Who fixes my garage floor?

July 23, 2015 6:43 AM

What tradesman would I call to fix a busted (not just cracked) on-grade slab concrete floor in my garage?

Due to settling and the really bad winter, the front of my garage floor is broken into a couple big pieces that are a bit askew. The front section clearly needs to come out and new crusher stone put beneath it for support and drainage.

The floor is just on-grade slab, fortunately, and I'm hopeful that the back section can be saved.

Whom would I call to fix this? A concrete guy? A mason? Those garage floor guys that seem to specialize is sealing?

Bonus question: the same conditions have messed up my asphalt, and I'll need my driveway fixed, too. I assume I have the garage floor fixed first, yes?

Thanks!

posted by Admiral Haddock to Home & Garden (6 answers total)

Best answer: I'd try either a mason or a more general concrete service.
posted by thomas j wise at 7:04 AM on July 23, 2015

Best answer: The best solution would be to replace the front half of your garage floor. This would include the portion under the wall frame. The wall would have to be supported while the concrete is removed and a new, reinforced slab is poured. The fact that the pieces are askew indicates that the slab was not reinforced.

The work would be done by a concrete work company. There are plenty of them. Don't get a cheap job done.
posted by Midnight Skulker at 7:15 AM on July 23, 2015

Best answer: We just did this. Concrete contractor. He cut around the perimeter of the garage, then cracked up and removed the floor and poured new concrete.
posted by sulaine at 7:50 AM on July 23, 2015

Best answer: You probably also want to engage someone to solve (or at least understand) the underlying drainage/soils problem that caused the damage before spending money on a new concrete slab.

If you are just going to get quotes from a couple of concrete contractors for slab demo and replacement, they will not put in additional work/cost for subgrade work unless you clearly spell out what their bids need to include. So you might want to find a soils/geotechnical engineer who can come out for a consult (and help you be very clear about what work the concrete sub need to include in a bid), or you might reach out to contractors who do a lot of basement work - they likely have the expertise to deal with the mixture of drainage / water management / soils / concrete issues that you could be dealing with.
posted by misterbrandt at 10:51 AM on July 23, 2015

Best answer: What misterbrand said. The weather may have triggered the problem, but something under the floor (or in it) caused it.
posted by GeeEmm at 4:00 PM on July 23, 2015

Response by poster: Thanks, all. Project is complete. I found a mason I liked who did three job offer the course of a week. He ended up taking out the first eight feet of the garage floor, putting in a new base and compacting it (much of the issue with the bad area of floor was that the base was not compacted at all back in three 1950's--the floor was just poured on dirt, which had settled), put in rebar, and then poured a new floor. It's a thing of beauty. Thanks for your help.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 5:56 AM on October 19, 2015