Ypsilanti, MI Concrete Contractor for Residential and Commercial Flatwork

GB Cement (GatlinByrd Cement) is a concrete contractor in Ypsilanti, Michigan. From 8786 Tamarack Ln we install and repair driveways, sidewalks, garage floors, patios, stamped and stained concrete, pool decks, and commercial lots for homes and businesses across southeast Michigan. Mixes and base prep are built for Washtenaw County freeze-thaw so flatwork holds up through Michigan winters. Call (734) 323-8882 for a free estimate.

Since 2007 we have poured and repaired concrete around Ypsilanti neighborhoods near Riverside Park, Waterworks Park, and Prospect Park. Those parks sit on the same clay-loam soils and street salt routes as most residential lots in the city. Thin slabs without air-entrained mix or a drained base scale and heave after a few winters. We specify air-entrained concrete, compacted aggregate, and control joints so a driveway or walk can take plow blades, freeze-thaw, and spring thaw without breaking into panels.

Ypsilanti is the hub. Crews also run through Ann Arbor, Canton, Novi, Dexter, Jackson, Belleville, and the other cities listed in our service areas. Start with concrete work in Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, or Canton. The full concrete services menu covers driveway, sidewalk, repair, stamped, garage, and parking lot work.

Concrete services we pour

A typical residential call is a failing driveway: settlement at the garage, open joints, or a slab that holds ice. Replacement is not always the first move. We look at the base, the joints, and whether a section can be removed and recast. When the whole drive is beyond patching, we pull it, rebuild the base, and pour a new slab. See concrete driveways and concrete repair.

Sidewalks and city walks follow different rules. Public frontage often needs a permit and a finish the city will accept. Private walks still need slope away from the house and joints that do not trip. Details are on our sidewalks page.

Garage floors take hot tires, salt drip, and point loads. Parking lots and commercial pads get the same freeze-thaw detailing at a larger scale. Decorative options include stamped concrete and stain when you want more than a gray slab. Decorative still has to drain and survive winter.

• Concrete driveways
• Sidewalks
• Concrete repair
• Stamped concrete
• Garage floors
• Parking lots

How a job runs

We walk the site, measure, and talk through access, trees, downspouts, and where water already goes. If the City of Ypsilanti Permit Center requires a permit for the driveway or public walk, that is the first paperwork. Then we schedule demolition, haul-off, base, forms, pour, finish, and cure. Weather in Michigan can move a pour day. We do not place a slab on a bad forecast just to keep a calendar.

Materials are ordinary, specified well: air-entrained mix for exterior, enough thickness for the load, a base that drains, joints sawed or tooled on time.

Why local concrete fails here

Southeast Michigan winters push water into pores and then freeze it. Salt from roads and walks speeds surface damage. Clay soils hold water against the underside of a slab. That combination is why a ten-year-old drive in Ypsilanti can look far older. We design against that: drainage away from the house, joints that control the crack, and a mix that can take air and freeze. Streets near Frog Island and Riverside see more plow and salt; those walks need the same detailing as a new driveway, sometimes more.

Service area

We are a Ypsilanti company, not a national franchise. If your address is in our listed cities, we can usually schedule a look. City pages are for town-name searches. Service pages are for job-type searches. Read the concrete blog for stamped vs pavers, driveway vs asphalt, and when to repair instead of replace, or contact us to schedule.

Questions

What concrete work do you do in Ypsilanti? Driveways, sidewalks, patios, garage floors, pool decks, stamped and stained concrete, repairs, and commercial lots.

Do you give free estimates? Yes. Call (734) 323-8882 or send the form on this page.

Do I need a permit? Many driveway replacements and city-sidewalk jobs in Ypsilanti need a permit. Check the Permit Center or ask us when we walk the job.

How long before I can use a new driveway? Walking is usually a day or two. Driving waits longer, often about a week, depending on mix and weather. We will give you the number for your pour.

Seasonal timing in southeast Michigan

Most exterior pours here run from spring thaw through late fall. Midwinter placements are rare because the ground and the mix both have to stay in a safe temperature band. Early spring is busy: people see winter damage as soon as the snow leaves. Late summer and early fall are good for new driveways if we can still get a full cure before hard freeze. We will tell you if a date is a bad idea. A rushed late-November slab that freezes overnight is more expensive than waiting until April.

Interior garage and shop floors are less tied to the calendar. Those can often be scheduled when exterior work is paused, as long as the space can be kept dry and off-limits during cure.

Residential and commercial, same crew habits

Houses and small commercial lots get the same sequencing. The difference is scale, joint layout, and how long the surface has to stay closed. A homeowner driveway might be a one-day pour after demo. A parking lot is phased so a business can keep a lane. We do not treat commercial as a different brand. It is the same Ypsilanti crew, more forms, more saw cuts.

If you already have a site plan or a city comment letter, send it with the estimate request. That saves a second visit. If you only have photos and an address, that is enough to start.

What we will not do

We will not promise a price from a photo alone when the base is unknown. We will not hide extra yardage after the forms are set. We will not stamp a patio that sits in a puddle. If the right answer is a smaller repair instead of a full tear-out, we will say so. The reviews already on this page mention that habit. We are not adding claims we cannot stand behind.

We also will not list cities we do not actually drive to. The city pages on this site match the towns we bid. If your town is missing, ask. Sometimes it is a nearby page away. Sometimes it is outside our radius.

How to start

Call (734) 323-8882, use the form, or email help@gbcement.com. Tell us the city, the surface (driveway, walk, lot, garage), and whether you want repair or replacement. If you have a target week, say that too. We will confirm whether we can look at the job and what we need from you for a permit if Ypsilanti or another city requires one.

GB Cement is GatlinByrd Cement, a local concrete contractor at 8786 Tamarack Ln, Ypsilanti, MI 48197. The work is flatwork: pours you can walk, drive, and park on, finished for Michigan weather.

If you are comparing two bids, ask each contractor about air entrainment, base thickness, joint spacing, and who pulls the permit. Those four answers tell you more than a low number on a postcard. We will answer them on the visit.