Garage floor concrete in Costa Mesa CA - a floor that holds up to your car
Cracked, sunken or dusty garage floor? We tear it out if needed and pour a new slab built on a packed, solid base.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What goes into a new garage floor in Costa Mesa?
Garage floor concrete in Costa Mesa means pouring a new slab for your garage, after breaking out the old floor if there is one. You end up with a flat, solid surface that carries your car and drains toward the door.
Most people call us because the floor they have is cracked, sunk at one corner or turning to dust, or because they're building a garage and want the slab done right the first time. The price mostly turns on the size of the garage, whether an old slab has to come out, how thick the new one needs to be and how much work the ground under it needs. The schedule turns on the same tear out and prep. After that it depends on picking a cool enough day to pour and waiting out the cure, which is the time the concrete needs to gain strength before you load it. The estimate puts your own numbers on each of those parts.
How do you know your garage floor needs replacing?
Cracks that keep widening
A crack that gets wider each year, or has one side sitting higher than the other, usually means the ground under the slab has moved. Water gets in through it, and the longer it sits, the faster the edges break up.
One corner sitting low
When a corner or the middle of the floor sinks and puddles form there, the base under it usually wasn't packed well and has settled. It won't come back up on its own, and the lip at the edge keeps catching tires and toes.
Dusty, flaking surface
If the floor leaves gray powder on your shoes or chips away under the tires, the top layer is usually weak because of how it was poured or finished. Sealers and coatings don't hold on a surface like that, so patching it tends to mean paying twice.
How we pour garage floor concrete, start to finish
On a replacement, we break out the old floor and haul it off. I price that tear out on its own line so you can see what the demolition costs and what the new slab costs. Then we dig out and pack the subgrade, the dirt the slab sits on, because a base that's only raked level settles and takes the floor down with it. We set the forms so the floor falls slightly toward the door and water runs out instead of back toward the house. Then we lay rebar, the steel bars that keep the slab together if it cracks, and pour and finish it. We cut control joints while the concrete is still young. Those are shallow lines that give the slab a planned place to crack. Then we keep the slab damp while it cures. If the budget's tight, I'll trim the finish before I trim the base, because nobody sees the base on day one and it's what decides whether the floor is still flat years from now.
Some garage jobs connect to other work. If you want color, a stain or a pattern on the new floor, that's decorative concrete, and it's easier to plan before the pour than after. If the garage sits into a slope and the dirt beside it is pushing in or washing onto the slab, a concrete retaining wall may need to go in first so the new floor isn't fighting the hill.
Get a line-by-line price for your garage floor
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time. I come out, look at the garage and give you a free estimate, with no obligation to go ahead.
(949) 543-1664- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM
- service@costamesaconcrete.com
- Costa Mesa, CA 92626
What happens after you call about your garage floor?
From your first call to the day the car goes back in, here's what happens and who you'll be dealing with.
Call or send a message
Call (949) 543-1664 or use the form, and we'll get back to you to set a time for me to see the garage.
I come out and price it
I look at the floor, the ground around the garage and how you use the space, then give you an estimate with each part of the job spelled out. If one part is driving the cost, I'll tell you so you can decide whether it's worth it.
We schedule, pour and finish
Once you say go, we get it on the schedule and take care of the city paperwork where the job needs it. I'm on site when the concrete goes in, and then the slab is left to cure before it takes your car.
Why Costa Mesa homeowners call us for garage floors
If your floor is cracking or settling, the next step is a look at it in person. Send us the details or call (949) 543-1664.
The estimate comes from me
I come out myself to look at your Costa Mesa garage and write the estimate. Our own crew does the work and I'm on site for the pour, so the person who priced the job is the one watching the concrete go in.
In business since 2017
Before that, I spent years on upkeep for a property management company, patching cracked walks and sunken slabs, and most of what failed went bad because of the prep, not the concrete. I'd rather change your plan or tell you no than pour a floor I'd be back fixing.
Licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured on the garage floors we pour. Breaking out a slab and pouring a new one puts heavy equipment right next to your house, so you shouldn't be the one carrying that risk.
Garage floors and the work around them in Costa Mesa
In Costa Mesa, the city's Building Safety Division handles permits for projects here, and that's who you ask about whether a garage floor needs one. I won't guess at that. If it's unclear for your job, we check with the city before we start, and when a permit is needed we pull it and handle the filing.
Many of the garages we look at around here still have the floor the house came with, and the cracks and low spots show it. On pour day, California's stormwater guidance says concrete trucks should be washed out only in designated spots, away from storm drains, streets, ditches, streams and bare ground. So the truck shouldn't be rinsed out in your driveway or the gutter. We're based in Costa Mesa and work across the cities around it in Orange County, and we see the same tired garage floors on jobs in Irvine and Huntington Beach.
Questions about garage floor concrete in Costa Mesa
(949) 543-1664How much does a concrete garage floor cost in Orange County?
A concrete slab in Orange County usually costs about $7 to $14 per square foot, and that covers the slab alone. Taking out an old floor is added on top of that, and staining or stamping aren't in that range either. The estimate breaks your own job into its parts.
How long does a new concrete garage floor take to cure?
Full curing takes a month, but you should be able to walk on a new slab within 48 hours. Waiting a week before you park on it or roll anything heavy across it is the safer course, so plan on foot traffic only in that first week.
Is it normal for a new concrete garage floor to crack?
Yes, some cracking is normal on every slab, even one that was designed and built properly, so a crack on its own isn't proof the job was done badly. How the control joints are spaced is one of the main things that decides how much random cracking a slab gets and what kind. Ask any contractor how they'll lay the joints out on your floor.
Where do I apply for a building permit in Costa Mesa?
You apply through the city's TESSA page, where plans are submitted and permit applications go in, and some simple projects with a limited scope can use Insta-Permits instead. The Building Safety Division is at 77 Fair Drive, 2nd Floor, and you can email it at buildingpermit@costamesaca.gov. If we're doing your floor, that filing is on us.
How thick should a concrete garage floor be in Orange County?
Home floor slabs in Orange County run four to six inches thick, and garage floors sit at the thicker end of that range because they carry cars. I set the thickness at the estimate once I've seen what you park and store there.
What is the best way to pour concrete in hot weather?
Pour during a cooler part of the day. One concrete products maker's hot-weather bulletin says cracks form more easily in heat, both before and after the concrete hardens. The same bulletin says you can ask for the pour at night on a hot forecast day. It also says to refuse water added on site to cool the concrete or make it easier to work, since that can hurt its strength and long-term durability. We watch the forecast and keep pours out of midday heat when we can.
Other concrete work that goes with a garage floor
Decorative concrete
For a garage that doubles as a gym, shop or showroom, colored and patterned finishes give the new slab a look that plain gray concrete doesn't.
Concrete retaining walls
When the garage sits into a slope or the yard beside it keeps slumping, a wall holds the dirt back so it stops crowding the slab.
Cities where we pour garage floors
Premier Costa Mesa Concrete is based in Costa Mesa, CA, and pours garage floors in the cities around it, including Santa Ana and Westminster. The 12 cities below have their own page, and they aren't the only places we work.
Costa Mesa, CA
Get a price on your garage floor
The first call goes faster if you have the garage size in square feet ready, and know whether the old slab comes out and whether you plan to coat the floor.