Slab foundation building in Gillette WY - planned around your soil and our winters
Building on Wyoming clay with winter coming? We plan your slab around a soil study and the season, so it fits your ground.
I look at every job myself
I come out to look at every job myself, and my crew does the work with me on site. So the person who walked your lot and read your soil study is standing there when the concrete truck pulls up.
In business since 2013
I learned concrete from my dad, pouring flatwork beside him from the time I could push a wheelbarrow. Flatwork is the flat slabs and drives at ground level. I started this business in 2013, and we're known for explaining the job before we pour.
Licensed and fully insured on the job
We're licensed and fully insured, and you're welcome to check us with the city before you hire anyone. Your satisfaction, guaranteed. When you're ready to talk through your lot, call (307) 670-7851 or send the form below.
Building a slab foundation in Gillette
At Gillette Concrete, slab foundation building means pouring a concrete slab right at ground level, which builders call slab-on-grade, for your home to rest on. It's for owners around Gillette who are planning a new house, an addition or a shop on their lot.
Most people who call about a slab have a house plan in hand and a lot nobody has touched yet. The price mostly moves with the size of the slab, what the soil study turns up, how much digging and base work the ground needs and whether an insulated design makes sense. The schedule turns on that soil study, your permit and the weather, and your estimate spells out what's included so you aren't guessing.
We're based in Gillette and take jobs in the cities and rural areas around it, so ask about your address. That matters for the paperwork, because a lot inside the city and a lot out in the county can answer to different offices. We check with the city or county office that covers your address before we start, and we handle the permit paperwork when the job calls for one.
Slab foundations, from the soil up
Starting with a soil study
We ask for a soil study on your lot before I plan the slab, because a slab is only as steady as its subgrade, the ground it sits on. Under Campbell County's construction rules, the owner submits an engineer's signed and sealed letter saying the soils are adequate, in place of a full geotechnical report, which tells you how seriously the ground gets taken here. When budgets get tight, I'd cut finish work before base work, because the base is hidden on day one and it's the part you can't redo later.
Weighing an insulated shallow slab
We'll also talk about whether an insulated shallow design fits your site. National builder guidance describes a frost-protected shallow foundation as one that uses insulation to warm the soil around it so it can sit shallower, and it suits slab-on-grade homes on moderate to low slopes. On a lot that fits, that guidance says one pour can cut out several inspections and speed up construction. If your lot is steep or the soil study points another way, a conventional foundation installation may serve the house better.
What goes under and into the concrete
Under the slab goes a vapor retarder, a sheet that keeps ground moisture from working up into your floors. One maker's paper warns that even small holes in it can sharply raise the vapor coming through, which can lead to failed floor coverings and delays laying flooring, so it's worth protecting. The American Concrete Institute's residential guide calls air entrainment, tiny air bubbles put into the mix with an additive, an effective way to help concrete handle freezing and thawing, so ask whether yours will be air-entrained. Larger pours, like concrete parking lot building, start from the same base work.
Get a slab foundation estimate for your lot
Send your lot address, whether it's in a platted subdivision and any soil study you already have, and we'll reply within one business day. I'll come out for a free on-site estimate, with no obligation to go ahead.
(307) 670-7851How a slab foundation job goes
I walk your lot
You call, and I come out to look at the site, take measurements and ask how you plan to use the space. Have any soil study or house plans handy, because they shape what I suggest for the slab.
A written estimate and pour date
I write up an estimate that spells out what's included, so you can see where the money goes from the base up. Then we pick a pour date together that works with your permit and the weather.
Pour day and the first weeks
On pour day I show you the forms and the base before any concrete goes in, so you know what's under your home. Before we leave, I tell you how to look after the slab while it cures and gains strength.
Slab foundation questions from Gillette owners
How do bentonite soils affect a slab foundation in Gillette?
Bentonite is a clay common in Wyoming that swells as it gets wet and shrinks as it dries, and that movement can damage a foundation. The state geological survey strongly recommends a detailed soil study for any site, which is why we ask for one before planning your slab.
Who issues building permits for a slab, and how do I apply?
The county's Building Division issues building permits and inspects that work, and the City of Gillette has its own Citizen Self Service for applying, scheduling inspections, printing permits and paying fees. The county waives the building permit for a residential outbuilding outside a platted subdivision, but its electrical, plumbing, mechanical and wastewater work still needs permits.
When should a slab foundation be poured in Gillette?
Pour early enough that the foundation is done and the house is enclosed and heated before freezing weather arrives. That's national builder guidance, the same as for a conventional foundation, so we set your pour date with your builder's shell work in mind and not just the next open day.
How can I check a concrete contractor's license in Gillette?
Call the city at (307) 686-5260, 8 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday, to make sure a contractor is still current. The city licenses contractors, and doing business in Gillette as one without a license is a misdemeanor, so it's worth a quick call before anyone pours.