Concrete floor installation in Shafter CA - a solid slab ready for what goes on top
Bare dirt where a floor should go? We prep the ground and pour a slab set up for the flooring you plan to put down.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What does a new concrete floor in Shafter involve?
Concrete floor installation in Shafter means a flat slab poured on prepared ground. It can be the floor of a garage, shop, addition or room, and you can leave it bare or cover it later. We're based in Shafter and work across Shafter, Bakersfield and the cities around them, and every floor we pour starts with the ground under it.
Most floor calls start with dirt and a plan, like a garage turning into a room, a new shop or an addition, or with an old slab that's cracked and sunk past saving. If it's the garage itself, our garage floor concrete page covers that job. The price moves with the size of the floor, how much digging and base work the ground needs, whether the slab gets steel and a vapor barrier, and how close we can get the truck. The schedule turns on any permit and on pouring at the right time of day. Your written estimate spells out what's included for your floor.
What tells you it's time for a new concrete floor?
Cracks that keep widening
A crack you could ignore last year now catches a broom or a toe. That usually means the ground underneath moved. Water and dirt keep working into it, so waiting turns a patch job into a tear-out.
Tile or vinyl letting go
Flooring that lifts, bubbles or comes loose at the seams usually points to moisture coming up through a slab with nothing under it to slow it down. New flooring on the same slab tends to fail the same way, so the fix is below the floor, not on it.
Low spots and a dusty top
Chairs roll to one corner, water sits in the same place, or the surface sheds powder every time you sweep. A sunken base or a weak top layer won't get better on its own, and the longer it's used, the more it breaks up.
How we do concrete floor installation
First I ask what's going on the floor. What goes on top decides what goes under, and a bare floor needs different things than one getting glue down. Then our crew digs out to firm ground and packs the subgrade, which is the dirt and base the slab sits on, instead of raking it level and hoping. We set the forms and check where the water will run so nothing falls toward a wall. We lay the vapor barrier if your flooring calls for one and set the rebar, the steel that holds the slab together if it cracks. When it's hot we pour early, because a pour in midday heat leaves a weak, dusty top. Once it's finished we cut control joints, shallow saw cuts that give the slab a straight place to crack, then leave it to cure, the slow stretch where concrete gains its strength. If the budget has to give somewhere, I'd rather the finish be plain than the base be thin. You'll notice a plain finish for about a week, and you'll feel a bad base for years.
A floor often meets other concrete at the door. If the new room sits above the yard, we can pour the concrete steps while the crew and forms are already here. If it opens onto the backyard, our concrete pool decks get the same base work under them.
Bare or sealed floor
This suits shops, storage rooms and workspaces where the concrete is the finished floor. We put the effort into a hard, even top, either smooth for easy sweeping or a broom finish, a light brushed texture that gives shoes some grip.
Floor going under tile, wood or vinyl
This suits additions and living space that will get finished flooring. Moisture rising through a slab is what lifts glue and cups wood, so on this floor the barrier under the slab matters as much as the top.
Get a written estimate for your concrete floor
Send the floor size, what's going on top and when you'd like it done. We reply within one business day to set a time, and I come out, look and write you a free estimate with no obligation.
Call (661) 776-8737- Based in
- Shafter, CA 93263
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call us about a new floor?
Here's how a floor job runs from your first call to the final walk-through, and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
You call, we set a visit
You call or send the form, and we pick a time for me to come out. Have a rough floor size and your flooring plans handy, because they shape the whole job.
I measure and write it up
I look at the ground, measure and ask how you'll use the room. You get a written estimate that says what's included, so you can see where the money goes before you decide anything.
Permits first, then the pour
We sort out any permit before anybody digs. Then our crew preps, pours and finishes the floor with me on site.
We walk the floor together
When we're done, I walk the slab with you and point out the joints and anything worth knowing. I also tell you how long to keep off it and what to keep off it.
Why Shafter homeowners call us for concrete floors
The estimator is on the job
I come out to look at every job and write the estimate myself, and our own crew does the work with me there. The person who promised the base prep is the one watching it go in.
Pouring concrete since 2013
I started as a helper mixing, hauling and cleaning tools before anyone let me near a trowel, and I opened this business in 2013. Most of what I know about bad slabs I learned by looking at what was under them.
Licensed and insured in California
We're licensed and insured. California's licensing board has its own class for contractors who form, pour and finish flat concrete, so it's a fair question to put to anyone who bids on your floor.
On a floor, the part that matters most is the part you won't see once it's poured. Contact us and I'll come look at the ground before we talk price.
Concrete floors and permits in Shafter
Shafter's Building Department issues building permits, which the city requires for most construction and repair projects. Its list names patios and additions but not concrete floors, so it's up to the city whether your floor needs one. We check with the building office for your address before we start, and if your job needs a permit, we handle the application and line up the inspections. The city does let you pull a permit for your own home and draw your own plans, but then it's on you to make sure those plans meet every code that applies. The city recommends a qualified professional in most cases and suggests going over your coverage with your insurance agent before work starts. If you'd like to ask them yourself, the city's Building Department takes calls at 661-746-5002, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Most floor calls we get here are for garages turned into rooms, shop buildings and additions on older single-story houses, and we see the same mix on jobs in Bakersfield and Wasco. Older lots often have tight side yards, so we work out early how the concrete gets from the truck to the forms.
Questions about concrete floors in Shafter
Call (661) 776-8737How much does a concrete slab cost around Bakersfield?
A concrete slab in the Bakersfield area usually costs about $7 to $14 per square foot, according to a local cost guide that covers slabs in general. The same guide puts reinforced concrete higher per square foot than a plain, unreinforced pad. That's the area's going rate, not our price, and your written estimate shows what's included for your floor.
Do I need a permit for a concrete floor in Shafter, and who issues it?
Shafter's Building Department issues building permits, and whether your floor needs one is the city's call for your address. As mentioned above, we check before anybody digs and handle the paperwork if it does.
Will my new concrete floor crack?
Probably a little, and that's normal. The national guide most slab designers work from says a floor with no cracks and no curling, where the edges lift slightly, isn't realistic even with the best design and building, and some of both doesn't by itself mean the work was poor. The control joints we cut steer most of that cracking into straight lines instead of random wide ones.
How long does a new concrete slab take before I can walk on it?
A new slab should be walkable within 48 hours, and it takes 28 to 30 days to fully cure. To be safe, wait about a week before putting heavier loads on it, like a car, a workbench or a stack of tile.
How do I get a new concrete floor ready for tile, wood or vinyl?
Tell your contractor what flooring you plan before the pour, because it decides what goes under the slab. One concrete supplier's report advises a low permeance vapor retarder, meaning one that lets little moisture through, for floors getting moisture-sensitive flooring, along with a layer of gravel-type material below the slab, and says to check the flooring maker's instructions. Barriers have cut down failures of flooring, glue and coatings, but they've also been linked with curling and cracking, which is why a bare floor may be built differently.
What causes a concrete slab to crack or sink?
Most of the time it's the ground and base under the slab. If those aren't right, the slab is far more likely to perform poorly and fail, no matter how much steel is in it. When you compare bids, ask each crew how they'll prepare the ground before you get into reinforcement.
Related concrete work that often comes with a floor
Concrete pool decks
If your new room opens onto the backyard pool, a deck poured with a grippy finish and good drainage keeps wet feet steady and water away from the house.
Concrete steps construction
A new floor often sits higher or lower than the yard outside, and solid concrete steps at the door make that change in level safe to walk.
Service areas for concrete floors around Shafter
Shafter Concrete is based in Shafter, California, and pours floors across Shafter, Bakersfield and the cities around them. These 12 cities have their own pages, including Bakersfield and Delano, and they aren't the only places we work.
Shafter, CA
Tell us what's going on your floor
Concrete only gets one pour, so it pays to settle the base and the barrier with your flooring in mind before the truck is booked.