Concrete floor installation in Fayetteville AR - a slab ready for what goes on top
Cracked, uneven floor, or a new space that needs a slab? We plan the base, joints and curing before the truck shows up.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
What goes into installing a concrete floor, from the ground up?
Concrete floor installation in Fayetteville means getting the ground ready, placing the slab, then finishing, jointing and curing it. The timing of those last three steps has as much to do with a good floor as the concrete itself. The job often comes with tearing out an old cracked floor, sorting out where water goes and planning around flooring that will go on top. Most of the calendar goes to prep before the pour and curing after it, not the pour day.
Most people who call about a floor are either replacing one that's cracked, sunk or letting moisture through, or pouring a new one in a shop, basement or addition. The price moves with the size, how much digging and base work the ground needs, whether old concrete has to come out, and the barrier, steel and finish you pick. The schedule turns on the prep, the weather on pour day and the cure, so I'd rather plan those than rush them. The City of Fayetteville takes building applications online, and if your job needs a permit, we handle that paperwork and line up the inspections. When I come out, I measure and send a written estimate with the numbers for your floor.
How do you know your concrete floor needs replacing?
Cracks running every direction
Cracks that wander across the floor instead of following the joint lines usually mean the joints were cut late or skipped, or the base moved underneath. Left alone, the edges chip and open up, and they'll show right through any flooring you lay over them.
Low spots and a tilt
If a marble rolls to one corner or water sits in one spot, the base under that part of the slab has usually settled. It tends to keep going as the ground moves, so the low spot gets lower and the cracks follow.
Flooring that lifts or smells damp
Tiles popping loose, vinyl bubbling or a musty smell often point to moisture coming up through a slab with a poor barrier or none at all. Waiting usually means paying for new flooring that fails the same way, sometimes with a mold cleanup on top.
Work that often goes with a floor
Concrete pool decks
A pool deck needs grip underfoot and water running away from the house, and it's easier to get right when planned with your other concrete.
Concrete steps construction
Steps that are cracked, loose or pulling away from the house are worth fixing while the crew and the truck are already here.
How we install a concrete floor
I plan the jointing and curing before the truck is ever booked, because a lot of what makes a good floor happens after the pour. Our crew starts by digging out the subgrade, the ground the slab sits on, and packing a firm base rather than raking dirt level, since a raked base settles and takes the floor down with it. We check where water runs, lay the moisture barrier, set the rebar, the steel that holds cracks tight, and build the forms. We pour early when the weather lets us, because sun and wind can dry the top before it's finished and leave it weak and dusty later. Then we finish the surface, saw the control joints, the shallow cuts that tell the slab where to crack, and keep it curing, which means holding the water in so it gets strong instead of just dry. If you're gluing flooring down on top, tell me early, because curing compounds don't get along with flooring adhesives, so we check with your flooring maker and pick a cure that won't fight the glue. When the budget gets tight, I'd cut a fancy finish before I'd cut the base, because you can redo a surface and you can't redo what's under it without starting over.
We also pour concrete pool decks when the floor sits in a pool house or a room that opens onto the pool. And when a new floor raises the height at the door, we build concrete steps to match, so nobody trips on an odd step.
A floor that gets covered
This suits rooms getting tile, vinyl, wood or carpet, so we trowel it flat and choose the cure with your flooring in mind. It's the one where telling me early about glue makes the biggest difference.
A floor that stays bare
Shops, storage rooms and basements often keep the concrete as the finished surface, troweled smooth or given a broom finish, a light texture that gives your feet grip when it's wet. It costs less to finish, but the surface has to be right because nothing hides it.
Get a written estimate for your new concrete floor
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time for me to come measure. The estimate is free, with no obligation, and you can call (479) 598-4435 too.
Call (479) 598-4435Why Fayetteville homeowners call AJ Fayetteville Concrete Construction for floors
I walk the job and run it
I come out to look at your floor myself, and I'm on site while our crew handles the prep, forming, pouring and finishing. The person who explained the job to you is the one making sure it goes in that way.
Taught on a city crew
I learned concrete pouring sidewalks and curbs on a city public works crew, and I started this business in 2020. That crew taught me to work out the ground and the drainage before a truck shows up, because that's where floors fail.
Licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured. Arkansas issues a Limited home improvement license that covers only residential projects under $50,000, labor and material included, and an Unlimited one for any size, so it's worth knowing which kind a contractor holds before you sign.
What matters most on a floor is the part nobody sees once it's poured, so bring every question you've got and set up a visit when you're ready.
What happens after you call about a concrete floor in Fayetteville?
Call or send the form
Call (479) 598-4435 or send the form with the floor's size and where it is. We get back to you and set a time for me to come out.
I walk and measure it
I walk the space with you, measure and talk through your options, including what's going on top of the floor. Then I send a written estimate you can take your time with.
We square away the prep
Once you say go, we take care of anything the city needs and set the date. Our crew then digs out, packs the base and builds the forms.
Pour, cure and walk through
We pour, finish and cut the joints, then keep the slab curing before anyone puts weight or flooring on it. When it's done, I walk it with you.
Common questions
What causes cracks in a new concrete floor?
Concrete shrinks as it dries, so some random cracking should always be expected, even on a floor that was done right. Steel won't stop those cracks, but reinforcement that's properly sized and placed should keep them tight, and control joints give most of them a planned place to form. When you compare quotes, ask how each crew sizes and places the steel.
What goes under a concrete floor slab?
A packed base goes down first, then a vapor retarder, a moisture barrier sheet that protects your floor coverings and the room best when it sits right against the bottom of the slab. The main national guide for concrete floors advises against plain polyethylene sheeting for this, so ask which barrier each quote includes. I'll tell you which one we're using and why before we pour.
What happens after a concrete floor is poured?
After the pour we finish the surface, cut the control joints and start curing, and that timing matters as much as the pour itself. Joints usually get sawn within 4 to 12 hours of placing the concrete, depending on the temperature and the mix, before cracks can pick their own spots. A concrete trade group advises curing as long as you can, 3 days at minimum, starting right after finishing, so build at least those days into your plans.
How much does a concrete floor cost in Fayetteville?
A concrete slab in Fayetteville usually costs about $6 to $11 per square foot, and that's the going rate around here, not our price. Heavy base work, tearing out an old floor and a hard spot to reach with the truck usually push a job toward the top of that range. My written estimate gives you the number for your floor.
Does clay soil in Fayetteville cause problems for concrete floors?
It can, because clay swells when it's wet and shrinks when it dries, and state geologists say it can damage houses when construction doesn't account for it. About 21% of Washington County's soil is high shrink-swell clay, about average for Arkansas. Many of those problems can be handled with steps planned before construction, so I look hard at the ground on every job, in Fayetteville and the cities around it across Northwest Arkansas.
How long before I can put flooring on a new concrete floor?
Longer than the cure alone, because the slab has to dry out enough for your flooring, and a moisture test is how you find out. A standard test uses sensors that each need at least 24 hours to settle before a reading counts, so leave room for that in your schedule. Tell your flooring installer early so the cure, the testing and their work line up.
Send us your floor's size and plans
If you tell us the square footage and what flooring goes on top, I show up with the right questions about the barrier and the cure, and the estimate fits your floor from the first visit.