Concrete Slabs in Goodyear, AZ

Concrete slabs are the no-frills pours that make a yard work better. Around Goodyear that often means a base for a storage shed or prefab workshop, a spot to park an RV or trailer off the street, a level surface for a carport or pergola, or a paved side yard so the trash bins and A/C units are not sitting in rock. A pad like this is only as good as the ground beneath it and the thickness above, so the first question on every quote is what the slab will hold.

Matching thickness to the load

• Sheds and storage buildings: typically 4 inches over compacted base, a few inches bigger than the building so its walls bear fully on concrete.
• Workshops and garages: 4 to 6 inches depending on equipment, thickened under walls.
• RV and trailer parking: 6 inches with heavier steel; HomeGuide prices 6-inch slabs at $8 to $10 a square foot versus $6 to $8 for 4-inch.
• Carport and pergola bases: standard thickness with footings or thickened spots at each post.
• Equipment pads: small level slabs for A/C condensers, pool pumps, generators and water softeners.

Preparing desert ground

Caliche, a hard calcium carbonate layer found in Sonoran Desert soils, can be anything from a few inches to several feet thick according to Wikipedia; it slows digging and can stop water from draining. When we excavate for a slab, we either break through hard spots or level down to them, clear out soft fill and organic material, and compact a rock base. HomeGuide lists a gravel base at $1 to $3 a square foot and grading at $0.40 to $2.00. That spending pays off, because a slab on loose or uneven ground cracks wherever the support changes.

Steel and joints

On pads that will carry vehicles or buildings we use rebar in a grid, set on chairs so it ends up mid-depth in the slab. Lighter pads often get welded wire mesh. Control joints divide bigger slabs into panels so shrinkage cracks run in straight lines, and an isolation joint goes wherever the slab meets the house, a wall or another slab so each can move independently.

Flat or falling?

A shed or shop floor should be nearly level. Almost everything else should drain. RV pads and side yards in particular need enough fall to move monsoon water away from the house and toward the street or a landscaped area, never toward the neighbor's wall. We mark the slope on the forms and check it before the truck arrives.

Ordering the right amount

HomeGuide notes that one cubic yard of concrete covers about 81 square feet at 4 inches, so a 12-by-20-foot RV pad at 6 inches takes close to 4.5 yards before waste. Small loads often carry a supplier short-load fee, which HomeGuide puts around $53 a yard for orders under 10 yards. Pairing a slab with a patio or walk on the same day can fill the truck better, and we will mention it when that applies.

Before buying the shed or the RV

Check the building's or vehicle's dimensions, how it will get onto the pad, and any HOA rules about what can sit beside the house or show above the wall. The City of Goodyear's homeowner permit FAQ lists front-yard slabs and driveways among the projects that need a permit. The structure you set on a slab may have requirements of its own, so we check the concrete side and suggest you confirm the building side with the city.

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