Serving the Railway City
Concrete Contractor in St. Thomas, Ontario
Concrete Surface Solutions rebuilds front steps, porch slabs and parged foundations on St. Thomas's older homes, and pours new driveways, patios and commercial flatwork across the city. Our crews have 20+ years in the trade and 950+ completed jobs, and they know how to work on houses that predate the concrete codes we now build to.
We work for homeowners in the established streets around Talbot Street, for families in the newer south-end subdivisions and for owners of shops and industrial buildings. Our yard on Consortium Court in south London is about 25 minutes away, so a St. Thomas estimate is never a special trip for us.
- 20+ years experience
- 950+ jobs completed
- Licensed & insured
- WSIB covered
What we pour in St. Thomas
Concrete Services for St. Thomas Homes and Businesses
Most of our St. Thomas work falls into two groups: restoring concrete on homes built before the 1950s, and new flatwork for newer houses and commercial lots. The older housing near downtown keeps step, porch and foundation repair at the top of the list.
That older stock runs from the Jumbo statue at the west end of Talbot Street through the blocks around the CASO Station and south toward Pinafore Park. Newer driveway and patio work clusters in south-end subdivisions such as Lake Margaret, Miller's Pond and Harvest Run.
On the residential side, our concrete steps, walkways and porches team replaces crumbling entries on frost-protected footings, and our concrete driveway installation crews pour replacement driveways with a CSA A23.1 Class C-2 exterior mix. Backyards get concrete patios and pool decks sloped away from the house.
Our concrete repair and resurfacing service handles spalled steps, cracked slabs and failing parging, while businesses use our commercial sidewalk, curb and parking area work for entrances, bin pads and aprons. We also cover Port Stanley, Union, Sparta, Belmont from this page.
Concrete Steps, Walkways and Porches
New steps and landings for century porches and side entrances, poured on footings below the 1.2 m frost line.
Concrete Driveway Installation
Tear-out and replacement of tired single-lane and double driveways, from downtown lots to south-end subdivisions.
Concrete Repair and Resurfacing
Spall repair, crack repair and breathable parging for rubble stone and old brick foundations.
Concrete Patios and Pool Decks
Broom, exposed and stamped patios for the deeper backyards on many older St. Thomas lots.
Commercial Sidewalks, Curbs and Parking Areas
Sidewalks, curbs, aprons and bin pads for shops, plazas and industrial buildings.
Older homes
Restoring Steps and Porches on St. Thomas's Older Homes
Front steps and porch slabs on St. Thomas's older homes usually fail for the same reason: they were set on shallow footings, or none, and decades of frost have tipped them toward or away from the house. Rebuilding them on footings taken down to 1.2 m (4 ft) is what stops the cycle.
We see this most in the Courthouse Area, Kettle Creek Village and The Spires, where the city's oldest housing stock sits. Houses there often sit on rubble stone or double-brick foundations, with a poured porch added decades after the house went up.
Those foundations need a different repair than a modern block wall. We strip loose parging, repoint where needed and apply a breathable, lime-modified parge, because a hard cement coat over soft stone traps water and spalls off within a few winters.
Signs your steps or porch are due
- Steps that have dropped or tilted, opening a gap at the house wall
- Scaled or spalled treads from years of road salt tracked up from the sidewalk
- Parging falling off in sheets, showing stone or brick behind it
- Damp patches or efflorescence in a cold room under the porch
- Railings loose in crumbling concrete
Typical step replacement runs $650 to $1,000 per step, and new work carries our 3-year written workmanship warranty. Restoration on a property inside the Downtown St. Thomas Heritage Conservation District may also need a Heritage Alteration Permit, which we cover in the permits section below.
Typical project scopes
Popular Concrete Projects in St. Thomas
The four projects below are the ones St. Thomas owners ask us about most. They are typical project scopes, not records of specific completed jobs, so treat the sizes and timelines as realistic ranges.
Driveway replacement
Tear-out, new 150 to 200 mm (6 to 8 in.) base and a broom finish at $12 to $16 per sq ft.
Front steps and landing
Demolition, new frost footings, formed steps and new railing anchors.
Backyard patio
Broom finish from $11 to $15 per sq ft, or exposed and stamped upgrades.
Commercial flatwork
Sidewalks from $14 to $22 per sq ft and barrier curb from $45 to $85 per linear ft.
Commercial demand is shifting east. The Volkswagen Group's PowerCo battery plant, under construction at Highbury Avenue South and Ron McNeil Line, is drawing supplier and logistics buildings that need entrance aprons, curbs and pads.
Local permits
Permits in St. Thomas
The City of St. Thomas runs its own Building Services department on Level 1 of City Hall at 545 Talbot Street, and it takes applications through Cloudpermit. We confirm which approvals your project needs before we quote, because St. Thomas adds a step most London homeowners have never heard of.
Site Alteration Permit. The City's site alteration by-law (By-law 140-2025, run by Environmental Services) lists installing a driveway or sidewalk among the activities that need a permit, along with grade changes over 150 mm. At last check the fee was $110 plus HST with a $1,000 security on typical residential work.
Building permits. New structures, additions and structural work such as a porch slab over a cold room go through St. Thomas Building Services. Most flat driveways and patios do not need a building permit.
Heritage district. Exterior work inside the Downtown St. Thomas Heritage Conservation District (By-law 100-2018) needs a Heritage Alteration Permit, and individually designated houses need a Designated Heritage Permit.
Kettle Creek. Lots backing onto the Kettle Creek valley or its tributary ravines may sit in Kettle Creek Conservation Authority regulated areas, which need KCCA approval. Every dig also starts with free locates from Ontario One Call.
Addresses just outside the city, including Port Stanley, Belmont, Union and Sparta, fall under the Municipality of Central Elgin instead, so the permit office changes even though the drive does not.
Booking and budget
Scheduling and Pricing for St. Thomas Jobs
Spring is the busiest stretch, so St. Thomas customers who want a May or June pour should book their estimate in winter or early spring. We reply to quote requests within one business day and usually schedule residential pours 3 to 6 weeks out in peak season.
Pricing is the same as in London. The ranges below are typical for St. Thomas work in 2026 and are confirmed in writing after we measure.
| Work | Typical range | St. Thomas note |
|---|---|---|
| Poured front steps | $650 to $1,000 per step | Add footing work on older porches with no frost protection |
| Foundation parging | $9 to $15 per sq ft | Breathable parge on rubble stone and soft brick |
| Broom-finish driveway | $12 to $16 per sq ft | Plus $2 to $4 per sq ft to remove an old surface |
| Stamped driveway or patio | $18 to $26 per sq ft | Sample panel recommended when matching older work |
| Commercial sidewalk | $14 to $22 per sq ft | Phased around business hours |
Ranges are CAD and exclude HST. A concrete pump adds $450 to $900 per pour when a pump is needed, which tight downtown driveways sometimes need.
Want to see the other towns we cover? Browse all of our concrete service areas around London.
FAQ
St. Thomas Concrete FAQs
These are the questions St. Thomas homeowners ask us most often, from travel charges to matching decades-old stamped concrete.
Do you charge extra to travel to St. Thomas?
No. St. Thomas is part of our regular service area, about 25 minutes from our yard in south London, so there is no separate travel line on a standard residential quote.
The one exception is a very small job, such as a single step repair, which we often schedule on a day we already have a crew in the city so the price stays reasonable.
Can you match stamped concrete on an older St. Thomas home?
We can get close, but an exact match on stamped concrete that has weathered for 15 or 20 years is rare. Colour fades, sealer yellows and stamp mats change, so we pour a small sample with products such as Butterfield Color hardeners and release agents and let you approve it on site.
Resealing the old and new sections together at the end evens out the sheen, which does more for the match than most people expect.
Can my front steps be replaced if there is a cold room under the porch?
Yes, but it changes the job. Many older St. Thomas homes have a cold cellar under a concrete porch slab, and that slab is a structural roof, not a sidewalk.
We check the supporting walls, waterproof the top of the new slab and reinforce it to span the room. A permit from Building Services may be needed, and we confirm that before quoting.
What does parging an old foundation cost?
Parging usually runs $9 to $15 per sq ft, depending on how much loose material has to come off first. Rubble stone and soft old brick need a breathable, lime-modified parge instead of a hard straight-cement coat, which traps moisture and pops off within a few winters.
See our concrete repair and resurfacing service for how we prepare the wall before parging.
St. Thomas estimates
Book a Free St. Thomas Estimate
Tell us the street, what is failing or what you want built, and add a photo or two if you can. Sunken steps, flaking parging and a tired driveway can all be priced in one visit.
Every quote lists the mix, thickness, base depth and warranty term, and our WSIB clearance and certificate of insurance are available on request.
- Call or text (226) 243-3585
- Email info@concretesurfacesolutions.ca (attach photos or drawings here)
- Monday to Saturday: 7:00am - 9:00pm
Sunday: 9:00am - 6:00pm
Directions, office hours and what happens after you reach out are on our free concrete estimate page.
Call (226) 243-3585