, as national concrete guidance advises. The same guidance warns against ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate and magnesium-based salts, because they eat into concrete surfaces. We go over ice care with you before we pour.

Concrete can still crack, but on a well-built walk the cracks usually follow lines we chose. We dig out and pack the ground under it so it's less likely to settle, and we cut shallow grooves called control joints across the slab early so cracks run along them. We also slope the walk so water runs off it.