Equipment Pads & Machine Foundations
Pads and machine foundations for Ship Channel and Bayport plants, sized off the geotech report on Lake Charles clay.
Learn MoreHarris County · 35 Min From Our Yard
Concrete Contractor
in Pasadena, TX
Concrete, steel and site work for Ship Channel plants and postwar homes, self-performed by our own crews.
23Years in Business
640Foundations Poured
1.2MSq. Ft. of Flatwork
98%Repeat & Referral
Pasadena, Texas
Why We Know Pasadena
Pasadena has no zoning. What limits your lot instead is the city code and whatever deed restrictions were written into your subdivision. The city will not keep or interpret those restrictions, so we pull them from the Harris County Clerk before we draw anything. Permits come from the Permit Department at City Hall, 1149 Ellsworth, and the city moved to its 2024 codes on February 2, 2026. One more split matters here. Plants in the ETJ industrial districts are not under city ordinances or city permits. That work runs on the plant's own standards, plus any county or state permits that apply.
Soil maps across Pasadena show Lake Charles and Bernard clay on the Beaumont Formation. Lake Charles is a Vertisol, which means it cracks open and closes again every year. That annual movement is what drops beams and cracks postwar slabs, and it is why an equipment pad or machine foundation on the plant side gets designed off the geotech report, not a rule of thumb. Pasadena also sat over one of the worst subsidence zones in the region. More than 10 feet of sinking was measured near here between 1906 and 1995, and it largely stopped only after the late-1970s switch to Lake Livingston surface water.
Then there is the water. About 4,610 Pasadena houses flooded in Hurricane Harvey, and Vince and Little Vince Bayous both set record levels. So the city floodplain permit is strict: engineer-sealed plans, Atlas 14 drainage math, a detention design and a SWPPP, all filed with the building permit or the building permit is rejected. As a concrete contractor working across Pasadena, we bid the detention and the elevation up front, and if your address is east of SH-146 we flag the windstorm certificate before it holds up the job.
Pasadena at a Glance
- County
- Harris County
- Permitting
- City of Pasadena Permit Department, City Hall, 1149 Ellsworth Dr.
- Zip Codes Served
- 77501 through 77508, plus 77586 (El Jardin)
- Dominant Soil
- Lake Charles and Bernard clays on the Beaumont Formation
- Housing Stock
- Postwar 1950s to 1970s homes, median built 1976
- Drive From Our Yard
- About 26 miles, 35 to 40 min off-peak via I-610 and SH-225
Service Area
Where We Work in Pasadena
We are not a call center routing your job to whoever is free. The crews and trucks leave from our north Houston yard and reach Pasadena in about 35 to 40 minutes off-peak, down I-610 and SH-225.
Services In This Area
Services We Offer in
Pasadena, TX
Every service below runs from the Ship Channel plants to the postwar subdivisions.
Each links to its full service page.
Pipe Racks & Equipment Supports
Structural steel pipe racks and supports for petrochemical work, built to your plant's own standards in the ETJ districts.
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Steel Repair & Field Modifications
Field repairs and steel changes after wind, corrosion or the 2023 EF3 tornado that hit northwest Pasadena.
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Foundation Repair
Piers and releveling for postwar Pasadena slabs cracked by Vertisol clay that opens and closes every year.
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Drainage & Detention
Detention and storm sewer sized to Atlas 14, the way the city floodplain permit requires near Vince Bayou.
Learn MoreOn The Ground
Neighborhoods &
Landmarks We Work
Around
If your lot is near any of these, you are inside our same-week radius.
Subdivisions & Neighborhoods
- Golden Acres
- Red Bluff Terrace
- Deepwater
- Old Downtown
- Allendale
- Pasadena Gardens
- Parkview Estates
- Burke Meadows
- Baywood Oaks
- Village Grove
- El Jardin del Mar
- Clear Lake City (Pasadena)
Golden AcresZip Codes
7750177502775037750477505775067750777586
Landmarks We Build Near
- The Houston Ship Channel, the city's northern border
- Bayport Container Terminal and the Bayport Industrial District
- The Chevron Pasadena Refinery
- SH-225, the Pasadena Freeway
- Beltway 8 and the Sam Houston Tollway
- San Jacinto College Central Campus on Spencer Hwy
- The Pasadena Convention Center and Fairgrounds
- Armand Bayou Nature Center
Local Conditions
Building Code, Soil &
Climate In Pasadena
The three things that change a Pasadena bid before we have drawn a single line.
Permits & Code
City of Pasadena, and no zoning.
- Permit Department, City Hall 1st floor, 1149 Ellsworth Dr.
- No zoning; city code and your deed restrictions set the limits
- The city moved to its 2024 codes on February 2, 2026
- ETJ industrial districts are not under city ordinances or permits
Permit Department, City Hall 1st floor, 1149 Ellsworth Dr.
Soil & Subsidence
Expansive clay in a long-sunken area.
- Lake Charles and Bernard clays on the Beaumont Formation
- Lake Charles is a Vertisol; its cracks open and close each year
- More than 10 ft of subsidence measured near Pasadena, 1906 to 1995
- Largely stopped since the late-1970s switch to Lake Livingston water
Flood, Wind & Housing
Where the water goes, and what the wind can do.
- About 4,610 Pasadena houses flooded in Hurricane Harvey
- Floodplain permit needs Atlas 14 calcs, detention and a SWPPP
- Windstorm WPI-8 only east of SH-146; check your address
- Median home built 1976, about 58% built before 1980
Good Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Six things Pasadena owners ask before they hire a contractor. Call and talk to an actual builder if yours is not here.
Talk to a Builder(832) 576-3278
Do I need a City of Pasadena permit, and where do I get it?
Most work does. The Permit Department is on the first floor of City Hall at 1149 Ellsworth Dr., open 8 to 5, and no permits are issued after 4:30 p.m. The city moved to its 2024 codes on February 2, 2026. Plants in the ETJ industrial districts are not under city ordinances or permits. Those jobs run on the owner's approvals and any county or state permits that apply.
Pasadena has no zoning. So what limits what I can build?
City code plus your deed restrictions. The city does not keep or interpret deed restrictions, so you pull them from the Harris County Clerk. Setbacks run 25 ft in front and at least 5 ft on the sides, and building across a lot line needs a replat first. We read all of that before we draw anything.
My lot is near Vince or Little Vince Bayou. What will the floodplain permit need?
Both bayous set record levels in Harvey, and about 4,610 Pasadena houses flooded. A Floodplain Development Permit needs engineer-sealed plans, Atlas 14 drainage calculations, a detention design with cut and fill numbers, and a SWPPP. It has to go in with the building permit, or the building permit is rejected.
Why do so many older Pasadena slabs crack?
The ground. Lake Charles and Bernard clays on the Beaumont Formation are expansive, and Lake Charles is a Vertisol whose cracks open and close every year. On top of that, more than 10 feet of subsidence was measured near Pasadena between 1906 and 1995. With about 58% of homes built before 1980, a lot of postwar slabs have already moved.
Can you work inside a Ship Channel or Bayport plant?
Plants set their own site rules and usually require contractor safety prequalification before anyone comes on site. Plants in Pasadena's ETJ industrial districts are not under city ordinances or permits. The plant's standards govern the work, along with any county or state permits that apply. Ask us about your site's requirements and we will tell you honestly what we can take on.
Do I need a windstorm certificate in Pasadena?
Only if your property is east of State Highway 146, the part of Pasadena inside the state windstorm inspection area, where a WPI-8 certificate applies. West of there, wind design follows the adopted 2024 code. Either way, the 2015 and 2023 tornadoes are a good reason to check the anchorage on a metal building.
Built On Integrity. Focused On You
Let's Build SomethingThat Lasts.
Free estimates, straight timelines, and a crew that treats your job like their own.
OR CALL (832) 576-3278
