Garage floor concrete in San Bernardino CA - a solid, level floor for your car
Garage floor cracked, sinking or chipping? We pour a new one with the finishing, joints and cure planned before the truck arrives.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
What goes into a new garage floor in San Bernardino?
Garage floor concrete is flatwork, the flat slabs like floors, driveways and patios. In San Bernardino, our crew forms, pours and finishes a new garage floor that sits level and drains toward the door.
Most people call when the old floor has cracked across the middle, sunk near the door or started chipping and dusting under the car, and the first thing I want to know is why, because a floor that failed on a bad base will fail again on the same one. The price mostly turns on the size of the garage, whether the old slab has to be broken out and hauled off, how much the ground underneath needs fixing and whether there are drains or pipes in the way. If the old floor has to come out in clean sections, that's where our concrete cutting comes in. The schedule turns on whether your address needs a permit, the weather on pour day and how long the floor needs before the car goes back in. My written estimate spells out what's included and what isn't, so you'll see your own number before anything starts.
How we pour garage floor concrete
We start under the slab, because that's where most garage floors fail. Our crew digs out and packs the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, instead of raking loose dirt level. Then we set the forms so the floor falls toward the garage door and not back toward the house, and we lay rebar, the steel that holds the slab together, where the job calls for it. A lot of a garage floor's life is decided on pour day, so I plan that day closely, down to when we finish the surface and when we cut the control joints. Those are shallow saw cuts that give the slab a straight line to crack along. I also plan when we start curing, which means keeping the new concrete damp so it gains strength instead of drying out weak and dusty on top. Most people want a smooth troweled finish that sweeps clean, and some ask for a broom finish, a light brushed texture for grip, where the floor gets wet. If the budget's tight, I'd rather you spend it on the base than the finish, because nobody sees the base on day one but it's the one part you can't go back and fix.
Garage work often touches other jobs. If you'd like color or a pattern on the floor, that's decorative concrete, and it's easier to plan before we pour than to add after. When the garage sits into a hillside or the driveway is cut into a slope, the bank beside it may need one of our concrete retaining walls so it stays where it belongs.
Replacing a cracked or sunken floor
This suits a garage where the old slab has settled, broken up or tilted toward the house. We take it out, fix the ground underneath and pour new, because a patch over a bad base just moves the problem.
A floor for a new garage or addition
This suits builders and owners adding a garage or turning an open pad into one. We start with bare ground, so the base, the slope and any drains or pipes go in right before the forms go up.
Permits and garage floor concrete in San Bernardino
The city's Building and Safety Division issues building permits for structural work. Its list of work that doesn't need a permit names driveways and sidewalks but not garage floors, so that list doesn't settle whether your floor needs one. Each city and the county handle this a little differently, so we check with the right office for your address before we start, and if a permit is needed we pull it and set up the inspections. If you've got a question about your own project, the division is the place to ask.
Most of the garage floors we're called to here are on older houses, where the slab has cracked, sunk at the door or slopes so water runs back toward the house. We see the same kinds of floors on jobs in Colton and Highland, and we work in plenty of other cities around San Bernardino too.
Why San Bernardino homeowners call San Bernardino Concrete Company for garage floors
I come out to every job
I look at every garage myself before I write a number, and I'm there for the pour and the steps that decide how the floor turns out. Our own crew does the rest, so everyone on your floor answers to me.
Running jobs here before 2020
I spent years walking jobs and running the crew for another concrete contractor here before I started this business in 2020. That's where I learned to look under a floor before I worry about the top of it.
Licensed and insured for your job
We're licensed and insured, and I'll show you both before you sign anything. That way you're not taking anyone's word for it when a crew and a concrete truck are on your property.
Call (840) 222-9185 or send us a note through our contact page, and I'll set up a time to come take a look at your garage.
Request a quoteGet a written estimate for your new garage floor
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time for me to come look at the garage. The estimate is free, done on site and in writing, and there's no obligation to go ahead.
What happens after you call about a garage floor in San Bernardino?
Call or send the form
Call (840) 222-9185 or use the form and tell us what's going on with the floor, whether it's cracked, sunken or still a bare pad. We'll set up a time for me to come out.
I look and write it up
I look at the garage, check where the water runs and ask how you use the space, whether it's for the car, a workshop or a floor coating later. You get a written estimate that lists what's included and what isn't, so there's no guessing about the price.
We pour, then walk it together
If your job needs a permit, we handle it first, then our crew does the work with me there for the steps that matter. When it's done, I go over the finished floor with you and tell you when it's ready to walk on and when you can park on it.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a new garage floor cost in San Bernardino?
An installed 4-inch concrete slab in the Inland Empire usually costs about $10 to $14 per square foot, and that's the going rate for slab work in the area, not our price. Your own number turns on the things I mentioned up top, mainly the garage's size, tearing out the old floor and the shape of the ground underneath. I'll put your figure in writing after I've seen the garage.
What causes cracks in a new garage floor, and will mine crack?
Probably a little, because even with the best design and careful work, a floor with no cracking or curling at all isn't realistic, and some is normal. Curling is the edges lifting slightly. How much random cracking you get, and what it looks like, comes down mostly to how far apart the control joints are, so we choose that spacing carefully for your floor. That's why I tell you before we pour what to expect, so a hairline later doesn't catch you off guard.
What is the best way to pour a garage floor in summer heat?
Pour at a cooler time and keep the concrete from drying out, because high heat and low humidity hurt fresh concrete, and wind makes it worse. A summer pour can be set for a time of day or night when the weather's easier, and the new slab gets protected from drying while it cures. I pick the pour time with you when I plan the day.
How do I check that a concrete contractor can work in San Bernardino?
Ask to see their state contractor's license and their current San Bernardino business license, because the city asks every contractor working here for both. The city only issues permits to contractors who hold the right state license for the work, and a contractor with employees has to show workers' compensation coverage when the permit is issued. You can ask about that coverage before you sign anything.
Do I need a vapor barrier under my garage floor?
That comes down to what's going on the floor's surface, since the right material depends on it. A vapor retarder, the layer many people call a vapor barrier, sits under the slab and cuts down on moisture moving up through the floor from below. I ask about your plans for the surface, like a coating or tile, before we order materials.
What happens to the washout water when you pour my garage floor?
We keep it off the ground, because washwater dumped in a yard or the gutter can run to storm drains that empty into rivers and lakes. You're welcome to ask us where it's going on your job. Wet concrete and washout can irritate skin and hurt eyes too, so keep kids and pets back while we work.
Other concrete work that goes with a garage floor
Decorative concrete
You might want this when plain gray won't do, since we can work color, texture or a pattern into the surface of a floor or patio to suit your house.
Concrete retaining walls
If your garage or driveway is cut into a slope, a concrete wall can hold the hillside back so dirt and runoff don't wash down onto your new slab.
San Bernardino, CA
Get a price on your garage floor
Have the garage's square footage handy and tell us whether it's a new floor, a replacement or a repair, so I show up ready, and if the phone and form don't suit you, email office@sanbernardinoconcretecompany.com.