Garage floor concrete in O'Fallon MO - a new slab poured at the right time of year

Garage floor replacement usually costs about $10 to $16 per square foot across the US, including breaking out and hauling away the old slab. That's a national figure, not our price, and your garage's size, access and whether the driveway comes along all move it. I'll give you a written number after I measure.

Most garage floor replacements take 2 to 4 days of active work, by national estimates, and you can usually walk on the new floor after 24 to 48 hours. Plan to park somewhere else for 7 days, and know the concrete keeps curing for 28 days before it reaches full strength. Your plan from us shows when you can park inside again.

Fall can work, but it's a riskier season for a garage floor because the new concrete may not dry long enough before road salt shows up. A Michigan concrete group warns that concrete placed in October or November may not get the more than 40 days of drying it needs before deicers are used, and suggests keeping salt exposure to a minimum for the first year after a fall pour. If you have a choice, I'd pour earlier.

Hose off the salt your car drips onto the floor whenever the weather lets you, especially that first winter. Even salt carried in on a car can make the top of a new slab flake, and a light amount can do more harm than a heavy one.

It can depend on your address and the full job, so we check with the offices that cover your address before we schedule. The city's Building Division handles permits for new construction, additions and remodels, and its list names garages and structural changes but not floor replacement, so it's the office to ask. If the driveway is part of the job, the city's Engineering Department handles driveway and grading permits, and the fire districts that serve O'Fallon, separate from the city, may require their own permit. Any permitted drain or electrical work has to be done by trades licensed with St. Charles County. We're licensed and insured, and when a permit is needed, we handle the paperwork and line up the inspections.

A properly installed concrete garage floor lasts about 30 to 50 years, depending on the type, by national estimates. That range depends on a proper install, so how carefully a crew works matters as much as its price. Ask any contractor, us included, how they'll handle the timing, the joints and the curing.