Concrete floor installation in Auburn ME - a floor ready for the covering you want
Cracked, sinking or crumbling floor in the basement or the barn? We pour a new slab on a packed base, ready for what goes on top.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What goes into a new concrete floor in Auburn?
At Sterling Auburn Concrete in Auburn, ME, concrete floor installation means pouring fresh concrete over the subgrade, the packed ground the slab sits on, so it hardens into a floor that carries your tile, wood, carpet or coating.
Most people call because the old floor has cracked, heaved or gone dusty, or because a basement or outbuilding never had a real floor and it's finally time. The price turns on the size of the room, how much digging and base work it takes, how easy it is to get concrete into the space and what covering you're planning, since that decides the moisture barrier and the finish. The schedule turns on the weather and on the base, because I won't book a pour until the ground under it is right. If the room is a garage, our garage floor concrete page covers that job. Your own figure comes in a written estimate after I've seen the room.
How our concrete floor installation works
First I ask what's going on top, whether that's tile, wood, carpet or bare sealed concrete, because that decides where the moisture barrier goes and how we finish the surface. Then we dig out the soft stuff and pack the subgrade, since a base that's only raked level settles with the dirt and takes your floor with it. If the budget's tight, the base is the last place I'd cut, because nobody sees it on day one and everybody sees it a few winters later. The barrier goes down where it'll protect your covering, and the national floor-building guidance says coverings and the room get the most protection when it sits right against the bottom of the slab. Rebar or mesh goes in next, steel that holds the slab together inside, then we pour and finish it. We cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the slab a straight line to crack along instead of wherever it pleases, and then it cures, which is the wait while the concrete gains strength before you load it up.
The same base work goes into the outside jobs that often come up alongside a floor. If the floor runs out to a back door or a bulkhead, we can pour concrete steps that meet it at the right height, and if there's a pool we build concrete pool decks that shed water away from the house.
Floors that get a covering
If tile, wood, vinyl or carpet is going down, the barrier and a flat, smooth surface matter more than anything you'll see the day we leave. We finish it for the flooring so the installer isn't fighting the slab.
Floors left bare or coated
Shops, barns and storage rooms often stay bare or get a sealer or coating, so the surface is the floor. We trowel it smooth for a coating, or give it a light broom finish, a brushed texture for grip, where boots come in wet.
Concrete floor installation in Auburn: permits and the state code
Auburn's Permitting and Code Enforcement office takes building permit applications, and its list names building, electrical and plumbing permits without naming concrete floor work, so that list doesn't settle whether your floor needs one. Before we book the job, we check with the office on what it wants, and if a permit is called for, we handle the application. It's also worth knowing that meeting Maine's building and energy code is the building owner's responsibility under state rules, whether or not the city enforces it, and for new low-rise homes the state requires that code to include a radon control standard. On a floor going into a new house, that's something we plan with you and your builder before the slab goes in.
Older houses around here often have a thin, patched basement floor or none at all, and plenty of barns and sheds still have the dirt floor somebody always meant to pour. When the job means digging out or bringing in fill, Auburn's Public Works takes the fill and excavation permit applications, so we sort that before the digging starts. We do the same kind of floors in Lewiston and Portland.
Why Auburn homeowners call Sterling Auburn Concrete for a new floor
The owner quotes and leads
I'm the one who comes out, measures the room and writes the estimate, and I lead the crew that does the work. The person who told you what your floor needs is the one making sure it gets it.
In business since 2013
We've been at this for 13 years, and the first concrete I ever poured was a barn floor on the family farm. That's long enough to learn which shortcuts come back to bite.
Licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured on every job. If something goes wrong in your house, you're not the one left covering it.
Pours planned around Maine winters
We set pour dates around the weather and build cold protection into the job instead of hoping for a warm week. A floor that freezes before it's ready is a floor you pay for twice.
If you've got a floor that needs replacing or a room that never had one, send us the details or call (207) 707-4423 and I'll come take a look.
Request a quoteGet a written estimate for your new concrete floor
We reply within one business day. The estimate is free, done on site and comes with no obligation. Once your request comes in, we set a time for me to come out, look at the room, measure it and ask how you plan to use it.
What happens after you call about a concrete floor in Auburn?
Call or send the form
You reach us by phone or through the form, and we set a time for me to come see the room. It helps to know what kind of flooring you're leaning toward, because that's one of the first things I'll ask.
I look and measure
I look the room over, measure it and ask how you'll use it, then you get a written estimate. You have the number on paper before anything is booked.
Permits, pour date, base
Once you're ready, we check what the local permit office needs and pick a pour date that suits the job and the weather. The base gets dug out and packed before any concrete shows up.
Finish, cure, walk through
We finish the floor, cure it properly and walk it with you before we pack up. You see the surface, the joints and the edges with me there to answer questions.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a new concrete floor cost in Auburn, ME?
The cost comes down to the size of the room, how much digging and base work it needs and how hard it is to get concrete into the space. The covering you're planning matters too, since it decides the barrier and the finish, and a winter pour adds cold protection. I'll give you a written figure after I've seen the room.
How long does a new concrete floor need protecting from freezing in an Auburn winter?
About two days after it's placed, because concrete that freezes loses strength it could have had and won't be durable. A Michigan trade group's cold-weather guide also says to pour only on ground that isn't frozen, with the subgrade at 40°F or warmer. If heaters run in a closed room, fuel-burning ones should be vented, for safety and so the fresh surface doesn't turn dusty.
Will my new concrete floor crack?
It may crack a little somewhere, because a completely crack-free floor isn't realistic even when the design and the work are right. What you can judge is how the floor was designed and built, and the control joints we cut give any cracks a line to follow. I'd rather tell you that up front than pretend otherwise. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
Does wire mesh keep a concrete floor from cracking?
No, wire mesh tends to keep cracks and joints from opening up rather than stopping cracks from forming. It holds the pieces together so a hairline crack usually stays a hairline. The packed base under it does more to keep cracks from starting.
How do I know a new basement floor is ready for wood or vinyl flooring?
Not by touch, because a basement slab that feels dry can still be too damp for flooring that doesn't like moisture. Before you book the flooring installer, ask how the slab's readiness will be judged, and don't take a dry feel as the answer.
Who is allowed to install a radon system in Maine?
Under Maine law, only the home's owner or occupant, or someone registered with the state, may install or advise on a radon reduction system. If the house is for sale, a registered radon service provider has to do that work. For homes with no history of high radon, the state's guidance recommends testing after a significant renovation that disturbs the soil and bedrock, and digging out for a new floor may fall under that.
Other concrete work that often goes with a new floor
Concrete pool decks
If there's a pool out back, a deck poured on a packed base and pitched away from the water stays flatter and drains better than one laid on raked dirt.
Concrete steps construction
Old steps that have sunk, cracked or pulled away from the door are a trip waiting to happen, and new concrete steps can be set to the right height for the new floor.
Auburn, ME
Get an estimate for your new floor
Have the room size, the flooring you're planning and when you'd like it done handy when you call (207) 707-4423 or fill out the form, and your free on-site estimate goes quicker.