A Garage Floor Rebuild and a Stamped Patio in Greece
Two jobs at one house, and the second one is the point. The garage floor and the apron in front of it had failed to where the drain channel across the opening had broken up and dropped. We rebuilt it. The homeowners then had us back to tear out the old slab in the yard and pour a stamped patio.
- Garage floor replacement
- New trench drain
- Stamped back patio
Project at a glance
- Location
- Greece, NY 14626
- Scope
- Garage floor replacement, stamped patio
- Under the slab
- Compacted stone, vapor barrier, rebar
- Drainage
- New trench drain at the door line
Part One · The Garage
Before
What Was Failing
The apron in front of the garage had reached the end of its life. The concrete was cracked through and spalling, and the channel that carried water across the garage opening had broken apart and dropped, leaving a rough trench of loose material exactly where the cars drive over it. Inside, the floor had gone the same way.
This was past patching. Once a slab is failing along the door line and the drain has gone with it, filling the cracks buys a season and then you are back. The homeowners were replacing it, and replacing it meant taking the base apart and doing it properly, not pouring fresh concrete on top of whatever was already under there.
Base and drain
Rebuilding From the Base Up
A garage floor takes point loads a patio never sees, so what goes under it matters more than what you can see afterward. The old floor came out. We built and compacted a clean stone base, laid a vapor barrier over it, then tied a rebar grid and set it up on chairs so the steel ends up inside the slab rather than lying on the ground underneath it. That last detail is the one most often skipped, and it is the difference between reinforced concrete and concrete with some steel buried under it.
The new trench drain went in at the same time, set to grade at the door line so the apron pitches into it and water leaves instead of standing against the slab edge through the winter.
Pour and finish
The Pour and the Finish
Once the concrete was down we floated it and then power troweled it. A garage floor wants a harder, tighter finish than a patio does, because it spends its life under tires, jack stands, dropped tools, and whatever road salt comes off the car in February. That tight surface is also what leaves the floor ready for an epoxy coating later if the homeowners ever decide they want one. Everything else we do on concrete garage floors works the same way.
Garage finished
The Finished Garage
This is the same view as the first photograph on this page. The floor inside and the apron outside are both new, the seam between them runs straight, and the trench drain sits flush across the opening instead of dropping away from it. That is what taking the base apart buys you, and it is the reason we did not pour over the old one.
Part Two · They Called Us Back
Demolition
Tearing Out the Old Slab
The review further down this page was written after the garage was finished and before this second phase started. Its last line is the homeowner saying she could not wait for us to come back and do the patio. That is the part of a job you cannot put in a brochure, so we are pointing at it: they hired us once, then hired us again.
Around the back the existing patio and walk were in the same condition the garage had been in, so they came out the same way. A compact track machine with a breaker takes the slab apart in pieces small enough to carry off without tearing up the lawn on the way, which matters on a tight suburban lot where the only route out is the side yard.
Forming and stamping
Forming, Pouring, Stamping
The new patio runs the length of the back wall and swings out into a curve at the far corner, so the same flexible forming and staking the Pittsford job needed applied here. Once the slab was poured and floated, the crew stamped it in a large format course and worked release across the surface. Before any of that, the siding and the fence went behind plastic sheeting. Stamping throws release powder everywhere, and cleaning it off a customer's house afterward is not a plan.
Finished
The Finished Patio
The finished surface carries a heavy charcoal antiquing over a large format course, which is why it photographs closer to natural slate than to concrete. It is the same product as the stamped concrete we install anywhere else, just specified darker. Off the slider the family now has a usable run of concrete patio the full width of the house, and out front the new apron ties straight into the driveway without the step and the broken channel that used to be there.
Service area
Working on the West Side
Greece sits northwest of the city, and a lot of its housing stock went up during the suburban build out, which means plenty of attached garages still standing on their original slabs. Enough winters of plow blades, road salt, and freeze and thaw, and a floor like that stops being something you patch. This one had reached that point, and the apron had taken the drain down with it.
If you are on that side of town, our Greece concrete contractor page covers the rest of what we handle out here.
Both Halves of the Job
What the homeowner said
After getting quotes from a few companies, we decided to go with NG. I’m so glad we did. Honestly I told my husband after meeting Noah and Dave, we were picking them. I felt very comfortable with both of them, they seemed very knowledgeable and trustworthy. Communication is great and they are very organized. Every time I called or emailed, someone got right back to me. I really appreciate quick responses and great communication. My garage was a big job and they did amazing! The crew they had out for the garage floor were great. They made sure my husband and I understood everything they were doing. Our garage floor is beautiful. Even our young kids keep going into the garage amazed at the floor. Such a huge difference. I would recommend NG to everyone. Such a great company! Out of all the companies I have hired to do work, they have been by far the best company to work with. I can’t wait for them to come and do our patio!
Homeowner, Greece NY
Left after the garage was finished. The patio above is the job she was waiting on.
Garage Floor Past Patching?
If the slab is cracked through, the apron has dropped, or water is standing at the door every thaw, it is worth having someone look at the base rather than the surface. We will come out and tell you which one you are dealing with. Estimates are free.
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