Garage floor concrete in Round Rock TX - a level floor built on firmly packed ground

A concrete slab in Round Rock usually costs about $5 to $11 per square foot, and that's before any staining, stamping or tearing out an old slab. Where your garage lands in that range depends mostly on its size and how much work the ground under it needs. I come out, measure and look at the base, then give you your own number.

Most garage floors crack because the soil under them wasn't packed evenly, so it settles in spots and the slab breaks over the low places. Thicker or stronger concrete still cracks on a poor base, so ask every bidder how they'll compact the soil. Heat is the other cause, since concrete poured hot sets faster and cracks from shrinking more easily, which is why we watch pour timing.

The City of Round Rock Building Inspection Division issues building permits for work on buildings and structures in the city, and its rule also covers the Chandler Creek and Vista Oaks utility districts. If you're not sure your floor needs one, the city's Development Technicians answer that at 512-218-5550, and any contractor applying for a permit has to register with the city first, at no fee. We're licensed and fully insured, and before we set a date we check which office covers your address. When a permit is needed, we handle the application and leave room in the schedule for the inspection it requires.

Yes, Round Rock lets you act as your own contractor on the home you live in, even without a license. The building codes, fees, permit and inspection still apply just as they would for a hired crew. The hard parts are packing the base evenly and finishing a big pour before it sets, so call us if you'd rather hand those off.

The pour is the short part, and the work around it decides how long you're without the garage. Breaking out an old slab, packing the base and any permit come first. After the pour the slab has to cure, the wait while it hardens enough to carry a car, before you park on it. I walk you through each step before we set a date.

Start with an evenly packed base, then keep the ground around the garage at a steady moisture. One foundation-products maker calls Texas's Blackland Prairie soil hard to build on because of its clay and the water it holds, though that says nothing about your lot until I've looked at it. One engineering firm's guidance for slabs like this is to get rid of standing water, run gutter downspouts out 3 feet or more and keep big tree roots from drying out the soil underneath.