Concrete Slabs in Beaumont, TX

Concrete slabs hold up the things you store, park and work in: sheds, metal shops, detached garages, carports, RV and boat pads, and pads for AC units and generators. In Beaumont the biggest question for a slab is height. The city sits about 16 feet above sea level on flat ground, and Hurricane Harvey and Tropical Storm Imelda both brought serious flooding. A slab that sits at yard level will have water on it after a heavy storm. We set slabs high enough, and slope the ground around them, so water runs away instead of in.

What a slab job involves

We start by laying out the slab and checking the grade across the whole area with a level, since a few inches of fall over 30 feet is easy to miss by eye. Sod and organic soil come out. Where the slab has to be raised, we bring in fill and compact it in layers, because fill dumped in one pass will settle under the slab later. A compacted gravel or crushed stone base goes on top.

For a building, the slab usually gets thickened edges, often called a turned-down edge or grade beam, which carry the walls and stiffen the perimeter. Rebar runs through those edges and in a grid across the slab. Under anything that will be enclosed and kept dry, like a shop or garage, a plastic vapor barrier goes down under the concrete to slow ground moisture from coming up through the floor. That matters in a place as humid as Beaumont.

Thickness by use

• Shed and AC pads: usually 4 inches
• Garages and shops: 4 to 6 inches, with thickened edges
• RV, boat and heavy equipment pads: 6 inches or more
• Carports: 4 to 5 inches, with footings sized for the posts

HomeGuide's slab guide lists 4-inch slabs at $6 to $8 per square foot and 6-inch slabs at $8 to $10.

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Anchor bolts, plumbing and conduit

If a building will sit on the slab, we set anchor bolts or embed plates where the builder needs them before the pour, using the building's plans. Any plumbing or electrical conduit that runs under the slab has to be in place before we pour. Getting those locations wrong is expensive, so we confirm them with you and your building supplier in advance.

Finishes and joints

A smooth steel-troweled finish is standard inside shops and garages because it sweeps easily and takes coatings well. Outdoor pads get a broom finish for traction. Control joints are cut within a day so the slab cracks along them. A large shop floor may need joints in a grid of panels, sized to the slab thickness.

Permits

On private property in the City of Beaumont, work that disturbs more than 450 square feet needs a grading permit from the Engineering Division, according to the city's driveway handout. A 20 x 30 shop slab is 600 square feet, so many shop and garage slabs cross that line. Buildings may need their own permit too. We check the requirements for your address before we schedule the pour.

Signs an old slab needs replacing

• Water runs onto it or stands on it after rain
• It has cracked and settled unevenly
• Edges are undermined or broken
• It is too thin or too small for what you need to park or build now

Care

Keep gutters on any building over the slab draining away from its edges, and keep soil graded so it falls away on every side. Seal the joints on outdoor pads so water stays out of the base. Inside a shop, clean up oil and chemical spills quickly, and consider a sealer or coating if the floor will see heavy use.