Concrete in Riverside, Wichita

A neighborhood planned around the water

The Riverside Land Company had the area between the Arkansas and Little Arkansas rivers surveyed and platted in March 1886, intending it as Wichita's most stylish residential district, with bridges and a trolley line to downtown. The boom collapsed the next year, but investors built large homes anyway, including Burton Campbell's Scottish-style Campbell Castle. The City bought land for parks in 1897, and the Wichita Art Museum opened in 1935 (Wikipedia: Riverside). The result is a mix of grand older houses, modest bungalows and later infill, all near parkland.

Low ground and drainage

Being between two rivers means some lots sit low and drain slowly after heavy rain. Wichita's floodway system, including the Big Ditch finished in 1958, was built in response to repeated Arkansas River flooding (Wikipedia: Wichita), but local drainage on a single lot is still about grading. K-State's dry-basements guide recommends sloping ground away from a foundation about one inch for every foot over 15 feet where possible (K-State Research and Extension, MF2809 Dry Basements and Crawl Spaces). On flat Riverside lots, a new patio or walk is often the best chance to fix how water moves around the house.

What the soil map says

River-valley soils can differ from the upland clays elsewhere in the city, and they vary block to block. The USDA Web Soil Survey shows mapped soils for any address, including drainage class and shrink-swell ratings (USDA NRCS Web Soil Survey). It is a useful first look before planning a larger slab or a garage floor.

Roots, roots and roots

Riverside's canopy is old and big. Roots lift public sidewalk panels and private walks, crack driveway edges and push up patio corners. Options when replacing concrete near a large tree include rerouting a walk, adjusting slab thickness at the root zone, or bridging over roots instead of cutting them. Trees in the parkway between sidewalk and curb are in the public right-of-way, so check with the City first.

Driveways to the back of the lot

Many older homes here have long driveways running to a detached garage at the rear, sometimes shared or with ribbon strips worn into the grass beside them. Replacing a long drive is a bigger tear-out than its width suggests, and access for equipment past the house can be tight. Some owners replace only the worst sections and keep sound panels.

Winter by the river

Shaded walks under big trees stay frozen longer and see more ice, which tempts heavy salting. NRMCA warns that de-icers increase surface saturation and the number of freeze-thaw cycles concrete experiences, and recommends avoiding them on new concrete the first winter (NRMCA, CIP 2: Scaling Concrete Surfaces). A breathable sealer and sand for traction help shaded walks last. See ice melt and concrete scaling.

Projects common in Riverside

• Replacing root-lifted public sidewalk panels
• Long driveway replacement to a rear garage
• Patios that also correct drainage at the back of the house
• Front steps and walks on older homes
• Garage floor and apron repair on detached garages

Neighbors

Delano is across the Arkansas to the south and west, and College Hill is east of downtown. The citywide Wichita page covers right-of-way rules, and Park City and Valley Center are north along the river corridor.

See the estimate factors page for how access and tear-out length change a scope.

Concrete services in Riverside

• Concrete Driveways
• Sidewalks, Walkways & Drive Approaches
• Concrete Patios
• Stamped & Decorative Concrete
• Concrete Repair & Resurfacing
• Garage Floors, Shop & Foundation Slabs
• Concrete Tear-Out & Replacement
• Estimate factors

Sources for this page: Wikipedia: Riverside, Wichita; Wikipedia: Wichita, Kansas; USDA NRCS Web Soil Survey; K-State Research and Extension, MF2809 Dry Basements and Crawl Spaces; NRMCA, CIP 2: Scaling Concrete Surfaces.