Taft's landscape is hillier than most of Kern County's valley floor. Sloped lots and graded properties are common throughout the city, which means concrete work here sometimes requires more site preparation than a standard flat pour. Drainage planning, grading, and subgrade work all factor in before any concrete goes down.

The soil in the Taft area carries characteristics from the surrounding oil field region, along with the clay content common across western Kern County. Clay expands and contracts with moisture changes, putting pressure on slabs from underneath. Without proper base preparation, driveways and patios develop cracks well before they should.

Summer heat in Taft runs as high as anywhere in the county. Concrete poured in the afternoon sun sets too fast, which leads to surface cracking before curing is complete. Bakersfield Concrete schedules pours for early morning and uses curing compounds when conditions require it.

Before every pour, the crew excavates to the correct depth, compacts the subgrade, installs gravel base where drainage or soil conditions require it, and adds reinforcement based on the slab size and project load.