How to start a concrete business

This guide takes a new concrete or masonry company through the license classes, the OSHA rules built around cutting and pouring, weather limits, insurance, money and the first customers. The finding most founders miss: California makes every C-8 concrete contractor carry workers' compensation even with no employees, while a C-29 mason is not on that list, and the federal silica rule decides how every saw and grinder on the truck has to be set up.

By Niomi AscotUpdated October 3, 202616 min read

Licensing: California issues C-8 Concrete and C-29 Masonry; Minnesota treats both as one skill
Workers' comp: Required for every California C-8 contractor, employees or not
Silica: OSHA limit of 50 micrograms per cubic meter, a written plan and a competent person
Cold weather: Below 40°F hydration is greatly retarded, says ACI
Certification: ACI Flatwork Finisher: 1,500 hours plus a performance exam
Competition: 58.8% of poured concrete contractors had fewer than 5 employees (Census, 2023)

Flatwork, foundations or masonry: picking the work

California’s license board writes the two halves of this trade as separate classes. A C-8 concrete contractor “forms, pours, places, finishes and installs specified mass, pavement, flat and other concrete work” (California CSLB, C-8 Concrete). A C-29 masonry contractor lays block, brick, stone, terra cotta and fire brick, and builds walls and “fences installed with or without mortar” (CSLB, C-29 Masonry).

The Census splits it three ways. Concrete finishing, footings, mud-jacking and shotcrete sit in code 238110; bricklaying, chimneys, pointing and masonry retaining walls in 238140; and “Concrete patio construction” and brick paver installation fall into the catch-all 238990 (Census NAICS index). A patio company may appear in neither set of statistics.

Most founders choose among four kinds of work:

Residential flatwork and decorative concrete. Driveways, patios, walks, steps, stamped and colored finishes, paid for by the homeowner after a quote.
Foundations for builders. Footings, poured walls and slabs on a builder’s schedule. Of new single-family homes finished in 2025, 75 percent sat on a slab or similar foundation and 16 percent on a basement, rising to 53 percent of new homes in the Northeast and 50 percent in the Midwest (Census foundation table).
Masonry. Brick and block walls, stone veneer, chimneys, repointing. Brick was the main exterior wall on 16 percent of new homes nationally in 2025 but only 4 percent in the Midwest (Census exterior wall table), so repair work depends heavily on the local housing stock.
Commercial concrete. Slabs, curbs and sidewalks bid to owners and general contractors. Private nonresidential construction ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $773.0 billion in August 2026 (Census construction spending).

Wages, openings and the size of the field

Bureau of Labor Statistics data published on O*NET OnLine:

Occupation	Median pay, 2025	Employed, 2024	Growth, 2024 to 2034	Openings, 2024 to 2034
Cement masons and concrete finishers	$27.41/hour, $57,020/year	206,700	1% to 2% (slower than average)	14,300
Brickmasons and blockmasons	$29.87/hour, $62,120/year	74,100	3% to 4% (average)	5,600
Stonemasons	$27.59/hour, $57,390/year	12,100	Decline (1% or more)	800

Openings include replacements. Weather is constant: 84 percent of cement masons and 97 percent of brickmasons report working outdoors in all conditions every day.

The 2023 County Business Patterns show 23,350 poured concrete contractor establishments with paid employees, 58.8 percent with fewer than five people, and 18,258 masonry establishments, of which 68.7 percent were that small (Census County Business Patterns, 2023). Concrete also has 107 establishments with 250 or more employees, so a foundation sub will meet large firms on builder work that a masonry repair shop rarely sees.

Licensing, certification and the federal rules

No federal license covers concrete or masonry. States range from two specialty classes in California to a single skill in Minnesota. Federal rules that reach a new company:

Silica. OSHA’s construction standard for respirable crystalline silica is the rule this trade is built around; it has its own section below.
Stormwater. EPA requires a construction stormwater permit for work disturbing an acre or more, or less than an acre that is part of a larger common plan of development (EPA construction stormwater). On a builder’s subdivision, in our experience, the concrete sub works under that permit’s rules for washout and runoff.
Lead paint. Repairing painted brick or block on a home built before 1978 can fall under the EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting rule once more than 20 square feet of exterior paint is disturbed.
Vehicles. Federal rules treat a dump truck, or a pickup and trailer, with a rating of 10,001 pounds or more crossing state lines as a commercial motor vehicle (49 CFR 390.5), and a CDL applies to combinations of 26,001 pounds or more towing over 10,000, or to heavy single vehicles (49 CFR 383.5). Most small companies we see buy ready-mix delivered.

State licensing for concrete and masonry contractors

State	Agency	License or registration	Key requirements, as the agency states them
California	Contractors State License Board	C-8 Concrete, C-29 Masonry	Needed at $1,000 or any permit job; four years of experience in the class; $25,000 bond; C-8 must carry workers’ comp with or without employees
Minnesota	Department of Labor and Industry	No license for one special skill; residential license for two or more	Masonry/concrete is a single special skill; licensees need $100,000/$300,000 liability and $25,000 property damage
Michigan	LARA	Maintenance and alteration contractor, trades listed	Concrete, excavation and masonry are separate trades; license at $600 in labor and materials; 60 hours of prelicensure education
Pennsylvania	Office of Attorney General	Home improvement registration	At $5,000 of home improvements a year; $100 every two years
North Carolina	G.S. 87-1, general contractors board	General contractor license	From $40,000 per undertaking
Arizona	Registrar of Contractors, A.R.S. 32-1122	Contractor license	Four years of experience, two in the last ten; bond of $1,000 to $7,500 for specialty residential work (A.R.S. 32-1152)

Fees as of October 2026. Ask the agency to confirm before you apply, and ask the city about permits and any local registration.

California. CSLB requires a license from $1,000 in labor and materials, or on any smaller job needing a permit or another worker. Applicants need four years of experience in the class, up to three of them from training and at least one practical (CSLB, experience), and every new applicant takes the asbestos open-book exam. CSLB’s fee page lists $450 to apply, $49 for state and federal fingerprint processing, and $200 for a sole owner’s first license or $350 for any other entity (CSLB fees); the license lasts two years and requires a $25,000 bond or cashier’s check (CSLB, issuing your license).

Two California rules hit this trade harder than most. C-8 is one of five classes required to carry workers’ compensation “whether or not they have employees,” and C-29 is not among them (CSLB, workers’ compensation). And you may not advertise work outside your classes; CSLB’s own example is a C-29 mason who cannot advertise electrical work without a C-10 (CSLB advertising guidelines). By that logic a masonry shop advertising driveways needs the C-8 too, so confirm your classes with CSLB first. CSLB warns that contracting without a license can bring “up to six months in jail and/or a $500 fine,” plus an administrative fine of $200 to $15,000 (CSLB, before applying); a lawyer can tell you how the statute applies to your case.

Minnesota. DLI exempts specialty contractors who offer one special skill, and Masonry/concrete is one skill covering masonry walls, fireplaces and veneer. A company that pours slabs and lays block stays under one skill; add excavation or carpentry for homeowners and it needs a residential building contractor or remodeler license, which costs $180 before a recovery fund charge that starts at $320. Licensees put the number on all advertising, websites included (DLI FAQs).

Michigan. LARA licenses anyone taking on a job worth $600 or more, labor and materials together (LARA, homeowner information), and a maintenance and alteration license lists each trade its holder qualified in, with concrete, excavation and masonry as three separate entries. The 60 hours of prelicensure education come before the exam (LARA, prelicensure education).

Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Arizona. Pennsylvania registers rather than tests, and requires $50,000 of personal injury and $50,000 of property damage coverage to register (Pennsylvania AG FAQ); builder and commercial work is outside home improvement, so ask whether it applies to yours. Most residential driveways fall under North Carolina’s $40,000 line, but a foundation package for a builder can cross it, and the limited license reaches single projects up to $750,000 (G.S. 87-10). In Arizona, an unlicensed contractor working under the $1,000 exemption must print “not a licensed contractor” in every ad (A.R.S. 32-1121).

We found no Texas agency issuing a statewide concrete or masonry license, so the city permit office is the place to ask.

ACI certification

The American Concrete Institute runs more than 30 certification programs and has examined over 900,000 people since 1983 (ACI certification programs). Two matter early:

Concrete Flatwork Associate, Finisher and Advanced Finisher. The Associate level is a closed-book written exam of about 50 questions, passed at 70 percent. Finisher adds 1,500 hours of on-the-job finishing, about a year of full-time work, and a hands-on performance exam; Advanced Finisher takes 4,500 hours or the performance route. Each lasts five years (ACI flatwork certification).
Concrete Field Testing Technician, Grade I. A 55-question written exam and a performance exam on the ASTM tests for slump, temperature, air content and making cylinders (ACI field testing).

No state covered here requires ACI cards, but in our experience commercial specifications often name them.

Codes, permits and locates

Under the 2021 model residential code, a driveway or sidewalk needs no building permit, and neither do retaining walls up to 4 feet from the bottom of the footing unless they hold back a surcharge (IRC R105.2). Fairfax County, Virginia exempts on-grade patios, driveways and retaining walls holding under 3 feet of earth, but not tiered walls or walls carrying a driveway or patio.

The foundation chapter sets quality floors (IRC chapter 4): concrete exposed to weathering must be air-entrained per Table R402.2, footings must be at least 12 inches wide and 6 inches deep, they may not rest on frozen soil, and foundation walls enclosing a basement room need dampproofing.

Footings, forms and base all start with a locate request through 811. California wants it two working days to 14 calendar days ahead (Cal. Gov. Code 4216.2); Texas sets a 48-hour minimum that skips weekends and holidays (Tex. Util. Code 251.151); Florida asks for 2 full business days (Fla. Stat. 556.105). OSHA adds that utility locations must be estimated before an excavation opens (29 CFR 1926.651).

Weather limits that set the calendar

Temperature decides which days you can sell:

Cold concrete. Under 40°F, ACI says, “the rate of hydration is greatly retarded”; in the 40 to 60°F band, extending the moist cure is what keeps results acceptable (ACI, cold weather). Fresh concrete needs protection from even one freeze until it reaches 500 psi (ACI, freezing). Winter pours can succeed, and ACI warns that trouble starts “when makeshift provisions are employed” (ACI, winter concreting).
Hot concrete. ACI 301-20 and ACI 305.1-14 cap concrete at 95°F when it leaves the truck (ACI, hot weather).
Masonry. The Brick Industry Association’s Technical Note 1 calls for cold-weather procedures below 40°F and hot-weather procedures above 100°F, or above 90°F with wind over 8 mph (BIA Technical Note 1).

Builder work follows the curve: Midwest single-family starts, not seasonally adjusted, dropped from 14,700 in October 2025 to 5,900 in January 2026 (Census new residential construction). Northern companies need winter cash or heated interior work; Sun Belt companies plan around afternoon heat.

Setting up the company

Entity and tax ID. The SBA notes an LLC usually keeps personal assets out of reach if the business is sued (SBA, business structures). Register the LLC first, then take the free EIN from the IRS, which never charges for one.

Sales tax. The line between residential and commercial matters here. Texas exempts residential repair labor but taxes the whole charge for repairing or remodeling nonresidential property, naming office buildings, parking garages and retail shops as examples (Texas Comptroller Publication 94-116). So a store’s sidewalk repair is taxed where a homeowner’s would not be; check your own state before the first commercial bid.

Insurance. The SBA’s insurance guide covers general liability, professional liability and commercial property. Builders and general contractors usually want a certificate naming them as additional insured before a sub’s first day, and in our experience trucks and equipment trailers need commercial auto from the start.

Workers’ compensation. California’s C-8 rule applies from day one. In Florida, one construction employee is enough to require it (Fla. Stat. 440.02). Texas lets most private companies go without, except on public projects, and warns that general contractors may require their subs to carry it (Texas Department of Insurance).

Workers or subs. Crews hired by the day are where the IRS employee test bites: misclassify a worker with no reasonable basis and the employment taxes become yours.

Equipment, yard and suppliers

The starting kit, as we see it on new crews:

Flatwork tools: forms and stakes, screeds, bull floats, edgers and groovers, a walk-behind or ride-on power trowel, a plate compactor, rebar tools, a curing sprayer and insulated blankets.
Masonry gear: mixers, scaffolding, and saws and grinders fitted with water feed or dust collection that match OSHA’s Table 1.
Testing kit: a slump cone, air meter and cylinder molds for your own quality checks.
Vehicles: pickups, a dump truck or dump trailer for excavation and base, and a trailer for a skid steer.
Suppliers: a ready-mix plant whose minimum loads and dispatch times will shape your day, a brick and block yard, an aggregate supplier and a rental yard for pumps.
Software: estimates by square foot and cubic yard, weather-aware scheduling and photos of base, steel and thickness taken before every pour.

Pricing, deposits and cash flow

Flatwork is commonly priced by the square foot with thickness, base, reinforcement and finish itemized; foundations by the yard or job; masonry by the wall area or job. Thumbtack reports national ranges of $2,695 to $7,998 for a concrete driveway (Thumbtack, driveways) and $2,080 to $6,101 for a patio (Thumbtack, patios) from its own marketplace, method unstated, so treat them as one platform’s numbers. No source with a stated method publishes a startup cost for this trade; the SBA startup worksheet lists what to estimate.

Deposits are regulated. California holds a home improvement down payment to $1,000 or 10 percent, whichever is less (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 7159.5). Pennsylvania’s Attorney General considers about one-third appropriate on jobs over $5,000, and contracts over $500 must be written with a cancellation notice. A buyer who signs at home keeps a three-business-day right to cancel under the FTC Cooling-Off Rule, so book the ready-mix after the window closes.

Builder work pays on draws or net terms while ready-mix and payroll go out weekly; in our experience that gap, more than slow sales, is what empties a new foundation sub’s account. For a new company, the SBA says, loan approval leans mostly on the owner’s own credit (SBA, fund your business).

Hiring crews and the silica rule

The entry bar is low: 52 percent of O*NET respondents said a new cement mason needs less than a high school diploma. Cement Mason, Bricklayer and Stonemason can all be run as Registered Apprenticeships, with 2,000 or more hours of paid work in a time-based program (29 CFR 29.5), and the Labor Department reminds employers that apprentices earn a wage that rises with their skills (Apprenticeship.gov).

Silica comes first. The standard limits exposure to 50 micrograms per cubic meter over an eight-hour shift, with an action level of 25 (29 CFR 1926.1153). OSHA’s summary of employer duties (OSHA, silica in construction):

An exposure control plan on paper, run by a designated competent person who can recognize silica hazards and has the authority to correct them.
Either the controls in Table 1 or measured exposure; there is no third option.
No dry sweeping or similar housekeeping where a cleaner alternative exists.
Medical exams every three years for workers who must wear a respirator 30 or more days a year.

Table 1 is specific. A handheld saw must feed water continuously to the blade; outdoors, no respirator is needed up to four hours a shift, but indoors an APF 10 respirator is required for any length of cut. A tuckpointing grinder needs a shroud and a vacuum moving at least 25 cubic feet per minute per inch of wheel, with APF 10 up to four hours and APF 25 beyond. The Mason Contractors Association of America keeps a silica resource page for members.

The rest of Subpart Q and the citation list:

Exposed rebar that a worker could fall onto must be guarded against impalement (29 CFR 1926.701).
A block wall going up needs a limited access zone as wide as the wall is tall plus four feet, and walls over eight feet need bracing (29 CFR 1926.706).
Concrete buckets with powered gates need positive safety latches, and pump pipe supports are designed for a 100 percent overload (29 CFR 1926.702).
Respiratory protection ranked fifth and construction scaffolding sixth on OSHA’s fiscal 2025 list of most-cited standards (OSHA top 10), and fall protection applies from six feet (OSHA fall protection).

Finding the first customers

Business Profile. Crews work at the customer’s site, so Google wants one profile at the central location with a service area of no more than about two hours’ drive, and will not accept a virtual office (Google Business Profile guidelines). Remove the address if customers do not visit it, and list up to 20 areas (Google, service areas). Google decides how you verify and prefers video where it is offered (Google, verification).

No Local Services Ads category. Google’s category list has nothing for concrete, masonry or paving. Foundation repair or waterproofing may fit Foundations services, and a licensed general contractor may fit General contractor; both screen owners and businesses, check insurance and state licenses, and take 3 to 4 weeks on average (Google requirements). For driveways, patios and brick, the paid route is ordinary search ads.

Builders. NAHB counts 77,455 residential builder establishments and 128,187 remodelers (NAHB Eye on Housing). In our experience, insurance certificates ready to send and a fast bid win more of them than price.

Reviews. In BrightLocal’s 2026 survey, 47 percent said a business with fewer than 20 reviews would lose them. Ask when each slab opens to traffic, and never make a reward depend on the rating, which the FTC’s 2024 rule forbids.

Partners. Landscapers, pool builders, waterproofers and property managers with trip hazards to fix all buy concrete.

When the company is up and running, our page on concrete and masonry contractor marketing covers campaigns without a Local Services category and the builder side. Begin with Google Ads split by service and a well-built Business Profile.

What trips up new concrete and masonry companies

Pouring outside the window. Unprotected cold or concrete above 95°F brings callbacks.
Cutting dry. No written plan, no competent person or no water on the blade is a silica violation.
Advertising past the license. In California, C-8 and C-29 are different classes.
Financing builders. Weekly ready-mix bills, monthly draws.

Questions people ask before starting a concrete business

Do I need a license to start a concrete company?

In many states, yes: California requires a C-8 or C-29 from $1,000, Michigan licenses from $600 and Pennsylvania registers home improvement contractors from $5,000 a year. Minnesota needs no state license for concrete or masonry alone, and North Carolina licenses general contractors on jobs of $40,000 and up.

Does a one-person concrete company need workers’ comp in California?

Yes. CSLB requires every active C-8 contractor to carry it with or without employees, though C-29 masonry contractors are not on that list.

What does the silica rule require of a small crew?

A written exposure control plan, a competent person, Table 1 controls or exposure monitoring, limits on dry sweeping and medical exams for regular respirator users. OSHA sets those duties for construction employers whose workers cut, grind or drill these materials.

Is ACI certification required?

Not by state law in the states covered here, but commercial specifications often require it. The Flatwork Associate is a written exam, Finisher adds 1,500 hours and a performance test, and both last five years.

Can you pour concrete in winter?

Yes, with real protection: keep it from freezing until it reaches 500 psi and extend curing below 60°F. ACI says problems come from makeshift measures, and masonry cold-weather rules start below 40°F.

Do driveways need a permit?

Not a building permit under the model code, but cities often require a right-of-way or zoning permit for the apron.

Can a concrete company use Local Services Ads?

Not for flatwork or masonry, since Google has no category for them. Foundation repair or waterproofing may qualify under Foundations services.

Is a CDL needed to run a concrete company?

Not usually for pickups and small trailers. A CDL starts at a combination rated 26,001 pounds or more towing over 10,000 pounds, or a heavy single vehicle, which a dump truck can be.

Sources

Checked on October 3, 2026. Rules and fees change, and many are set state by state or city by city: confirm the current requirements with the agency that issues them before you apply.

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