Cracked, sunken or pitted garage floor? We take it out, pack a proper base and pour a new slab with the joints planned ahead.
A new garage floor in Portsmouth is a concrete slab we pour over a dug-out, packed base, trowel smooth and then leave to cure before you walk or drive on it again.
Most people call us when the old floor has cracked across, sunk near the door or started holding water, and usually that means the ground under it settled. The job is breaking out the old slab, digging down to firm soil, packing a new base and pouring a floor that sheds water out the door. If the slab chips or dusts as well, that often points to how it was finished and cured.
The price moves with the size of the garage, whether an old floor has to come out and how much work the base needs. The schedule turns on the weather, the cure and any permit, which we take care of. I'll give you the figure for your own garage when I come out for the estimate.
Call (757) 731-7248 or send the form, and we'll get back to you to set a time to see the garage. Please mention whether there's an old floor to remove.
I come out myself, check the old floor, the drainage and the ground, and ask whether the space is for cars, a workshop or storage. The estimate tells you the price before anything is scheduled, along with how I'd plan the joints and reinforcement.
If you go ahead, I run the job with our own crew and take care of any permit and inspections. Before the pour, we sit down with you and plan where the cars and tools will go while the slab cures.
When the slab is done, I walk it with you and explain the joints and the curing wait, so you know when the garage is ready to use. Then we clean up and leave the site tidy.
We dig down to firm ground and pack the base, because a floor poured on raked dirt settles right along with it. We set the slope so water runs out the door, not toward the house, and where a garage is cut into a hillside, a concrete retaining wall may be part of the plan to hold the soil back. We also pour outside the midday heat, since concrete that dries too fast can leave a weak, dusty top.
Control joints are grooves cut into the slab so that, as it shrinks and moves with heat and moisture, it cracks along lines we picked instead of at random. I'll show you where they'll run and when we'll cut them before we pour. Inside the door we trowel the floor smooth, while the apron, the strip outside that takes the weather, is left with a rougher texture.
What a new garage floor includes:
A few thin cracks in a floor that's still flat are normal, and they're usually worth sealing or leaving alone, because tearing out a sound slab buys you very little. When the floor has sunk, broken into loose pieces or tilts so water runs back toward the house, the base underneath has usually given way. Patching the top won't fix what's below, so that's when I'd recommend taking it out and starting over on a packed base.
Size comes first, then whether we're breaking out and hauling away an old slab, how much digging and packing the base needs, and whether the job includes reinforcement, a vapor retarder or a new apron. A colored or patterned surface from our decorative concrete work adds to it too. If the budget is tight, please spend on the base before the finish, because the base keeps the floor from settling and nobody can fix it once the slab is down.
I learned this trade on a city crew pouring sidewalks, curbs and steps, and since 2013 I've brought that same care to homes around Portsmouth. I come out to your job myself, our own crew does the work, and we keep your driveway and yard clear and clean while we're there.
I'd rather explain something twice than have you surprised later, so I'll walk you through the base, the slope and the joints, and the reason for each, before the truck arrives. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
We take calls seven days a week, from early morning into the evening, so call (757) 731-7248 whenever it suits you.
Send us your garage size, the floor's condition and your preferred timing. We respond within 1 business day, and I come out for a free on-site estimate with no pressure to book.
It will most likely crack somewhere, because a national concrete guide says a completely crack-free floor isn't realistic, even with good design and careful work. Reinforcement can't stop cracks either, but set in the right place in the slab it keeps them narrower, so if you pay for it, where it sits matters. Along with the control joints described above, that's how we keep cracking small and where we planned it.
When a curing compound is sprayed or rolled on, Virginia's ready-mix concrete industry advises keeping both foot and vehicle traffic off for 7 days. Curing is that wait while the concrete gains strength, and cutting it short can leave a weaker surface. At the estimate, I'll help you plan where the cars and tools will go for that week.
The cost of a garage floor in Portsmouth comes from your garage's size and what's under the old slab, so I give you a figure on site rather than guessing over the phone. The biggest swings usually come from tearing out the old floor and fixing a soft base, as explained above.
Let your contractor pull it, because for residential work Portsmouth highly recommends that the contractor doing the job obtain the permit, and whoever obtains it is responsible for the work and for scheduling every inspection. The city requires permits to build or repair structures, garages included, and its list of work that needs no permit names ordinary repairs, not garage floors. When a permit is needed, we pull it and book the inspections, and when it isn't clear, I check with the city's Department of Permits and Inspections before work starts.
A business that builds or improves property owned by someone else needs a license from Virginia's Board for Contractors. The license class sets how large a contract the business may take, and the specialty sets the type of work, so a Class C contractor, for example, can take a single job over $1,000 but under $30,000. Please match the class to your job's price, and you're welcome to ask us, since we're licensed and insured.
It's a trade-off, because a vapor retarder, the plastic sheet some crews lay under a slab, greatly raises the chance of cracking when concrete goes directly on it. Industry guidance for that case is to hold off finishing until all the bleed water, the water that rises to the top after the pour, has left the surface. I'll talk through whether your garage calls for one when I see it.
We're based in Portsmouth, VA and pour garage floors in many cities around it, including Norfolk, VA and Chesapeake, VA. Pick your area below, or call if yours isn't listed.
