Concrete in Edgewater, CO

Concrete work in Edgewater almost always touches two different authorities at once. A driveway, patio, or walk that stays entirely on private property follows the city’s standard building-permit path. The moment that same project crosses the property line — a new approach, a curb cut, or a public sidewalk panel — it moves into Edgewater’s separate right-of-way process. Apollo Construction starts every Edgewater concrete estimate by drawing that line first, because it changes who reviews the work, what gets submitted, and how the schedule is sequenced.

Private Slab or Public Right-of-Way — Edgewater Splits the Two

Edgewater requires an excavation or non-excavation right-of-way permit for all work performed in the public right-of-way, and that list explicitly includes sidewalks, water and sewer service connections, potholing, and street or alley closures. That permit is separate from the building permit used for a private patio or driveway slab, and it is applied for through the same CommunityCore portal the city uses for everything else.

Private flatwork — a rear patio, a walkway that does not touch the sidewalk, a shed pad — instead follows Chapter 18 of the Municipal Code: a value-based permit fee, and where plans are required, a plan review fee set at 65 percent of the permit fee. We separate the private and public portions of a project on paper before we ever price it, because the two follow different review tracks and different inspection holds.

What We Could Not Confirm About Small-Slab Exemptions

The standard International Residential Code exempts small driveway and patio slabs — those not more than 30 inches above grade and not over a basement — from needing a building permit at all. Edgewater adopted the 2021 IRC, but the city’s own adoption ordinance says it specifically edited the Building-permit exemption list rather than carrying it over unchanged, and the edited text was not available to us on a direct read of the city’s site in this research pass. We do not assume the standard exemption still applies here. Before we tell an Edgewater homeowner that a small pad or walk is permit-exempt, we confirm the current exemption list with the Building Department rather than repeating the generic IRC language.

Requesting a Locate Before Anything Is Dug

Any excavation for a footing, a new slab edge, or a trench ahead of formwork has to wait on utility locates first. Colorado state law requires a locate request through Colorado 811 — the state’s one-call utility notification center — at least two full business days before digging, not counting the day of the request, weekends, or legal holidays. We request a utility locate through Colorado 811 as a standing step in every concrete project that involves excavation, and we build that waiting period into the schedule instead of treating it as a formality that can be skipped for a shallow trench.

Applying Through CommunityCore

Edgewater runs its permitting entirely online through CommunityCore; there is no walk-in paper application for either the building-permit or the right-of-way path. A typical homeowner-scale submittal needs an uploaded site plan showing the placement, lot dimensions, and existing structures, plus a floor plan or section view where the scope calls for one. For right-of-way work, the submittal instead documents the approach or sidewalk segment, its limits, and the adjoining public improvements affected. We assemble both packages so they match the actual dimensions on the ground rather than a simplified sketch that comes back with review comments.

Building to the 2021 IRC and Confirming Local Design Criteria

Edgewater adopted the 2021 International Residential Code, with all appendices and tables, effective September 1, 2023, and that code sets the general framework for any structural or drainage-adjacent work tied to a concrete project — a stoop attached to the house, a pad supporting an accessory structure, or a slab that changes grading near a foundation. Where a project’s design values, mix specification, or drainage detail depend on a published city design-criteria document, we confirm the current figure with the Building Department rather than carrying over a number used on a job in a different jurisdiction.

Licensed Trades and Inspections

Any contractor hired to perform construction work on an Edgewater home, including concrete flatwork, must hold a City of Edgewater contractor license. Inspections — where the scope calls for one, such as a footing or a right-of-way restoration — are scheduled through the same CommunityCore portal, with same-day arrival windows confirmed by phone the morning of the visit. We confirm licensing status and the applicable inspection holds before the first yard of concrete is ordered, so nothing gets poured against an assumption that later needs to be undone.

How We Sequence a Edgewater Concrete Project

We start by separating the private and right-of-way portions of the scope, then check the current permit-exemption list and right-of-way requirements with the city before assuming either portion is exempt. Once that’s settled, we request the Colorado 811 locate, prepare the CommunityCore submittal for each affected authority, and confirm any design or mix specification the city requires for public-way work. Only after the permit picture is clear do we schedule demolition of the old surface, base preparation, forming, and the pour itself, holding for any required inspection before the surface goes back into service.

Common Questions

Does a driveway or patio in Edgewater need a permit?
It depends on where the work sits. Private flatwork follows the city’s standard building-permit path under Chapter 18. Anything that touches the sidewalk, curb, or right-of-way instead needs a separate right-of-way permit. We confirm which path — or both — applies before pricing the job.

Is a small concrete slab exempt from a permit in Edgewater?
We could not confirm this on an official city page in this research pass. Edgewater edited its Building-permit exemption list when it adopted the 2021 IRC, so we do not assume the standard small-slab exemption still applies here. We check the current list with the Building Department before treating any slab as exempt.

Do you need a utility locate before pouring concrete?
Yes. Colorado state law requires a locate request through Colorado 811 at least two full business days before digging. We build that request and its waiting period into every project that involves excavation ahead of formwork.

Who reviews concrete work at the Edgewater sidewalk or curb?
Work in the public right-of-way — sidewalks, approaches, curb cuts — requires its own excavation or non-excavation right-of-way permit, applied for through CommunityCore, separate from the private building permit.

Talk to Us About Your Project

Tell us the address, what the concrete work involves, and whether it touches the sidewalk or curb. We will confirm which Edgewater permit path applies, request the utility locate, and put together a planning range for the work.