Concrete Contractors in Cohoes, NY

Cohoes is dense, old and built for walking, which keeps concrete contractors busy with repair and replacement more than new construction. The city packs 18,147 residents into about 3.8 square miles of land, about 4,810 people per square mile, and the 2020 census counted 9,752 housing units. Much of that housing grew up around the textile mills that made Cohoes famous.

The mill era

The Harmony Manufacturing Company was founded in 1836. When its complex was finished in 1872, it was the largest cotton mill complex in the world, and Mill No. 3 stretched more than 1,000 feet. Many of the mill buildings still stand, and the mills themselves were converted into lofts between 2005 and 2013.

For homeowners, that history means front steps, stoops and walks on buildings that have seen a century or more of use. Concrete that was added to these homes over the decades has often been patched repeatedly, sometimes over brick or stone that was there first.

Repair first, replace when it is time

In Cohoes we often start with repair questions:

• Can the stoop be resurfaced? If the core is solid and the damage is on top, sometimes. If it is cracked through or pulling from the house, no.
• Can sunken walk sections be lifted? Some can be replaced panel by panel without touching the rest.
• Is the crack in the driveway a problem? A tight crack on a level slab usually is not. A wide or lifted one usually is.

We give you an honest answer on each, because repair is only a good deal when it lasts.

When old concrete has been laid over brick or stone, we find out during demolition. Sometimes the older material underneath is solid and can stay as part of the base. Sometimes it has shifted and has to come out. Either way we tell you what we found before we pour, and we do not bury a problem under fresh concrete just to finish a day early.

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Rivers, islands and wet ground

Cohoes sits where the Mohawk meets the Hudson, and the Mohawk splits into several channels and islands there, including Van Schaick Island and Simmons Island. The city's elevation is listed at 80 feet, rising to 310 feet at Elizabeth Court. Low properties near the water and on the islands can have damp soil, and that changes how we build a slab: deeper compacted base, careful grading and no low spots where water can stand against the concrete.

Small patios, big difference

Cohoes back yards tend to be small, sometimes no more than a strip between the house and a fence. A poured patio turns that strip into usable space for a grill, a table or a place for kids to play. Concrete can be formed to any shape, so it can fill an odd corner or wrap around a back stoop. We slope it away from the house, add an isolation joint where it meets the foundation, and can stamp or color it if you want something more than gray. On a small slab, those details are what make it look finished.

From the islands to the hill

Cohoes runs from about 10 feet near the Hudson to 310 feet at Elizabeth Court, so two jobs a mile apart can face opposite problems. On the low ground near the rivers, the concern is wet soil under the slab. Up the hill, it is runoff coming down across walks and driveways. We plan each slab for its own spot. We check with the City of Cohoes on permit requirements before scheduling work, especially anything touching a public sidewalk.