We pour and finish concrete floors for homes and businesses in Lawrenceville: garage slabs, basement floors, workshop floors, and the interior slab a new addition sits on. A good floor is flat, dense and cut for crack control, and it stays that way because of work you never see once the surface is finished. The median home here was built in 1987, which means many local floors are original to the house. An old slab that has settled, cracked or pulled away from a wall is often better replaced than patched. Commercial floors run through the same process at a larger scale, with heavier reinforcement where the load calls for it.
Every job starts at the ground, not the mix. Gwinnett County is hilly and the soil changes from block to block, so we grade and test each site on its own before any forms go up. Pacolet soil, the county's dominant type, drains well, but we confirm what is actually under your property rather than assume it. With about 55 inches of rain a year, we build up the base and shape the grade around the slab so water drains away instead of collecting underneath. After that comes reinforcement, the pour, a careful finish and a cure we do not rush. Call for a free estimate.
What moves the number on a slab is mostly what sits under it. Gwinnett County is hilly, so a sloped lot can mean cutting, filling and compacting before a single form goes up. Thickness matters too: a slab that carries a truck needs more depth and more steel than one under a garden shed. Tearing out old concrete, getting the truck close to the pour, and the finish you choose all count. We walk the site first and price what we find. Call for a free estimate.
A driveway fails from the bottom up, so that is where we start. We strip the topsoil, lay and compact a gravel base, and set the forms so water runs away from the garage. Rebar or welded wire goes in on chairs, which keeps it inside the slab instead of lying flat on the dirt. With about 55 inches of rain a year here, slope and drainage are not optional. Control joints get cut on time so cracks land where we want them. Finishes run from broom to stamped.
Inside a garage, basement or shop, the slab is the floor, so flatness and moisture control carry the job. We put a vapor barrier over the compacted base to keep ground moisture from wicking up later. Fiber or wire reinforcement goes in next. Then we finish the surface with a power trowel until it is tight and level. It can stay plain, or be polished, stained and sealed for a decorative look. The median home in Lawrenceville was built in 1987, and a floor that age has often settled or cracked.
Cracks, sunken sections and flaking surfaces each come from something different, and we find the cause before we fix anything. Pacolet soil is the county's dominant type and drains well, but it varies from one site to the next, so we test under the damaged area. Hairline shrinkage cracks can be routed and sealed. A section that has dropped usually needs its base rebuilt, then a new pour doweled into the sound concrete beside it. When a slab is failing throughout, we say so plainly: replacement is the better call.
A concrete floor holds up because of what happens before the pour, so that is where we put our attention. Pacolet soil (well drained) covers most of Gwinnett County, but it changes from one lot to the next, and every site gets tested on its own before we set a form. We grade the base, compact it, and place the reinforcement where the slab needs it to sit. Materials are matched to the project and the conditions on that property. Then the surface cures at its own pace. Rushing a slab is how cracks start.
Before we pack up, we walk the floor with you. You see the finish, the joints, the edges and the transitions into the rest of the house or shop. If something looks off, point it out while we are both standing on it. That conversation is easier on the last day of the job than a year later, and we would rather have it then. Concrete does move a little as it settles in, and a hairline line along a control joint is that joint doing its work. If you see anything beyond that, call us and tell us what you are looking at.
The right system depends on what sits on the floor and how hard it gets used. A garage or shop floor takes tire loads and dropped tools, so we pour it thicker, set the reinforcement to match, and often finish it with a sealed or coated surface that shrugs off oil. Basements and living spaces usually suit polished or stained concrete. That gives a hard, low-maintenance floor with some color and a clean sheen. Patios and walkways lean toward a broom finish for grip, or stamped and decorative work where looks matter as much as footing. Commercial floors get sized to the equipment and foot traffic they will actually carry.
Before we recommend anything, we look at what is already there. The median home in Lawrenceville was built in 1987, and a slab that age may need grinding, patching or a moisture check before a new finish will bond to it properly. Gwinnett County sees about 55 inches of rain a year, so we pay attention to how water moves across and under the property. Pacolet soil drains well through much of the county, but it varies, and every site is tested on its own before work starts. Then we tell you plainly which system fits, and why. Call for a free estimate.
The price of a concrete floor is set mostly by what we find before we pour: what is already there, how we get concrete to it, and what the floor has to carry. The median home in Lawrenceville was built in 1987, so many of the garage and basement slabs we look at carry decades of wear, patches and old coatings. Most of what moves the number is something you can check yourself.
| What changes the price | Which way | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Old tile, carpet glue or a failed coating on the floor now | costs more | It has to be ground off or broken out before new work will bond or sit level. |
| A sound existing slab with only surface wear | costs less | We can often resurface it instead of tearing it out. |
| No straight path for a truck to reach the work | costs more | Concrete then goes in by pump or wheelbarrow, which takes more labor and equipment. |
| A floor that will carry a vehicle, a lift or shop equipment | costs more | It calls for a thicker slab and heavier steel reinforcement. |
| Ground that slopes under the new floor | costs more | Gwinnett County is hilly, and a sloped site needs fill brought in and compacted before the slab goes down. |
| Water that pools or seeps in after rain | costs more | A vapor barrier, a floor drain or a pitched surface has to be built in before the pour. |
| Plumbing or conduit running under the slab | costs more | Lines have to be set and protected first, and any repairs happen before concrete covers them. |
| A plain troweled or broom finish instead of stain, stamping or polish | costs less | Decorative finishes add steps, materials and time after the pour. |
When you compare bids, line them up on thickness, reinforcement, base preparation, removal of the old floor and the finish. A lower number often leaves one of those out. Ask each contractor to write down what they plan to put under the slab, not just on top of it.
It depends on the floor you already have more than the one you want. A sound slab that only needs grinding and sealing is a different job from one with cracks, old coatings or low spots that have to be fixed first. Square footage, the finish system, and whether the space stays open during the work all move the number. We price after we see the slab. Call for a free estimate.
Warehouse floors are priced by what they have to carry. Forklift traffic, racking loads and the flatness your equipment needs decide slab thickness, reinforcement and joint layout, and those decide most of the cost. An existing floor that only needs repairs, joint filling and a densifier sits in a different place from a new pour. Without those details any figure would be a guess, so we look at the loads and measure before we quote.
Polished concrete is the most common request: the surface is ground, densified and polished to the sheen you pick, and it stands up to heavy foot traffic. We also install sealed and stained floors for offices, shops and showrooms, plus new structural slabs with reinforcement for spaces that need more load capacity. Which one fits comes down to traffic, your cleaning routine, and how you want the floor to look.
Yes, with one condition: stain is translucent, so it shows the slab underneath rather than hiding it. In a Lawrenceville home, where the median house was built in 1987, an original slab may carry old adhesive, patches or cracks that will show through the color. Kitchens and living areas do well with a sealed stain and a few rugs. Garages need a tougher topcoat to handle tires and dropped tools.
Before any grinder starts, we cover what stays in the room and seal off doorways with plastic so dust stays in the work area. Our grinders run hooked to vacuums, which catches most of the dust at the source. Stain and rinse water get collected and wiped up, not washed down a drain or into the yard. At the end of each day, tools are stacked, debris leaves with us, and walkways are clear.
Acid stain reacts with the lime in the concrete, so the color forms inside the surface itself. The result is mottled and variegated, in earthy browns, tans and soft greens, and no two floors come out alike. It has to be neutralized and rinsed once the reaction finishes. Water-based stain sits in the pores instead of reacting. It comes in a far wider range of colors, goes on more evenly, and has less odor, which matters indoors.