Concrete Floor Installation in Sunnyvale CA - a slab built on a solid base

Most people who call me about a floor are finishing a garage, a shop or an addition, or they have an old slab that has cracked, sunk or gone uneven and they want it replaced. The price mostly follows the size of the floor, how much digging and base work the ground needs, whether an old slab has to come out first and how easily we can get concrete to the spot. The schedule depends on whether the job needs a permit, the weather on pour day and, if you want a floor covering, how long the slab needs to dry before that covering goes down. If your floor is in a garage, our garage floor concrete page covers the details that apply there. After I visit, you'll have the scope and the price in writing.

The first thing I ask is whether the floor will be inside or outside, because that decides what goes beneath it. Then we dig out the area and pack the subgrade, the soil the slab sits on, so the concrete isn't resting on loose dirt that settles later. We won't rake the ground level and pour on it. Before the forms go in, we check where the water runs, so an outdoor slab sends it away from the house instead of toward it. I lay out the control joints with you. These are the cuts that give the concrete a straight place to crack that we chose, and we cut them in time so cracks don't pick their own spots. We pour in the cooler part of the day, since concrete that dries too fast in midday heat can end up with a weak, dusty top. If a floor covering is going on later, I explain why it has to wait until the slab has dried. When the budget gets tight, I'd keep the base work and choose a plainer finish, because you can redo a finish later but you can't fix a poor base without breaking out the slab.

A floor often meets other concrete at its edges, so we plan those pieces together. If an outdoor slab runs toward the pool, we can carry the same care into concrete pool decks. Where a finished floor sits above the yard or the driveway, we build concrete steps to match the level of the slab.

In Sunnyvale, the city's One-Stop Permit Center at City Hall reviews building plans. The city requires permits and inspections for all new construction or remodeling of multi-family and nonresidential properties, so a new floor in an apartment building or a commercial space falls under that rule. For a house, the answer depends on the project. The Permit Center asks first-time applicants to call, and staff will explain the process, the documents needed and whether the project needs plan review. When a floor needs a permit, we handle the application and the inspections with the city and keep you informed. If it isn't clear, I check with the permit office before we start.

The state has mapped Seismic Hazard Zones. If your property is in one, the state has determined that weak soil or rock is likely beneath it, and that ground can fail in an earthquake unless proper precautions are taken during grading and construction. For that reason I ask about it at the estimate, before we plan the base. Many of the floors we pour are for garages, additions and backyard pads at single-family homes, and we do the same work in Santa Clara and Cupertino.