Cracked, sunken or dusty garage floor? We find out why it failed, then resurface it or pour a new slab that holds up.
Garage floor concrete in Manteca is either a new slab, placed, finished, jointed and cured on a well-packed base, or a new surface on a floor that's still sound, and either way the goal is a floor that stays even, doesn't turn to dust and drains out the door.
Most people call us because of what they're looking at. It might be a crack that keeps getting wider, a corner by the door that's dropped, gray dust that never sweeps up, or a puddle that sits by the back wall after you wash the car. I want to know why that happened before we talk about what to pour, because the same cause will catch up with a new floor too.
The price mostly comes down to the size of the garage, whether the old floor comes out, how much work the ground under it needs, how thick the slab has to be and whether it's reinforced. The schedule turns on how much tear-out there is, the base work, the weather on pour day and the cure wait before you park. I put the scope in writing at the estimate so you can compare it with other bids.
Most failed garage floors I look at didn't fail because of the concrete itself. They failed at one of these four spots, and each one is something we can get right before and during the pour.
The subgrade, the dirt the slab sits on, has to be dug out and packed hard, not just raked level. When it's left soft, it settles over the years and the slab sinks with it, which is how you end up with that dropped corner by the door.
A garage floor should fall gently toward the door, not back toward the house or into a low spot. We check how water runs across and around the garage before we set the forms, so a hose-down or a wet car doesn't leave a puddle against your wall.
Concrete that dries too fast in midday heat can end up with a weak, dusty top that wears off under tires. On hot days we plan the pour for the cooler part of the day and keep the surface damp while it cures, which is the slow hardening that gives concrete its strength.
Concrete shrinks as it dries, so some cracking is normal. Control joints are straight lines cut into the slab so those cracks happen there instead of across the middle, and they only work if they're cut soon after the pour, before the slab picks its own spots.
Here's how a garage floor job runs with us, from the first call to the day you can start using the space again, and who's doing what at each step.
Call (209) 707-1014 or fill out our request form. It helps if you know the rough size of the garage, what the floor looks like now and whether you're thinking about a coating.
I come out myself, look at the cracks and low spots, ask what the floor has to carry and check where the water goes. Then I write up the scope so you can compare it with other bids.
Once you say yes, our crew lead runs the job. The crew takes out the old floor if it's coming out, digs out and packs the base, sets the forms, pours, finishes and cuts the joints, and I check in along the way.
The crew cleans up before they leave, and the crew lead goes over when you can walk on the floor, when you can park on it and how to treat it while it cures.
The first thing I figure out is whether your old floor is sound enough to resurface or whether it's time for a new slab. I look for sections that have dropped, cracks with one side higher than the other and spots that sound hollow, because cracks in a floor that has settled tend to show right back through a new top.
The part I care about most is the base, the packed ground the slab sits on, and the rebar, the steel bars set inside the concrete that hold it together if it cracks. When a budget gets tight, those are the first things people want to trim because nobody sees them. But a nice finish on a bad base still sinks, so I'd rather keep the base right and save somewhere else.
Some garage jobs turn out to be more than the floor. If you'd rather have color or a pattern than plain gray, we also do decorative concrete, and that's best decided before the pour. If the garage backs up to a slope and dirt keeps washing in along the back wall, a concrete retaining wall can hold that soil back so the new slab isn't fighting it.
A broom finish is a light brushed texture that gives shoes and tires some grip, even when the floor's wet. It's the simple, hardworking choice for a garage that's mostly cars, tools and storage.
If you plan to coat the floor with epoxy or something like it, tell us before the pour so we can plan what goes under the slab. That's easy to get right now and hard to fix later.
Send the form with your garage size, how the floor looks now and any coating plans, and we'll reply within one business day. I'll come out to look at the floor myself and give you a free written estimate, with no obligation to book.
(209) 707-1014In California, pouring a garage floor is licensed work. California's contractor license board defines a concrete contractor as one who forms, pours, places and finishes flat concrete and other concrete work. Someone without that license can only take jobs up to $1,000, and only when the job needs no permit and they hire no one to help.
The other exception is you. The board lists owners improving existing buildings on their own property among those who may be exempt, as long as they do the work themselves or use their own employees paid in wages. If you're hiring anyone else to pour your garage floor, ask whether they're licensed before they start.
A lot of the garage floors we look at around Manteca have the same few problems: a corner by the door that's dropped, cracks running wherever they like and a dusty top that won't stay clean. We see the same things in Lathrop and Ripon, and we handle those garages the same way.
Before I started this business in Manteca in 2021, I spent years doing upkeep for a property management company, and I kept fixing the same sunken slabs and cracked floors. That's why, five years in, we're known for working out why the old concrete failed before we pour new, and why homeowners, landlords and small property owners call us for floors that get used every day.
I come out to look at the job and write the estimate myself. Our crew lead and crew do the forming, pouring and finishing, and I check in as the work goes. We're fully licensed and insured. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job. If your garage floor is cracking, sinking or holding water, call (209) 707-1014 or send us the form and I'll come take a look.
If plain gray isn't what you want, color, patterns or a custom finish can make a garage, a shop floor or the slab beside it look finished.
When the ground behind or beside your garage keeps slumping toward the building, a poured wall holds that soil in place and keeps it off your new slab.
If the driveway outside the garage door has sunk or cracked too, doing both at once lets the two slabs meet at the same height.
We're based in Manteca and work in the cities around it in San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties. These are the cities with their own page, and if yours isn't here, give us a call and ask.
A new reinforced concrete slab in the Stockton area usually costs about $8 to $14 per square foot. An unreinforced pad runs less per square foot, and that range leaves out extras like staining or stamping. Your own number depends on size, tear-out and base work, and the estimate puts all of it in writing.
You can if the floor underneath is sound. One resurfacer maker describes its product as a thin repair for solid concrete that needs a new surface, and its data sheet warns that old cracks can show through, especially where a slab has settled. I'll tell you which kind of floor you have at the estimate.
One garage slab guide puts the practical standard for cars at 4 inches on well-prepared ground, going up to 5 or 6 inches where the ground is poor. So the real question is how the ground will be prepared, and I'll walk you through what I see and what we plan for your floor.
A new slab should be walkable within 48 hours, but it's worth waiting a week before you park or put heavier loads on it. Concrete takes about a month to reach full cure, so plan where your car and stored things go for at least that first week.
If you're coating the floor, one garage slab guide says a vapor retarder, a sheet that slows moisture coming up from the soil, is worth having under an epoxy or polyaspartic coating. The same guide says a bare broom-finished floor in an unheated garage doesn't need one, and a concrete floor guide adds that it protects coatings best laid right against the slab.
Clear the garage out completely, since the crew needs the whole floor open to tear out, prep the base and pour. Have a spot lined up for your car and anything you store in there until the floor's ready, and let us know about any coating plans before the pour is scheduled.
Resurfacing a sound floor is usually less work than tearing it out, so call (209) 707-1014 or send the form and I'll tell you which one yours needs.
