Concrete Contractor in St. Matthews, KY

How Old Are the Homes in St. Matthews?

St. Matthews is a city of 17,534 people east of downtown Louisville, per the 2020 Census. It became a city in 1950. Four years earlier, it was believed to be the most populous unincorporated community in the country. The city flag shows a potato and a farmer, for its past as a potato producer.

Census survey data for 2020 to 2024 show the age of the homes. About half of the occupied single-family homes went up between 1940 and 1959. About two in three were built before 1960. Only about 2 percent were built in 2000 or later.

Original concrete at homes that age has seen many freeze and thaw cycles. NOAA normals for Louisville's airport count about 74 days a year with a low at or below freezing. On most of those days, the high climbs back above freezing. Kentucky's residential code rates the weathering risk for concrete as severe in every county.

On older lots, a new pour often starts with tearing out the old concrete. We set a compacted gravel base before the new concrete goes in. A broom finish is the standard, and stamped finishes are an option.

Permits and Driveway Rules in St. Matthews

St. Matthews has its own city hall, but Louisville Metro issues the building permits here. A Letter of Compliance from the city has to come first. That application asks for two copies of a scaled site plan of the lot.

The city also posts parking rules with its development code. At houses and duplexes, front yard parking is allowed only on a driveway up to 20 feet wide. That driveway needs a hard surface, or an approved semi-pervious one. It also has to lead somewhere, like a garage or the rear yard.

A circular driveway needs approval from the Director of Public Works. The code also lets an open porch or paved terrace reach up to 10 feet into the required front yard. The city notes that its ordinances may be stricter than Louisville Metro's. Planning and zoning applications are first processed by Louisville Metro, the city says.

Who Fixes the Sidewalks in St. Matthews?

St. Matthews Public Works lists sidewalk repairs and new sidewalks among its jobs. For trip hazards, the city has raised edges cut smooth instead of pouring new panels. The last phase of that work replaces broken sections and adds accessible ramps at some intersections.

A block that wants a new sidewalk can ask for one by petition. The petition needs signatures from 51 percent of the property owners in that section. The City Engineer studies the request, and the City Council decides.

Walks on your own lot are a separate job. Our sidewalk and walkway work replaces heaved or broken walks to the front door or the back yard. If roots from a street tree lifted the walk, talk to the city before the tree comes out. A tree in the right of way needs city inspection and approval before anyone removes it.

Soil and Drainage Under a St. Matthews Slab

NRCS soil maps show about 98 percent of St. Matthews as urban land, alone or mixed with other soils. The most common map unit, Urban land-Alfic Udarents-Crider complex, covers about 36 percent of the city. Crider is a very deep, well drained soil formed in windblown silt over weathered limestone. For local roads and streets, NRCS rates it somewhat limited because of low strength.

Ground with low strength needs a firm, compacted gravel base under a slab. Our site grading sets the base and the fall before the pour, so water runs away from the house. Rock can turn up too. Builders of the area's first sewers struck rock they did not expect, the city's history says.

St. Matthews runs most of its own storm drainage. The city says private drainage and erosion problems belong to the property owner. Water sent from downspouts onto the next lot is a civil matter between the owners. The city also asks owners to keep sheds and other permanent structures out of drainage easements.

Beargrass Creek runs through Brown Park and Arthur K. Draut Park. Draut Park was developed in 1994 to hold water during heavy rains. Stream and basin work there is expected to finish in June 2027. FEMA flood maps put about 9 percent of the city in the 1 percent annual chance floodplain along its creeks.