Concrete Slabs & Garage Pads in Woodstock

Clay ground, frost and water

On clay, the answer to frost is a compacted granular base and good drainage, not just a thicker slab. We compact the base in lifts and grade the pad so water leaves it instead of pooling at the edges.

The low ground near Cedar Creek stays wetter than the rest of the city. On a lot down there, where the water runs off the pad matters as much as the slab itself. We look at your grade at the site visit and plan the base and the runoff to suit it.

New lots at Havelock Corners and Sally Creek

In the newer surveys at Havelock Corners and the Villages of Sally Creek, new-survey soil keeps settling for a season or two, so we check compaction before pouring anything.

A detached garage pad is usually a floating slab. We thicken the edges to about 300 mm so they carry the walls, pour the slab 125 to 150 mm thick and tie a 10M rebar grid instead of light mesh. A shed or hot tub pad is lighter work, and welded wire mesh is the right choice there.

Older streets around Vansittart Avenue

In the older blocks, a new pad usually goes in beside century brick and original foundations, often where an old slab or a cracked patch of concrete already sits. We keep the runoff clear of the house walls. If an old pad is in the way, it comes out first; see our concrete removal and demolition in Woodstock page. If the basement there already runs damp, see our basement waterproofing in Woodstock page before you pour beside the wall.

Built for salt and freeze-thaw

A Woodstock garage floor takes the salt that drips off a parked car all winter. We pour 32 MPa air-entrained concrete outdoors and on garage floors, the mix made for freeze-thaw and de-icing salt. Plan on vehicles after 48 hours at the earliest and framing after about 7 days. Most detached garages need a building permit in Ontario, so we flag that at the site visit.