Garage floor concrete in Redwood City CA - a floor that holds up under your car
Cracked, sinking or flaking garage floor? We find out whether it can be resurfaced or has to come out, then build one that stays put.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Replies within 1 business day.
Should you resurface or replace your garage floor?
Garage floor concrete in Redwood City is one of two jobs. We either resurface the slab you have or tear it out and pour a new one, and the right call gets you a floor that stands up to a parked car for years. Resurfacing can often be done in days, while a replacement adds curing time that can stretch into weeks.
Most people call us because the floor has cracked, dropped at one end or started shedding dust, and they want to know if it can be saved. What moves the price is the size of the garage, whether the old slab has to be broken out and hauled off, and whether you want a coating or a decorative finish on top. The schedule turns on that same choice, because a new slab needs time to harden before you park on it, so I'll look the floor over and write up an estimate for your garage.
How do you know your garage floor needs work?
Cracks that keep growing
A thin crack is just concrete being concrete, but one that widens or has edges at different heights means the slab is moving. Water and road grit work into it every time you park, so it doesn't get smaller by waiting.
One side sitting lower
If the floor dips near the door or a corner has dropped, the ground under it has usually settled. That calls for a new slab, and the longer it goes, the more the rest of the floor tends to crack around the low spot.
A dusty, flaking top
A surface that sheds powder or chips off in patches usually means the top was finished or cured badly back when it was poured. If the slab underneath is still solid, a resurface can often fix it, and it's cheaper to catch before the chips turn into holes.
How we handle garage floor concrete
First I figure out whether your old slab is sound enough to resurface or has moved and needs to come out, because a new top layer won't fix a floor that's sinking. If it can stay, we clean and repair the surface and put the new layer down. If it has to go, we break it out and haul it away, dig down to the subgrade, which is the ground the slab sits on, and pack a firm base. Then we set rebar, the steel that holds the slab together if it cracks, pour, finish the surface and cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the concrete a straight place to crack instead of a random one. After that it cures, which is the slow hardening it needs before you load it up. The base is the part nobody sees once it's poured, and it's the first thing people want to trim from a budget. I'd rather you skip a fancy finish than skimp underneath, since a nice top on a bad base just cracks more attractively.
Garage work often reaches past the garage door. If you want color, a pattern or a stained look instead of plain gray, our decorative concrete work can go on the new floor or the driveway out front. When a garage is cut into a hillside lot, the soil beside it sometimes needs one of our concrete retaining walls to stay where it belongs.
Resurfacing a sound slab
This suits a floor that's worn, stained or flaking on top but hasn't sunk or shifted. It's the quicker and cheaper route, as long as what's underneath is solid.
Tear-out and a new slab
This suits a floor that has settled, keeps cracking or has broken into chunks. It takes longer and costs more, but it's the real fix when the ground under the old slab has moved.
A new slab planned for a coating
This suits you if you want epoxy or another floor coating down the road. We talk it through before the pour, because what goes under and into the slab decides how well a coating holds later.
Get a written estimate for your garage floor
Send the garage's size and a few photos of any cracks or settling. I'll get back to you within one business day to set up a free look on site, with no obligation to go ahead.
(650) 587-4028- Based in
- Redwood City, CA 94063
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–10 PM
What happens after you call about your garage floor?
Here's how a garage floor job runs, from your first call to the day you get the garage back.
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Call or send the form
You reach us at (650) 587-4028 or through the form, and I call you back to set a time to come out. Tell me how you use the garage, since a workshop and a two-car garage get different questions.
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I look the floor over
I check the cracks, the low spots and how the slab sits, and ask a lot of questions. The estimate tells you whether we'd resurface or replace, and a replacement quote covers both tearing out the old slab and pouring the new one.
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Our crew does the work
Our own crew does the job and I check it as it goes, starting with the base before any concrete shows up. If a permit is needed, we've already told you at the estimate and we handle it.
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We walk it with you
When the floor is done, we walk it with you and go over anything you want to look at. We also tell you when it's ready for feet, and when it's ready for the car.
Why Redwood City homeowners call us about garage floors
Get what's under the slab right and the rest has a fair shot. Ask for an estimate or call (650) 587-4028, and I'll come take a look.
I come out to look myself
I look at the job myself before I price it, and our own crew does the work. Most of our calls come from Redwood City and the cities around it, so you deal with the same people from estimate to walk-through.
In business since 2013
I started this business in 2013 after years running crews and pours as another contractor's right hand. That's a lot of bases dug out and packed before the trucks ever showed up.
Licensed and fully insured for your job
We're licensed and fully insured. California treats replacing a garage floor on a home as home improvement work, and it only lets someone without a license take jobs up to $1,000 that need no permit and no hired help.
A straight answer, even if it's no
I'd rather tell you no than sell you something you don't need, so if a resurface will do the job, that's what I'll quote. Backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
Garage floor concrete and the work around it in Redwood City
The Redwood City Building Department is the place to ask whether a garage floor job needs a permit, and it runs the online portal that contractors with a city business license use to file. I won't guess at that from here, so I'll tell you at the estimate whether your job needs one, and if it does, we handle the paperwork and inspections with the city. Pour day has its own rule, because San Mateo County's stormwater program keeps cement washout out of driveways, streets, gutters and drainage ditches and allows mixers to be washed only in set areas that drain to lined containment, so we plan the pour around that.
A lot of the garages we see here sit on older houses with the original slab and a driveway that leaves little room for a truck, so we work out how the concrete gets in before pour day. We meet the same thing on jobs in San Carlos and Belmont, and up and down the Peninsula into the South Bay.
Questions about garage floors in Redwood City
Can my garage floor be resurfaced instead of replaced?
Yes, if the slab underneath is sound and stable. Resurfacing gives you a fresh look, texture and wear surface, but it does nothing for a floor that has settled, keeps shifting or is breaking down deep inside. I'll tell you which kind you have when I come out.
How long does a new garage floor take before I can park on it?
You can usually walk on a new slab within 48 hours, and one Bay Area guide suggests waiting a week before parking or other heavier loads. Concrete takes a month to fully cure, so go easy on the garage for the first few weeks.
How much does a new concrete garage floor cost in the Bay Area?
Installing a concrete slab in the Bay Area usually costs about $8 to $16 per square foot, before any staining or stamping. That's the going rate around here, not our quote, and removing an old floor comes on top of it. Your own figure comes from the estimate once I've seen the garage.
What happens to my old garage floor after it's torn out?
Broken concrete can be recycled, so it's fair to ask where yours is headed. If your floor comes out, I'll tell you where the old concrete goes before we start.
What causes a new garage floor to crack or turn dusty?
Bad timing on the finishing, joint cutting and curing is a common cause. Done too early or too late, those steps can leave a slab with cracks, dusting, scaling or high and low spots. Ask any contractor you're considering how their crew times them.
Do I need a vapor barrier under a garage floor I want to coat?
One concrete industry guide says a vapor retarder, a barrier that slows moisture coming up into the floor, gives the most protection when it sits directly against a slab that will be coated. With a full replacement, also plan on a longer wait before the coating goes on, because the new slab has to cure first.
Related concrete work around the garage
Color, stamped patterns or a stained finish can give a new garage floor or the driveway apron more character than plain gray concrete ever will.
If your garage or driveway is cut into a hillside, a concrete wall can hold the soil so it stays off the slab and out of the garage.
Cities we serve from Redwood City
Elite Redwood City Concrete is based in Redwood City, California, and the 12 cities below each have their own page, from San Mateo to Menlo Park. We work in the cities around them too, up and down the Peninsula and into the South Bay.
Get your garage floor looked at
Our hours run seven days a week, early morning to late evening, so you can call (650) 587-4028 after work when you're standing over that crack again.
Redwood City, CA