The edge of a parking lot is where drainage begins. Curb and gutter form the boundary between pavement and landscape, channel stormwater to catch basins, and meet city specifications at street tie-ins. We pour both machine-slipformed long runs and hand-formed transitions, all engineered to slope and cross-section. Free written estimate on every project.
Curb and gutter are not decorative. The gutter pan is a channel that collects water from the lot surface and directs it toward catch basins; the curb is a barrier that prevents vehicles from leaving the pavement and keeps the water in the pan. Without proper slope, the gutter becomes a pond. Without the curb, water spreads across the landscape.
Long straight runs are poured with a slipform machine that moves at a steady pace, maintaining consistent cross-section and slope. Curves, intersections, drop-curb details, and transitions to adjacent pavement are hand-formed by our crew, then tied seamlessly into the machine-formed sections. The result is one continuous concrete edge that functions as designed.
The curb line is marked from the property survey and drainage plan. Elevations are set at every catch basin, transition, and slope change. The staking confirms the path water will follow.
Excavate and compact base
Subgrade is dug to depth, compacted, and gravel base is placed and compacted again. The surface is brought to the elevation where the concrete pour will start.
Machine-form or hand-form
Long runs use a slipform paver that extrudes the concrete to the engineered cross-section. Curves, intersections, and drop-curbs are hand-formed and tied into the slipform work.
Joint, cure, and finish
Control joints are cut at engineered spacing. The concrete cures protected from weather. Tie-ins to the parking slab and street are detailed and inspected.
Drainage is the detail
Why Slope Determines Gutter Success
A gutter without slope is a water trap. Every inch of the pan must angle toward the next catch basin at a grade steep enough to move water during peak rainfall, yet shallow enough to look intentional. If a slipform machine catches on a subgrade irregularity, it can lose slope by fractions of a percent, creating low spots that pond and freeze in winter.
We monitor slope during the pour, not just at the end. After cure, we verify that water actually flows to the basins. Coordinate the curb pour with the parking lot slab so the meeting is flush, with the city street so the tie-in passes inspection, and with any ADA ramps that need curb cuts. The curb is the junction between systems.
Slipform vs hand-formed, slope specs, city tie-ins and what curb actually does.
Both, depending on the run. Long continuous runs are slipformed for speed and consistency; transitions, intersections, drop-curbs and curves are hand-formed where the machine cannot work. Most lots get both techniques in the same project.
Surveyed at staking, monitored during the pour (slipform machines lose slope if they catch on irregularities), and verified after cure. A pan without slope holds water; we never leave one without confirming the drainage path actually works.
Yes, where the project includes a city tie-in, the curb is poured to the city's spec at that transition. We coordinate with the engineer and city inspector on the elevation and cross-section so the tie-in passes inspection.
Yes, isolated sections of failed curb can be cut out and re-poured to match. See parking lot repair for that triage approach; we treat curb damage the same way.
Machine slipform moves quickly; a long lot perimeter can be done in a few days. Hand-formed transitions add time; the full schedule is in the quote so you know how long curb work takes within the larger project.
Client reviews
What Pittsburgh Operations Say About Their Curb & Gutter
Long slipform run around our entire lot perimeter. Continuous, sharp edges, exact slope to the catch basins. The drainage works perfectly through every melt.
W. N.
Property Manager, Pittsburgh
★★★★★
Hand-formed transitions at every entrance look like part of the design, not patched-in. They coordinated the curb pour with the asphalt apron so the meeting line is invisible.
Q. L.
Retail Plaza Owner, Aliquippa
★★★★★
City tie-in passed inspection first time. They knew the city's spec, poured to it, and the inspector signed off without revisions. Saved real schedule slip.
Z. L.
Industrial Site Manager, Monroeville
★★★★★
Drop-curbs at every accessible ramp tied in flush. ADA inspector confirmed compliance. The detail work shows; nothing improvised, everything to spec.
Y. E.
Mall Operations, Mckeesport
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