Concrete Contractors in Old Brooklyn, OH

Old Brooklyn is the Cleveland neighborhood right on Parma's northern edge, and its homes are some of the oldest in our concrete contractors' service area. The neighborhood runs from the Cuyahoga River west to the city of Brooklyn, and from the Brookside Park valley south to Parma. It covers all of Ward 13 and part of Ward 12, and it had 32,813 residents in 2020. The most active residential building ran from the early 1900s into the 1950s, so many houses here are 70 to 120 years old.

From greenhouses to houses

In the late 1880s, farmers in the Schaaf Road area, now South Hills, were among the first in the Midwest to grow vegetables in greenhouses. By the 1920s more than 100 acres were under glass, making the neighborhood one of the nation's leading producers of greenhouse vegetables. Around 1960, those greenhouses began to give way to new homes and the Jennings Freeway (Ohio Route 176). Another wave of building came in the 1980s and 1990s in South Hills and along Jennings Road. So Old Brooklyn has two kinds of streets: older blocks near Pearl, Broadview and State Roads, and newer pockets on former greenhouse land.

Older homes, older concrete problems

On early-century homes the usual list includes:

• Porch steps that have been patched many times and now rock or pull away from the porch.
• Narrow driveways, sometimes just two concrete strips, leading to a detached garage at the back of the lot.
• Garage slabs that are cracked through or missing in places.
• Walks lifted by street trees and decades of frost.

Old Brooklyn's housing values are among the highest within Cleveland proper, and owners here tend to want repairs that respect the look of the house, not just a quick slab.

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Rebuilding porch steps

Poured steps on older porches often sit on little or no footing. We remove them, dig to firm ground, compact a stone base and form new steps with even risers. Where the porch is brick or stone, we match the step width and can add a broom or stamped finish that suits the house. A handrail mount can be set in the new concrete.

Driveways and back-lot garages

Replacing a long, narrow driveway to a rear garage takes planning on a tight city lot. We plan access for the truck or pump, protect the neighbor's side, and pitch the new drive so water moves to the street or yard, not into the garage or basement. Replacing the garage floor at the same time keeps the heights right.

Patios and repairs

Many Old Brooklyn back yards have small, broken slabs from decades ago. A new concrete patio or a stamped concrete surface turns that space into something usable. When a single slab section has failed, our concrete repair and replacement service handles just that piece.

Planning around the Zoo and the parks

The 145-acre Cleveland Metroparks Zoo sits inside Old Brooklyn, and the Treadway Creek Greenway restored 21 acres of stream corridor in 2008. Homes near Brookside Park and the creek valleys can sit on sloping ground. We plan drainage so water from the slope moves around new concrete rather than under it.

City permits

Old Brooklyn is part of the City of Cleveland, so Cleveland's rules apply, not Parma's. Work on the public sidewalk or a new driveway apron can require city approval. We check what applies to your address before we schedule. Call (440) 740-3352 for a free estimate.