Parking lot edges need to shed water, hold vehicles back, and meet city code at street transitions. Laval Concrete builds curb and gutter with slipform equipment for long straight runs and hand-formed details for curves, ramps, and catch-basin transitions. Every pour is staked to grade and verified for slope before the concrete sets.
Curb and gutter are not decoration. The gutter pan is a channel that collects water from the lot surface and directs it to catch basins; the curb is a barrier that keeps vehicles on the pavement and contains the water flow. Without proper slope, the gutter becomes a pond that freezes and cracks in winter. With slope, every storm drains cleanly.
Long straight runs are poured with a slipform paver, a machine that extrudes the concrete to the exact cross-section while moving forward at a steady pace. Curved sections, drop-curbs at accessible ramps, transitions at catch basins, and intersections with adjacent slabs are hand-formed by crew, then tied seamlessly into the slipform work. The result is one continuous edge with no weak points.
This approach mirrors our work on commercial sidewalks, which often run parallel to curb. We also coordinate with parking lot pours to ensure the slab and curb meet flush, and with ADA ramp details where curb-cuts need to be precise.
Recent work
The sequence
Steps to Build Curb & Gutter Right
Survey and stake the line
The curb centerline is marked from the property survey and drainage plan. Elevations are set at every catch basin, ramp, and transition point. Slope direction is confirmed before any ground work begins.
Excavate and compact base
The subgrade is cut to depth, compacted with a plate, gravel base is laid and compacted again, and the surface is brought to the elevation where the curb concrete will start.
Form and pour the concrete
Long runs are poured with a slipform paver that extrudes the concrete to the engineered cross-section. Curves, ramps, and transitions are hand-formed and poured to tie into the slipform sections without gaps.
Joint, cure, and inspect
Control joints are cut at the engineered spacing. The concrete cures protected from rain and sun. Slope is verified after cure, and tie-ins to the parking lot slab and street are inspected for alignment.
Slope is everything
Why Drainage Slope Fails Without Verification
A gutter without slope is a water trap. Every point along the pan must be higher than the next catch basin, with enough grade to move water at peak flow. If a slipform paver hits a soft spot or catches on a rock, it can lose slope by a fraction of an inch per hundred feet. That small loss creates a low spot where water pools, freezes, and cracks the concrete.
We monitor slope during the pour and verify it after cure with a level and tape. If a section is low, we know before the concrete hardens. We also coordinate the curb pour with the adjacent parking lot slab so the two surfaces meet at the right elevation, and with any ADA ramp that needs a flush curb-cut. The curb is the boundary between systems; it has to fit all of them.
Slipform vs hand-formed, slope verification, city tie-ins, and repair options.
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 Laval 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, Laval
★★★★★
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, Montreal
★★★★★
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, Terrebonne
★★★★★
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, Longueuil
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