Garage Floor Slabs Poured and Reinforced
Flat, correctly sloped slabs for new garages and floor replacements.
Garage Floor Slab Installation, SE Twin Cities Metro Area
Flat, correctly sloped garage floor slabs engineered for vehicle loads, salt-laden Minnesota meltwater, and decades of hard use.
We pour new-construction garage floors and replace failed slabs inside existing garages, working around standing structures without damaging framing or utilities.
- Machine-troweled, coating-ready finish. We power-trowel garage floors dense and flat, producing a surface ready for epoxy or polyaspartic coatings if you choose to add them.
- Correct slope to the door or drain. Winter vehicles drip salt-laden meltwater daily. We slope every floor to carry it to the overhead door or a floor drain instead of pooling under your vehicles.
- Vapor barriers under every slab. A continuous vapor barrier blocks ground moisture that would otherwise sweat through the slab, rust tools, and fail future floor coatings.
- Thickened edges and real reinforcement. Four-inch minimum slabs with thickened edges for passenger vehicles; five to six inches with added rebar where trucks, lifts, or shop equipment will live.
- Trench and floor drain installation. We form and set center drains and trench drains plumbed to code, so meltwater leaves the building instead of icing the floor.
Why choose LU Concrete
Garage floors fail from the top and the bottom at once: salt attacks the surface while uncompacted fill settles beneath. Landscapes Unlimited addresses both. We compact the base in lifts, install the vapor barrier, pour 4,000 PSI air-entrained concrete, and finish with a disciplined troweling sequence that produces a dense, burnished wear surface.
Our licensed, bonded, and insured crews carry ACI Flatwork certifications and have poured garage floors from single-stall replacements to new-construction three-stall slabs with in-floor drains. Replacement work inside standing garages is a specialty; we break out and haul the old slab, correct the base, and pour new without touching your walls, posts, or door tracks.
You receive a written, itemized estimate covering demolition where needed, base correction, vapor barrier, reinforcement, concrete, finishing, and drain work, backed by our written workmanship warranty. We also give straight advice on coatings: a properly cured, sealed slab serves most garages well, and if you want epoxy later, our finish and cure schedule set you up for a coating that bonds.
Signs it's the right call
- Widespread scaling and pitting. Salt dripping off winter vehicles is the number-one killer of Minnesota garage floors. Once the surface mortar flakes and exposes aggregate across large areas, deterioration accelerates every season.
- Cracks with movement or height difference. Slabs poured over uncompacted backfill at the foundation settle and crack in the first decade. Offset cracks that catch a floor jack or creeper wheel mean the base has failed.
- Water pooling inside the garage. A floor without correct slope holds meltwater against everything you store. Standing water breeds ice at the threshold, rusts equipment, and migrates into stem walls.
- A new garage build or major renovation. New construction, an addition, or a garage conversion needs a slab specified for its real loads (from daily drivers to car lifts) poured once and poured right.
- Planning a floor coating on a failing slab. Epoxy and polyaspartic systems fail over moisture-wicking, scaling concrete. If your slab is past saving, replacement with a vapor barrier is the honest prerequisite for the showroom floor you want.
If your garage floor shows any of these, our estimator will check the slab, the base, and the drainage, and quote the fix in writing.
Our process
- Assessment and estimateWe measure the garage, check the existing slab and drainage, discuss drain and finish options, and deliver a written itemized quote.
- Demolition inside the structureFor replacements, we saw-cut at the perimeter, break out the old slab, and haul debris, protecting walls, posts, and door hardware throughout.
- Base correction and vapor barrierWe regrade and compact the base in lifts, correct soft spots, and install a continuous vapor barrier lapped and taped at seams.
- Reinforcement and drainsRebar or wire mesh goes on chairs at mid-slab depth, and floor or trench drains get set to elevation and plumbed before the pour.
- Pour and machine finishWe place air-entrained concrete, screed to slope, and power-trowel the surface dense and flat in staged passes.
- Cure, saw-cut, and sealControl joints get cut the same day or next morning. We cure the slab properly and apply a penetrating sealer; with a coating-prep cure schedule if epoxy is in your plans.
Foot traffic after 24 to 48 hours; park passenger vehicles after seven days; full design strength at 28 days.
Brands and materials we use
ready-mix concrete batched to spec
repair and patching products
high-strength mixes for detail work
under-slab vapor barriers
rebar and welded wire reinforcement
floor and trench drain systems
air entrainment and curing compounds
expansion joints and sealers
power trowels and finishing tools
penetrating siloxane sealers
Interior slab work brings its own hazards: silica dust during demolition, carbon monoxide from equipment, and heavy debris in tight quarters. Our crews follow OSHA silica controls with wet cutting and extraction, ventilate enclosed spaces, and stage demolition so your garage structure is never compromised. Fresh pours stay barricaded until cured.
Completed projects
Frequently asked questions
How thick should a garage floor slab be?
Four inches with thickened edges handles passenger vehicles. Heavier trucks, car lifts, and shop equipment call for five to six inches with additional rebar reinforcement.
Can you replace the floor inside my existing garage?
Yes. Replacement inside standing garages is routine work for us. We saw-cut, break out, and repour without disturbing walls, posts, or door tracks.
Does a garage floor need a vapor barrier?
Yes. A continuous under-slab vapor barrier blocks ground moisture that would otherwise sweat through the concrete, corrode stored items, and cause floor coatings to peel.
Should my garage floor have a drain?
A center or trench drain keeps meltwater off the slab and out of the threshold ice cycle. Where codes allow them, drains are one of the best upgrades a Minnesota garage can get; otherwise we slope the floor to the door.
When can I park on the new floor?
Foot traffic after 24 to 48 hours, passenger vehicles after seven days, and heavy vehicles after the full 28-day cure.
Is the new slab ready for epoxy coating?
We machine-trowel a coating-ready surface and can adjust the cure and sealer schedule for a coating install. Most manufacturers want 28 to 60 days of cure before application.
Where we install
Garage Floor Slab Installation available throughout the SE Twin Cities Metro Area, including Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Farmington, Hastings, Inver Grove Heights and surrounding communities.
Page reviewed and updated by Landscapes Unlimited.