Garage & Shed Slabs in Kettering, OH

Garage and shed slabs are the concrete you see least once a building is up, and the one that matters most to it. Kettering has a lot of older detached garages, many with cracked or sunken floors that have held cars, mowers and workbenches for decades. Homeowners also add sheds and workshops to free up garage space. Either way, the slab has to be level, square and strong enough to carry walls, vehicles and equipment for a long time.

A new floor inside an old garage

Old garage floors tend to break at the apron or dish in the middle, and rain can run in under the door. As long as the walls are sound, the floor can come out in pieces while the building stays put. We dig out wet or loose base, compact fresh gravel and pour a floor with a slight fall to the door, so the snow that melts off your car finds its way out. If the walls sit on a failing foundation, we say so at the estimate, because that is a bigger job.

Slabs for new buildings

For a new garage, shed or workshop, the slab is often the first step. HomeGuide lists a two-car garage floor at about 20x20 to 24x24 feet and 4 to 6 inches thick, and a shed slab at about 4 inches. Edges are usually thickened where the walls sit. We match the slab dimensions to the building plans, set anchor bolts if the framer needs them, and keep the surface flat so walls go up plumb.

Reinforcement and base

A garage floor carries cars and sometimes trucks, so we use a compacted gravel base and wire mesh or rebar depending on the size and load. Large slabs get control joints cut soon after the pour to keep cracking in straight lines. Inside a heated workshop, a vapor barrier under the slab can help keep moisture out. We go over which of these your project needs at the estimate.

Permits

The City of Kettering's residential construction page lists a new garage as a building project, and says sheds under 200 square feet need a zoning permit only. Larger accessory buildings fall under building permits. We check what your project needs before scheduling, and we coordinate with your builder if someone else is framing the building.

Signs your garage floor needs work

• Cracks that keep widening or have one side higher than the other
• A sunken middle that holds water
• A broken apron at the door
• Surface scaling from salt dripping off cars in winter
• Water coming in under the door during storms

Caring for the slab

Rinse winter salt off the garage floor from time to time, since salty meltwater sitting on concrete is hard on it. A penetrating sealer helps. Keep heavy loads like car lifts and large tool chests off the slab until it has cured, and tell us about them before the pour so we can thicken that area.