Concrete Slabs and Foundations in Lavon, Texas

Blackland Prairie clay and the City's soil-study rule

• Soil study for all pavement
• Lime stabilization 6% minimum
• Sidewalks: 3000 PSI, 4 in., #3 bars at 18 in.
• Open to traffic at 75% of design strength

A slab is only as steady as the ground under it. According to the Handbook of Texas, the rich soils of the Blackland Prairie and water from Bear Creek drew settlers to the Lavon area in the mid-1850s. The Soil Science Society of America describes Houston Black clay, a Blackland Prairie soil found from north of Dallas to south of San Antonio, as high in smectite clay, which swells when wet, shrinks when dry and cracks the ground. Its booklet adds that construction on this soil is often plagued by cracking, that hydrated lime is often added to stabilize it, and that foundations need steel reinforcement.

What the City's paving standards require

Lavon's Standard Construction Details require a geotechnical investigation for all pavement areas, covering the lime series, subgrade compaction and moisture, and the pavement section. Lime stabilization under paving must be at least 6%, and new driveways and other paving may open to traffic only once testing shows the concrete has reached 75% of its design strength. Street, parking and fire lane pavement must be at least 3600 PSI concrete and alley paving at least 4000 PSI, while sidewalks need at least 3000 PSI concrete, 4 inches thick, with #3 bars at 18 inches each way.

The soil-study rule is written for pavement. Whether it also applies to a private house slab isn't stated, so confirm that with the Building Inspection Department before the pad is built.

From Thompson Switch to lake country

Before it was Lavon, the City says, the community was Thompson Switch, named for early postmaster Elbert C. Thompson. The Handbook of Texas says the town took its name from his son, Lavon Thompson, and that the post office opened in 1888. As a railroad flag stop, Lavon grew from about twenty-five people in the late 1880s to 300 by 1910. In 1980 the newly incorporated town had one business and 306 residents, and by 2000 it had 387; the City credits several smaller housing developments of the late 1990s and early 2000s with roughly doubling its population.

Lavon Lake lies two miles to the west. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, operates it, and the Handbook dates its construction from January 1948 to early 1953. The city has no frontage on the lake, a fact that surprised residents during outreach for the 2022 comprehensive plan. Closer to home are Eagle Pond, with its walking trail at Lincoln Ave and Harrison Ln in Bear Creek, and City Hall, whose Community Room was once the historic elementary school cafeteria; the City has reserved more than 20 acres of open space near City Hall for a future park.

Driveways, patios and walls around a new home

Beyond the foundation, we pour driveways, patios, sidewalks, garage floors and concrete pads, build retaining walls, and handle repair, leveling and resurfacing for older concrete. In Lavon each of these falls under the City's permit rule for concrete work. The fee schedule lists a retaining wall permit at $200.00 plus cost and an in-ground swimming pool permit at $400.00, worth knowing if a pool and deck are part of the plan.

Nearby, we also handle concrete driveway repair in Wylie and concrete slab foundations in Fate.