Concrete Sidewalk Building in Cambridge MA - a walk poured to hold up through winter
Cracked, sunken or uneven walk to your door? We build a new concrete sidewalk that's even underfoot, sheds water and cures before the cold.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What goes into a new concrete sidewalk in Cambridge?
Concrete sidewalk building in Cambridge means taking out a cracked or sunken walk and pouring a new one that's even underfoot, sheds water away from your house and is easy to keep up through the winter. Most of the planning goes into timing, because new concrete needs a long, mild stretch to cure, the slow hardening that sets its strength, before the first freeze.
Most calls about a walk start with a crack someone trips on, a section that's dropped below the one next to it, or a puddle that sits by the front steps after rain. What moves the price is the size of the walk, how much old concrete or brick has to come out, how many turns or concrete steps tie into it, and the finish. That could be a plain broom finish, the light texture dragged across the top so shoes grip when it's wet, or something with color. The schedule depends mostly on the weather and on whether the city needs a permit for your walk. When I come out, the estimate gives you the figure for your job and lists what's included and what isn't.
How can you tell your walk needs replacing?
Cracks that keep growing
A hairline crack that gets wider each spring usually means water is getting in and freezing inside the concrete. If you leave it, the edges break off and lift, and by the next winter you have a trip hazard instead of a job you could plan.
One section higher than another
When one slab sits above the next, the soil under it has usually moved or a tree root has pushed it up. That edge catches toes and snow shovels, and it tends to get worse with every freeze.
Water sitting after rain
Puddles on the walk or water running toward the house mean the walk has lost its pitch or never had the right one. Standing water turns to ice in winter and soaks into the surface, so the damage spreads faster than it does on a walk that drains.
How we handle concrete sidewalk building
We start by weighing concrete against brick with you, because each has a real trade-off and I'd rather you choose with both in front of you. Once you've settled on concrete, we break out and haul away the old walk, then set the forms to a grade I've checked so the walk falls away from your house and water runs off instead of toward the foundation. We pour, give the top its finish and cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the concrete a straight place to crack instead of letting a crack wander across the walk. Then the walk sits to cure, and we time the pour so it gets a fair stretch of that before the cold comes in.
A new walk often comes up alongside other work. If plain gray won't suit the house, our decorative concrete adds color, pattern or texture to the new walk. If the garage has a cracked or pitted slab, we can price new garage floor concrete on the same estimate so you see both jobs side by side.
Broom-finished concrete walk
This suits most front and side walks, because the textured top keeps its grip in rain and is the simplest to shovel and keep up. It's also the plainest choice, which usually keeps the price lower.
Colored or patterned walk
This suits a house where the walk is part of the look from the street, such as a walk next to brick steps or an older front. It adds cost and time for the extra finishing work, so we spell out the difference in the estimate.
Get a free written estimate for your new walk
We reply within one business day to set a time. I come out, measure the walk and write up a free estimate listing what's included and what isn't, with no obligation to go ahead.
(617) 613-6953- Based in
- Cambridge, MA 02139
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–9 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call about a new sidewalk?
Here's how a sidewalk job runs from your first call to the day you walk on it, and who you'll be dealing with at each point.
Call or send a message
Call (617) 613-6953 or use the form, and we'll get back to you to set up a visit. Tell us roughly how long the walk is and what it's made of now.
I measure and write it up
I come out myself, measure the walk, check where the water runs and ask what you want from it. The estimate lists what's included and what isn't, so you know what you're paying for before anything starts.
We plan, pour and cure
Once you're ready, we take care of any permit, plan the pour around the weather and do the work with me on site. Then the walk sits to cure, and we tell you when it's ready to use.
Why Cambridge homeowners call M&K Cambridge Concrete Company for a new walk
I do every estimate myself
I come out for every estimate, and I'm on site with our crew while the work gets done. The person who checked where your water runs is the one watching the forms go in.
Running our crew since 2023
I started as a helper setting forms and pushing wheelbarrows before I learned to finish slabs, and I opened this business in Cambridge in 2023. That's three years of our own jobs, built on the habit of checking grade and drainage before anything else.
Licensed and insured for home work
We're fully licensed and insured. Massachusetts requires contractors working on an existing, owner-occupied home of one to four units to be registered as a Home Improvement Contractor, so it's a fair thing to ask anyone you're comparing.
On a walk, the parts that matter most are the grade and the joints, and you won't see either once it's poured, so tell us about your walk or call (617) 613-6953 and I'll come measure it.
New walks, city sidewalks and permits in Cambridge
Where your walk sits decides who has a say in it. When the city replaces sidewalks on a residential street, it lets residents know the existing material will go back in unless the owner says otherwise, and under Cambridge's sidewalk materials policy it switches brick to concrete at no charge but switches concrete to brick only if the abutting owner pays the extra cost. For a walk on your own lot, building permit applications go through the Inspectional Services Department, and Public Works reviews and signs off on them first when a project meets any of its review questions. We check what your walk needs with the city's building office, and when a permit applies, we take it out ourselves as your contractor and keep it posted at the job site.
We're based in Cambridge and work across the cities around it, and the walks we're called to are usually short runs between an older house and a tight street, often with a step or two, a tree close by and little room to park a truck. We plan the pour and the cleanup around that, and we meet the same narrow lots on jobs in Somerville and Brookline.
Questions about concrete sidewalks in Cambridge
How much does a concrete sidewalk cost in Cambridge, MA?
A concrete sidewalk installed in the Boston area usually costs about $10 to $20 per square foot, and that's the going rate for the work around here, not a quote. Where your walk falls in that range depends on how much old material comes out, how many turns and steps it has and the finish you pick. The estimate gives you the figure for your walk.
Is concrete or brick better for a front walk in Cambridge?
Concrete is generally seen as easier to maintain and easier to walk on, while brick is often seen as warmer, more attractive and more historic. For a walk you'll be shoveling all winter, I lean toward concrete for the footing and the upkeep, but if a historic look matters to you, brick can be worth the extra care.
When should a concrete sidewalk be poured in Massachusetts?
Earlier in the season is better than late fall, because late-fall concrete has less time to gain strength before winter. One concrete supplier's guide says new concrete ideally gets 30 days to cure and then 30 days to dry out before freezing and thawing start. We plan the pour date with that window and the forecast in mind.
How do I care for a new concrete sidewalk in its first winter?
Use clean sand for traction instead of salt for that first year, which is what one concrete supplier's guide suggests. The same guide says new concrete is especially vulnerable to corrosive salts early on, because salt eats at the surface and lets water soak in, which makes freezing and thawing do more damage.
What causes a concrete sidewalk to flake and pit after winter?
Usually it's freezing and thawing combined with deicing chemicals, which wear the top away in thin flakes that contractors call scaling. National federal highway guidance says air-entraining admixtures, which put tiny air bubbles in the mix, make concrete more durable through freeze and thaw and more resistant to scaling from deicing chemicals, though they also reduce its strength. For a walk that faces Cambridge winters, it's worth asking any contractor, us included, whether the mix uses one.
How often should a new concrete sidewalk be resealed?
One concrete supplier's guide suggests thinking about resealing 2 to 5 years after the pour, because some sealers break down over time. It puts a silane sealer at about 5 years and a siloxane at maybe two, so the sealer on your walk decides how soon you'll need to look at it again.
Other concrete work that pairs with a walk
Garage floor concrete
For a garage slab that's pitted, cracked or holding water near the door, a fresh pour gives you a flat floor that's easier to sweep and park on.
Decorative concrete
When plain gray doesn't suit the house, color, patterns and textured finishes let new concrete sit comfortably beside brick trim, stone or an older street.
Cities we build sidewalks in around Cambridge
M&K Cambridge Concrete Company is based in Cambridge, MA and builds sidewalks across the cities around it, including Medford and Newton. The 12 cities below each have their own page, and they're not the only places we work.
Cambridge, MA
Plan your sidewalk pour before the cold
Call (617) 613-6953 or use the form with the walk's rough size, what it's made of now and the season you're aiming for, so the first visit starts with the right questions.