From orchards to subdivisions
Meridian started in 1891 as Hunter and took its current name in 1893 from the Boise Meridian, the survey line an Odd Fellows lodge there sat on. Through the mid-1940s the area grew apples and Italian prunes, and the Ada County Dairymen's creamery ran from 1929 to 1970. The orchards and dairies are now neighborhoods laid out along the section-line grid: Ten Mile, Linder, Meridian and Locust Grove running north-south against Chinden, Ustick, Franklin, Overland, Victory and Amity.
What that means for concrete: lots of builder-grade driveways and small back patios on relatively flat lots, many now old enough for a second look. Common requests are patio extensions, side-yard RV pads, wider driveways and shop slabs on the larger lots toward the edges of town.
Irrigation water and flat lots
Much of Meridian is served by the Nampa & Meridian Irrigation District, which delivers pressurized irrigation to more than 17,000 parcels and nearly 500 subdivisions in Ada and Canyon counties. On a flat lot, irrigation water has nowhere obvious to go. A new patio or pad needs enough slope to shed water, and sprinkler heads along its edge should be moved or aimed away. A slab edge that stays wet all summer is the most common reason pads settle.
Meridian permits and the street
- Flatwork and low walls. Meridian's residential handout exempts sidewalks, driveways and retaining walls not over 4 feet (bottom of footing to top) from a building permit.
- Right-of-way. Meridian's design standards require a temporary use permit for any work in the public right-of-way, meaning the roadway, public sidewalk and shoulder.
- ACHD. Streets in Meridian belong to the Ada County Highway District. A new or modified driveway approach goes through an ACHD Driveway Approach Request and permit, and the permit holder must be licensed and bonded for right-of-way work.
- Zoning. Driveway widths and front-yard parking are zoning questions; confirm with Meridian Community Development before widening.
Winters on Meridian concrete
Meridian shares Boise's climate: hot summers and winters with most January nights below freezing. Driveways near the arterials collect salt and slush tracked off ACHD roads. Ask for air-entrained concrete on any new exterior slab, keep deicers off it the first winter, and consider a penetrating sealer after that. See concrete sealing.
Getting quotes in Meridian
Send a request with your neighborhood or nearest cross streets, the job and rough dimensions. Contractors working in Meridian follow up to look and quote. Ask each one for their Idaho contractor registration number and check it at dopl.idaho.gov.
Back to the main guide: Boise concrete contractors.