Garage Floors & Slabs in Omaha, NE

Garage floors and slabs carry weight that patios never see: cars and trucks, tool chests, snowblowers, riding mowers and loaded shelving. Older detached garages often have floors that are thin, cracked and sloping toward a drain that no longer works. In newer neighborhoods, people add sheds, workshop buildings and pads for trailers, generators and hot tubs. Each one needs a slab that stays flat under its load and does not crack apart when the ground freezes.

Signs a garage floor needs replacing

• Wide cracks with one side higher than the other
• A floor that slopes toward the back wall or holds water
• Crumbling at the edges or the door threshold
• Salt damage near the door where cars drip brine all winter
• A floor so uneven that shelves and toolboxes rock

If the walls and framing are sound, a garage floor can be broken out and replaced inside the building. We plan access for the concrete, which may mean a chute through the door or a pump for a tight alley.

Thickness and reinforcement

HomeGuide's slab guide describes a typical two-car garage floor as 400 to 576 square feet and reinforced, 4 to 6 inches thick. A shed foundation of 100 to 400 square feet is usually about 4 inches and often does not need reinforcement. We go thicker where something heavy sits: a pickup, a trailer, a lift, or a hot tub full of water. Under every slab we compact a crushed-rock base, and on garage floors we usually add a vapor barrier to keep ground moisture from coming up through the concrete.

Slope, drains and the door

A garage floor should fall gently toward the door or a drain so meltwater runs out instead of pooling under the car. At the door, the floor meets the driveway, and that joint is a weak spot. We set the new floor so it lines up with the drive, place an isolation joint between them, and thicken the edge at the door where tires roll on and off.

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Shed pads and equipment slabs

A shed on a level concrete pad lasts longer than one on blocks or gravel, because the floor framing stays dry and the doors keep closing. We size the pad a little larger than the shed, compact the base, and set the top slightly above the surrounding grade so water runs off. For hot tubs, generators and air conditioning units, we check the manufacturer's weight and size requirements and pour to match.

Permits for outbuildings

A new garage or a large shed usually involves the city's building rules, and the slab is part of that. Omaha and the surrounding cities each set their own requirements, so we check what applies at your address before we price the work, and we coordinate the slab with whoever is building the structure.

Curing before use

New concrete gains most of its strength in the first month. HomeGuide's slab guide puts full cure at 28 to 48 days. You can usually walk on a new slab after a day or two, but wait before setting a shed, parking a heavy vehicle or filling a hot tub. We give you specific dates for your slab.