Concrete parking lot building in Manchester NH - a lot that stands up to heavy traffic
Tired of patching and resurfacing your lot? We lay out concrete and asphalt side by side, then pour a slab built for heavy, turning traffic.
Is concrete worth it for my parking lot over asphalt?
Concrete parking lot building in Manchester gives your property a rigid concrete pavement that outlasts asphalt and stands up to the heavy, slow, turning traffic that wears a lot down. It costs more up front and takes longer to open, so it's the better buy when you want the lot to last. We're based in Manchester and work across the cities around it in southern New Hampshire and over the line into Massachusetts.
If you own a rental building or a small business, your lot is probably patched, rutted or holding water, and you're deciding whether to pave it again or switch to concrete. The price moves mostly with the lot's size, how much digging and grading the ground needs and the traffic the slab has to carry, and picking concrete over asphalt raises the first cost. The schedule turns on the season, any city review your lot needs and the days it stays closed while the concrete cures. Before anything starts, we check with the city about your job, and my estimate spells out what's included so you know what you're paying for.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
Concrete paving, footings and site work
How we handle concrete parking lot building
I start by laying out concrete and asphalt side by side for your lot, so you can weigh what you spend now against how long the lot lasts, and we plan together for the days it stays closed and for where snow piles and roof water will go. Then our crew digs out to firm ground and packs the subgrade, the soil the slab sits on, because industry guidance for parking lots cares less about a special base layer than about that soil being the same all the way across. That base is where people want to cut the budget, since nobody sees it once the slab is down, and it's the one cut I'll talk you out of, because in a kitchen and in concrete the prep decides how the dish turns out. We set the grade so water runs off the slab and away from the building, pour early in the day so midday heat doesn't leave a weak, dusty top, and give it a broom finish, a dragged texture so tires and boots grip in the wet. We cut control joints on time, shallow grooves that give the slab a straight line to crack along instead of wherever it pleases, then let it cure, the slow wait while it hardens and gains strength, the way you let a roast rest before you carve it.
A lot usually brings a few other jobs along with it. Light poles, bollards and sign posts need concrete footings set below the frost, and it makes sense to pour them while our crew is already on site. If the building beside the lot has sunk at one corner, foundation raising brings it back up first, so we can grade the new lot to meet it.
Why Manchester property owners call R&S Manchester Concrete Construction
The owner walks your lot
I come out to look at the lot and write the estimate myself, and I'm on site with our own crew when we do the work. The person who made you the promises is the one watching the pour.
Our own Manchester crew since 2017
I learned concrete on other people's crews and started our own in Manchester in 2017, after years on restaurant lines where prep and timing ran everything. We've spent those winters seeing what snowbanks and runoff do to a lot that wasn't planned for them.
Licensed and insured for your job
We're licensed and insured, and I'm glad to show you the paperwork before we start. Your satisfaction, guaranteed, which is why we walk the finished lot with you before we call it done.
On a lot, what's under the slab and where the water goes matter more than how the top looks. Have the lot's rough size, its slope, the kind of traffic it gets and any planned street connection handy, then send us the details or call (603) 314-3764.
Get a free on-site estimate for your concrete lot
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set up a visit. I'll walk the lot with you and write up a free estimate of what's included, with no pressure to book.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
What happens when you call about a concrete lot in Manchester?
Call or send a message
Call (603) 314-3764 or use the form, and tell us a little about the lot and how it's used. We set a time for me to come out and see it.
I walk the lot with you
I look at the slope, where the water runs and where the snow ends up, and listen to what you need from the lot. The written estimate lists what's included, so you can see what you're paying for before you decide.
We sort out permits and timing
Once you say go, we work out the permit side with you, and if your project goes through the city's stormwater review, there's a meeting with them at least 10 days before site work starts. We pick a pour date that fits around that meeting and the season.
We pour and walk it together
Our crew does the work with me on site, and the lot stays closed while the concrete cures. When it's done, we walk the finished lot with you and go over how to care for it.
Concrete parking lot questions
How much does a concrete parking lot cost in Manchester NH?
There's no single number, because the price comes down to your lot's size, the digging and grading the ground needs, how thick the slab has to be for your traffic, and any drainage or street work. Concrete costs more up front than asphalt, and the money you'd save by skimping on the base is the saving I'll tell you isn't worth it. My written estimate breaks out what's included for your lot.
How long does a concrete lot last compared with asphalt?
Concrete commonly lasts 30 to 40 years, while asphalt commonly runs 15 to 20 years and needs resurfacing along the way. If you plan to hold the property a long time, concrete's higher first cost buys you years without that repeat work.
How soon can cars use a new concrete lot?
Not for days, because concrete has to cure before it carries traffic, while asphalt opens within hours once it cools. Driving on it early is like slicing bread straight out of the oven, which is why we plan the closure with you before we pour.
Do I need a permit to build a parking lot in Manchester?
Often you do, depending on the lot's size, its slope and whether it touches the street. Under the city's stormwater rules, Public Works requires a land disturbance permit when a project disturbs at least half an acre, or 1,000 square feet on slopes steeper than 15%, unless it's already going through site plan review with the Planning Board. Work in the city right-of-way or a connection to city lines will likely need Public Works permits too, and the state requires an alteration of terrain permit once a project disturbs more than 100,000 square feet, or 50,000 within the protected shoreline. Before work starts, we check with the city about your lot and help you pull together what they ask for, like a site plan, then either handle the permit or walk you through it, depending on whose name they want on the application.
How do I care for new concrete in its first winter?
Keep deicing chemicals off it that first winter, even when the surface looks hard, because fresh concrete needs time to cure and build strength before hard freezing and salt. Push snow piles away from the slab rather than onto it, aim downspouts away, and don't let water pond against the edges, since concrete that stays soaked takes the worst of freeze and thaw.
What should I ask a contractor before building a concrete parking lot?
Ask whether the mix includes air entrainment, which means tiny bubbles in the concrete that give freezing water room to expand. One parking lot reference calls it essential wherever pavement goes through freeze and thaw, and that's every winter in New Hampshire. It's a fair question, and I'll give you a straight answer about what's in the mix.
Work that goes with a concrete parking lot
Concrete footings
Any light pole, bollard or dumpster enclosure at the lot's edge starts with a footing set deep enough that frost won't push it out of line.
Foundation raising
When the building beside your lot has sunk at a corner, lifting it back first lets us grade the new lot to meet it at the right height.