Garage floor
Your garage floor is pitted and flaking, though nobody ever salts it
A garage floor can look protected and still take a heavy salt load. Tell us what the floor looks like and where it is worst. We will help you ask for the right mix and finish and arrange an introduction.
A garage floor booked here takes $100 off your first job
From the house to the street
- Garage floorYours
- Steps and walksYours
- DrivewayYours
- ApronYours, with a permit
- Public sidewalkCity or your town
- StreetRoad owner
Questions
What to ask first, answered
- 1
Why is my garage floor pitted if I never use salt?
Cars carry salt in from the road and drop it as snow melts. The slab stays wet under the tires, and the surface wears away there.
- 2
Should I hose off the garage floor in winter?
Trade guidance says yes when conditions allow, to remove salt that cars deposit. Make sure the water has somewhere to drain.
- 3
Do garage floors need air-entrained concrete?
The residential code names garage floor slabs with steps and porches for air-entrained concrete. Ask for that in the written scope.
- 4
Can a flaking garage floor be repaired?
Light to moderate scaling often can be, if the base is sound. Heavy, spreading damage may need a new slab. Ask the contractor to show you.
- 5
Should a new floor be sealed?
Ask before agreeing. A breathable sealer is a separate question from the mix, and a quote should price it on its own line.
- 6
Is a permit needed for a garage floor?
Rules differ by place. Ask your village, town or city code office whether your project needs one before the contractor starts.
Ask about your slab
Tell us about your slab
Send the details once. Nothing is booked and you owe nothing for asking.
We help you work out whose concrete it is and what to ask for, then introduce you to an independent Syracuse-area contractor to quote it.
Put it in writing before anyone pours
Seven questions for any contractor, any slab. Copy them into your messages and keep the answers with your contract.
- Air-entrained mix, with the air content namedThe mix decides whether the surface flakes again in a few winters.
- The pour date, and a plan if it turns coldCold nights after the pour count, even when the pour day is mild.
- How the slab is cured and coveredCuring and cold protection run for different lengths of time.
- No de-icer on the new slab this winterClean sand gives traction without feeding the scaling.
- Whose road it is, and who pulls the permitWork in a county road right of way needs a county permit first.
- A signed written contract before work startsNew York asks for a written contract on home improvement jobs over $500.
- What is removed, what is poured, what is leftA clear scope stops arguments about patching versus replacing.
$100 off your first job
Your $100 comes off once your first concrete job is booked.
- The credit comes from us, not out of the contractor's price.
- One credit per customer, per property.
- Your job needs to be booked by December 31, 2026.
- Mention the $100 when you book the work.
The straight-answer slab promise
- No charge to ask, and no obligation once you have.
- If the city or the road owner should fix it, we say so.
- We ask about the mix and the pour month up front.
- Your $100 is applied the way our Terms spell out.
Your contract is with the contractor, who answers to you for the work.
Concrete Repair Syracuse, (315) 640-3590
This fits when
What puts garage floor work on your list
Pits under the tires
Small craters form where the car sits. Salty meltwater drips off the car and works into the surface.
A dusty, flaking surface
Thin layers peel off or dust rises when you sweep. The finish may have been worked too early or too hard.
Popouts across the floor
Small cone-shaped holes show where a bit of stone broke loose near the surface.
Cracks that follow the doorway
Cracks near the garage door or along the wall often track joints and the base under them.
A floor that holds water
Puddles stay at the low spot. Water that stands makes salt exposure worse.
Drawing
The garage floor job, drawn out
- Surface
- Where pitting and flaking begin under tire drip.
- Tire salt
- Meltwater from your car carries road salt onto the slab.
- Joint
- Cuts that guide cracks and separate the floor from walls.
- Base
- A compacted base keeps the floor from dropping.
The job
Inside the garage floor job
Surface repair
Unsound top layer comes off and a new layer goes on. Ask what the plan is for the loose material.
Floor replacement
The slab is cut out and poured new on a prepared base. Ask about the slope toward the door.
Joints and edges
Joints are cut where cracks would go, and isolation joints separate the floor from walls and the driveway.
Drainage and slope
A slight slope helps water leave. Ask where the water will go.
By season
What each season changes in the garage floor job
- An air-entrained mix
- Ask for air-entrained concrete in the garage too. The residential code names garage floor slabs in the same row as steps, with 5 to 7 percent air and a strength that rises where weathering is severe.
- The right pour month
- An indoor slab is not shielded from the pour month. A garage that is open to the weather, or an unheated slab, can see nights at or below 40F while it cures, so ask which month and what protects it.
- First-winter protection
- Salt arrives on tires all winter. Trade guidance says to hose off the buildup when conditions allow, and to keep water from standing on the slab, so ask where the floor will drain.
Basis: UpCodes (Residential Code of New York State) Portland Cement Association
Whose job
Who decides on the garage floor job
The garage floor, and the slab it sits on, are yours to fix. No road owner decides this job, so the choices on the mix, the finish and the month are all yours to put in writing.
How a floor you never salted still gets salted
Cars pick up road salt all winter and drop it as the snow melts off the body. It lands on the slab right where the tires sit, and it stays wet there. A floor you never salted can still take heavy doses.
Ask how the new floor will cope with that salt. Ask also for a slope and joint plan that sends meltwater toward the door instead of letting it pool.
Troweled floors need a closer look
The residential code lets a steel-troweled garage floor carry less air if the strength goes up. That choice trades one protection for another, so ask which route the contractor takes and why.
A hard-troweled surface can also peel when the finishing starts too early. If your floor flaked in a first year, ask what was done on that pour day.
When a sealer comes up
A sealer is not a repair for a weak mix. Trade guidance describes breathable sealers made for slabs, applied by the maker's directions to concrete that is sound and dry enough.
If a sealer is offered, ask what it is, who puts it on and how often it needs redoing. Keep that question separate from the pour, and get it on its own line in the quote.
Want the paperwork checklist?
Joints between the floor and the drive
The slab that carries your cars meets the apron and driveway at the door. An isolation joint lets the two move apart without cracking either one.
Ask where that joint will sit and what fills it. Cracks near the door are often the sign that this joint was never cut, or that water has been getting underneath.
The sequence
How the garage floor job runs
- 01
Look at the floor with the contractor
Show where cars park, where water sits and where the door seals.
- 02
Write down the finish
A steel-troweled floor has its own rules. Ask what finish is planned and why.
- 03
Pour with protection
Ask who covers the slab and how the garage will be kept above freezing in the first days.
- 04
Clean off the salt
Hose off what the cars carry in, and ask the contractor what to avoid in the first winter.
Written down
Put these in writing first
The written scope
It lists the removal, the mix, the strength, the finish and the joints.
The pour date
Put the month in writing, with a fallback date if nights run cold.
The care sheet
What to keep off the floor and for how long. Ask for it on paper.
The contract
A home improvement contract above a set amount needs to be written and signed.
Ask for the mix and the pour month in writing.
Cost
What moves the bill on a garage floor job
- The size of the slab and the thickness change the amount of concrete.
- Removing the old floor and hauling it away is its own line.
- Base repair and drainage add to the quote when water is the reason the slab failed.
- A finish choice such as troweling changes the labor and the mix needs.
- Moving vehicles and stored items out of the garage can affect scheduling.
- A cold-month pour needs heat or cover, and that cost should be written down.
Same property
What comes before or after
Where
Pick your town for the garage floor page
The city
Villages
Guides
Read before you decide
- The mix
Why Syracuse Concrete Flakes, Scales and Pits
Peeling concrete has causes. Learn them before you patch.
- First winter
Keeping Salt Off New Concrete in Syracuse
Sand, not salt, through the first winter.
Ask about the mix before you ask about the price.