Old floor cracked, damp or uneven? We pour a new concrete floor on solid, packed ground with the moisture sheet kept whole.
Concrete floor installation in Boston means we make the ground under the room solid, lay a moisture sheet right under the slab and pour a new concrete floor that protects the flooring you put on top. Most of these jobs are a basement floor replacement or a slab for a new room or addition.
Most calls start with a basement floor that's cracked, uneven or damp enough to spoil whatever sits on it, or with a new room that needs a slab before anything else can happen. The price moves with the size of the floor, how much old concrete has to come out, how easy it is to get material inside and how much work the ground needs before we pour. The schedule turns on that prep, the permit and the weather, since a cold-day pour needs extra protection, and we check the permit side with the city before anyone starts digging. When I come out, I'll walk the room and give you a figure for your own floor.
I come out to see your floor and give the estimate myself, and our own crew does the work with me running it. The person who explains the plan is the same one making sure it happens. Call (857) 770-0722 to set a time.
We've been in business since 2017, 9 years now. I learned beside older finishers who cared more about the prep than the finish, and that's still how we work, because the ground under a floor decides how it holds up long after the top looks good.
We're licensed and insured. In Massachusetts, most work on an existing 1- to 4-family owner-occupied home has to be overseen by a licensed construction supervisor or a registered design professional, and the contractor must also be a registered Home Improvement Contractor, which is a separate registration. Ask about both.
Tell us which room it is, roughly how big the floor is, how many units your building has and whether you live there, and we'll reply within one business day. I'll come out, look at the room and the ground, and give you a free estimate on site. There's no obligation to book.
In Boston, Inspectional Services issues the permits, a Long-Form permit for major work that changes a home's structure or use and a Short-Form permit for minor work that doesn't. Which one a new floor falls under comes down to the job, so before work starts we check with the city about the permits yours may need and help you get the paperwork in order. Work waits until the permit is issued, because the city can charge double the permit cost or write a building code violation if it doesn't.
Two more city rules can change the plan. Residential buildings in Boston's Flood Hazard District may not have basements with floors below grade on all sides, so if your home is in that district, tell me early when we're talking about a basement floor. Homeowners can only do this work themselves in a 1 or 2 family home they live in, and the owner of a unit in a building with 3 or more homes has to hire a licensed contractor. We're based in Boston and work across the cities around it, including Cambridge and Brookline, where we see the same older houses with narrow basement stairs and tired floors.
A concrete slab in Boston usually costs about $4.50 to $8.50 per square foot. That's what the work tends to run around the city, not our quote, and where your floor lands depends on what I find in the room and the ground under it. Call (857) 770-0722 and I'll come take a look.
Concrete shrinks as it hardens, so a concrete industry guide says some random cracking should always be expected in a floor, even when the joints are spaced close enough. That's why I tell owners up front that a few fine cracks are normal in new concrete, so you can pick a flooring or finish with that in mind.
Concrete can go in during winter, but once the air drops to 40°F or below, or is expected to, while the new concrete still needs protecting, the pour needs a plan to keep it warm. A Michigan concrete association's guide advises covering fresh concrete right away with insulated blankets, straw or heated enclosures to hold it at 50°F or above for at least 3 days. We work out that plan with you when we set the pour date.
Lay a vapor retarder directly under the slab, which a concrete industry guide says gives the most protection for floor coverings, coatings and the room itself. A vapor retarder maker adds that even small holes in that sheet can greatly raise the moisture coming through and lead to flooring failures, so it's fair to ask any crew how they keep it whole.
It starts with what's going on top of the floor and the rules for your building, then the ground under the room, then the pour date. I'll ask how many units your building has and whether you live there, since that decides who can do the work. The date gets set once the permit is in hand and the weather plan is clear.
