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Serving Merrillville, IN and surrounding areas. (219) 500-9510
Merrillville Concrete is a concrete contractor serving Highland, IN, building driveways, patios, sidewalks, and steps for homeowners across town. We have worked throughout Lake County since 2017 and understand what Highland properties face - heavy clay soil that moves every season, freeze-thaw winters that crack poorly built concrete, and flat terrain where drainage has to be built into every slab.
Most Highland driveways were poured when the town built out in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, and after decades of freeze-thaw cycles and clay-soil movement, many of them are well past their useful life. We install replacement driveways with full base excavation and compacted gravel sub-base to keep the slab stable on Lake County clay. Learn more about our concrete driveway building service.
Highland homeowners get a real outdoor season from late spring through early fall, and a properly built concrete patio makes the most of it. We slope every slab away from the house and away from low spots in the yard so water does not pool on the surface or work its way toward the foundation - a real concern on Highland's flat lots.
The brick ranch and Cape Cod homes that make up most of Highland's residential streets look sharp when the driveway or front walk uses a stamped pattern that complements the exterior. We use freeze-thaw-rated mixes and seal every decorative surface before winter arrives, so the detail work stays intact through the hard freezes Highland sees each year.
Highland runs active sidewalk replacement programs every summer, and homeowners often take that opportunity to upgrade their own front walk at the same time. Older sections in established neighborhoods like Arbor Hill and Sandalwood show classic freeze-heave damage - we replace problem sections with properly reinforced concrete set over a stable gravel base.
Front steps on mid-century Highland homes often show crumbling edges and heaved risers after 60 or more years of freeze-thaw exposure. Crumbling or tilted steps are a trip hazard and a poor first impression - we replace deteriorated steps with properly reinforced concrete poured to the right riser height and footed below the frost line.
Even on Highland's generally flat terrain, grade changes between neighboring lots or along driveways can cause erosion and water runoff issues. A properly built concrete retaining wall holds back soil, redirects drainage, and gives a defined edge to planting beds or the edge of a driveway - built to handle the frost pressure that Lake County winters apply every year.
Highland grew fast in the postwar decades, with most of the housing stock going up between the 1940s and the 1970s. That means the typical concrete driveway, front walk, or set of steps on a Highland property is 50 to 70 years old - and has been through that many winters. The freeze-thaw cycle in northwest Indiana is relentless. Every fall, water works into surface pores in concrete, freezes as temperatures drop, expands, and chips the surface apart. By spring, you see spalling, cracking, and heaving. Year after year, it compounds. For concrete of this age, patching usually just delays the inevitable - a full replacement with modern materials and proper base prep is the lasting solution.
The soil under Highland adds another complication. Lake County has heavy clay soil across most of the area, including all of Highland. Clay is a difficult base material because it holds water, drains slowly, and shifts significantly with the seasons - swelling as it gets wet and shrinking as it dries out. A concrete slab sitting on improperly prepared clay gets pulled and pushed from below every year. That movement, combined with the freeze-thaw pressure from above, explains why so many older driveways in Highland look the way they do. A contractor who has not worked in Lake County clay may not account for this - proper base excavation and compacted gravel sub-base are not optional here, they are the job.
Our crew works throughout Highland regularly, and we understand the local conditions that affect concrete work here. Highland is a compact town - just under seven square miles - so we know every part of it, from the neighborhoods near Wicker Memorial Park along Indianapolis Boulevard to the residential streets in Southridge and Ellendale. The town is fully built out, which means most jobs here are replacements and repairs on older concrete, not new construction - and that requires a different set of decisions about base prep, reinforcement, and sequencing the work around homeowners who are still living in the house.
Indianapolis Boulevard (US Route 41) runs north-south through the heart of Highland and is the main route our crews use to reach job sites across the town. We also regularly work near the Borman Expressway corridor on the north side and in the quieter residential streets that branch off Highway Avenue toward the south. The Town of Highland runs its own sidewalk resurfacing and curb ramp programs through the summer months, and homeowners often schedule driveway and flatwork projects to coincide with town street work on their block.
We serve all of Highland and the surrounding northwest Indiana communities. If you have a project in neighboring Munster to the west, or need concrete work in Griffith to the east, our team covers those areas as well.
Reach out by phone or through the contact form and describe the project - driveway replacement, new patio, steps, or flatwork. We respond within one business day and schedule a time to come out and take a look.
We visit your property, measure the area, assess the soil and drainage conditions, and walk through your options for thickness, finish, and any base prep the clay soil requires. You get a clear written quote with no pressure - this is where we answer cost questions before any commitment is made.
We pull the required permits from the Town of Highland before work begins. On job day, the crew removes the old surface, excavates to the right depth, compacts the sub-base, and lays gravel - the preparation work that determines how long the finished concrete holds up.
We pour, finish, and cut control joints on pour day. Once cured - at least seven days before vehicles - we do a final walkthrough with you. We also apply or recommend a sealer before the first Highland winter to protect the surface from road salt and freeze-thaw damage.
We serve all of Highland, IN and respond within one business day. No pressure, no obligation - just a clear quote for your project.
(219) 500-9510Highland is a town of roughly 24,000 people in Lake County, sitting just south of the Borman Expressway (I-80/94) on the flat terrain of the Lake Michigan shoreline plain. It is bordered by Hammond to the north, Munster to the west, Griffith to the east, and Schererville to the south. The town is compact - under seven square miles - and almost entirely built out with single-family residential neighborhoods dating from the postwar era. Named subdivisions like Arbor Hill, Brantwood, Golfmoor, Sandalwood, and Southridge make up the residential fabric of the town, and most of these are mature, owner-occupied streets with mid-century ranch and split-level homes on modest lots. For more background, the Highland, Indiana Wikipedia article covers the town history and neighborhoods in detail.
Indianapolis Boulevard (US 41) is Highland's main north-south artery, lined with commercial businesses and connecting the town to Hammond above and Schererville below. Highway Avenue runs east-west through the middle of town and anchors the commercial downtown area near Kennedy Avenue, where the town hosts its annual Fourth of July festival each summer. Wicker Memorial Park, on Indianapolis Boulevard, is one of the most recognized green spaces in Highland and draws residents from all parts of the town. The Erie Lackawanna Trail - also called the Crosstown Trail - cuts diagonally through Highland along a former rail right-of-way, connecting it to Griffith to the east. If you are in neighboring Munster, we serve that town as well.
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Learn MoreSummer schedules fill up fast in northwest Indiana - reach out now and lock in your project date before the season is gone.