Concrete floor installation in Montrose CO - a slab ready for the covering you plan
Old floor cracked and uneven, or bare dirt where a floor should be? We pour, finish and cure one that's ready for what goes on it.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What does a new concrete floor take in Montrose?
Concrete floor installation in Montrose, CO means getting the ground ready, placing and finishing the concrete, then curing it right after finishing. Curing keeps moisture in the slab so it gains strength and cracks less.
Most floor calls start with an old slab that's cracked, sunk or chipping, or with a new shop, basement or addition that has bare dirt where the floor should be. The price mostly comes down to the size of the floor, how much digging and base the ground needs, whether old concrete has to come out first, and whether you'll cover or coat it. The schedule depends more on the weather and the ground than on the pour itself, because the ground has to be ready before any concrete goes on it. The estimate gives you your own figure, and I'll explain what I see before you decide anything. If it's a garage, our garage floor concrete page covers that job in more detail.
How can you tell your concrete floor needs replacing?
Cracks with one side higher
A hairline crack is usually just the slab doing what concrete does, but when one side sits higher than the other, the ground underneath has moved. Water gets into that gap, the edges chip, and the lip keeps growing the longer it's left.
A floor that turns to dust
If sweeping always turns up gray powder or the surface flakes, the top layer is weak, often from a pour in the heat or curing that got skipped. It keeps wearing down, and paint or a coating usually won't hold to it.
Flooring that won't stay put
Tile that pops loose, vinyl that bubbles or a musty smell under carpet usually means moisture is coming up through the slab. Each new covering tends to fail the same way until the floor underneath is dealt with.
How we handle concrete floor installation
We start by digging out to firm subgrade, the native ground the slab sits on, and packing a gravel base over it, because a base that's only raked level settles along with the dirt and takes the floor with it. If you plan to cover or coat the floor, tell us early, since that changes where the moisture barrier sits. Then we lay the barrier, set the forms and the rebar, steel bars that hold the slab together if it does crack, and pour. We plan the pour so we're not finishing in the worst heat of the day, which leaves a weak, dusty top, and we cut control joints, shallow lines that give the slab a chosen place to crack, before it picks a spot on its own. Curing starts as soon as the finish is done, and I'll explain when the floor is ready to seal. When the budget gets tight, the base is the first thing people want to cut because nobody sees it on day one, and I'd cut the finish instead, since a plain floor on a packed base usually holds up longer than a fancy one on raked dirt.
A new floor usually connects to something else. If it meets a back door or a drop to the yard, we can pour concrete steps while we're set up so the heights line up, and outdoor floors around a pool get the same base work as our concrete pool decks.
Smooth troweled floor
A hard, smooth finish suits shops, basements and storage rooms you'll leave bare or seal later. It's easy to sweep, and it gives a sealer or coating an even surface to go on.
Floor set up for a covering
If tile, wood, vinyl or carpet goes on top, we plan the barrier and the finish for that covering from the start. Check the flooring maker's instructions too, since they often say what they need from the slab.
Broom finish for covered outdoor floors
A broom finish drags a stiff broom across the wet concrete to leave fine ridges that give your feet grip when it's wet. It suits porches and covered patios better than indoor rooms.
Get a free estimate for your new concrete floor
Send it over and we'll reply within one business day to set a time. I'll come look at the site, go over a free estimate with you line by line, and there's no obligation to book.
(970) 964-6176- hello@montroseconcrete.com
- Based in
- Montrose, CO 81401
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM
What happens after you call about a concrete floor?
Here's how a floor job runs from your first call to the day we hand it back, and what you'll know at each point.
Call or send a message
Reach us at (970) 964-6176 or through the form, and we'll set a time for me to come out. Having the floor size, your address and the covering you plan handy makes that first talk more useful.
Walk the site together
I look at the ground, ask how you'll use the floor and go over the estimate line by line, from digging and base to barrier, pour and finish. You'll know what each part covers before you decide anything.
Check, prep and pour
Once you're ready, we confirm what the office covering your address needs, then dig out, pack the base, set the forms and pour. We'll keep you posted if the weather or the ground moves the date.
Cure and walk through care
Curing starts as soon as the finish is done. Before we leave, I walk you through how to care for the floor and when it'll be ready to seal.
Why homeowners here call Montrose Concrete for floors
I look at the ground myself
I come out to look at the job myself, and I'm on site with our crew when the work gets done. Ground around Montrose can change from one lot to the next, so the person who saw yours at the estimate is the one there for the pour.
In business since 2013
I spent summers on a concrete crew through school, learned by pouring and asking why, and started this business in 2013. I still walk you through a job before we pour, because if you know why a joint goes where it goes, you'll take better care of your floor.
Licensed and fully insured on site
Montrose Concrete is licensed and fully insured. That matters when a crew is digging, forming and pouring on your property, because the risk shouldn't land on you.
A good floor starts with someone looking hard at the ground before anything gets poured. Ask for an estimate or call (970) 964-6176, and I'll come out and walk the site with you.
Concrete floors and the ground under them in Montrose
Who reviews a new floor depends on your address. Inside the city, Montrose Building Services issues building permits for structural, plumbing and other listed work, and its list names residential construction and fence permits but not concrete floors, so that list alone doesn't settle whether your floor needs one. Montrose County's Building Department handles plan review, inspections and code enforcement for the county, and which office covers a given lot isn't always obvious. Before we schedule, we check with the office that covers your address and walk you through what it asks for, and where a permit is needed, we help you sort out the paperwork and keep you posted.
The ground is the bigger local factor. Expansive, collapsing, weak and moving soils turn up all over Montrose County, and collapsing soils, first noticed in western Colorado when untouched land was irrigated, are still among the main things that damage foundations here. Where some movement is acceptable, a floating slab, set apart from the foundation and load-bearing walls at designed joints, is one option, and it depends on drainage and watering habits that keep the soil under it as dry as possible. Letting clay dry out too much before a pour makes expansive soil worse, and so does building a floor with no allowance for movement, so that's what I'm looking for at the estimate. We're based in Montrose and the same ground questions come up on jobs in Montrose, Delta and the cities around them.
Questions about concrete floors in Montrose
How much does a concrete floor cost in Colorado?
An installed concrete slab foundation in Colorado, including excavation, gravel base, vapor barrier and the pour, usually costs about $8.50 to $17.50 per square foot. That's the going range across the state, not our price, and where yours lands depends on the size, the ground, any old concrete to remove and the finish. You'll get your own number at the estimate.
Will my new concrete floor crack?
Expect some cracking, because even with good design and construction, cracks in a concrete slab can't be fully prevented. What we can do is plan for them, which is why we cut control joints and start curing right away, so cracks are more likely to follow a joint than wander across the room.
How long do I wait to seal a new concrete floor?
Usually at least 28 days after curing, once the concrete is strong enough to take it. A sealer protects the surface from moisture, stains and wear, and I'll tell you when your floor has reached that point.
Where should the vapor barrier go under a concrete floor?
The concrete industry's floor guide says experience shows a barrier in direct contact with the slab gives floor coverings, coatings and the building the most protection. Ask any contractor where theirs will sit, and tell us at the estimate what's going on top so we can plan for it.
Can a concrete floor be poured in winter?
Yes, as long as the ground under it isn't frozen. A cold weather guide from a Michigan concrete trade group says to place concrete only on ground that isn't frozen, thawing it first with ground heaters or blankets, so a winter pour can add a thawing step before the concrete goes in. We'll talk through your timing at the estimate.
How do I find out if the soil under my floor is a problem?
Have a professional look at it, since the state geological survey says only a professional soil engineer and engineering geologist should be relied on to spot expansive clay. Ask anyone you're hiring who will check the soil, and after the pour keep water from pooling near the foundation, because standing water adds to expansive soil problems.
Other concrete work that goes with a floor
Concrete pool decks
Planning a pool? A deck around it needs the same packed base and a surface with grip for wet feet, and we can plan it alongside your floor.
Concrete steps construction
A new floor often changes the height at a doorway, and poured steps built to match keep that last rise even and easy to walk at night.
Where we pour concrete floors
Montrose Concrete is based in Montrose, Colorado, and pours floors in Montrose and Delta, the 2 cities with their own page on this site. We also work in the cities around them, so give us a call if you're nearby.
Montrose, CO
Plan your new concrete floor with us
A visit now tells you what your ground needs before you buy flooring or book the other trades.