Concrete Flatwork in Stickney From Demo to Cleanup

Flatwork is the plain stuff. A slab for the shed. A pad so the air conditioner sits level. The apron between the alley and the garage door, which takes more abuse than most driveways. Because it is simple, it gets treated as an afterthought, and that is how you end up with a pad that tips, a shed that racks or an apron that breaks up every spring. Here is how we handle it. The crew that shows up for the break-out stays for the whole job. Old concrete gets broken, loaded and hauled. Then the digging goes down past the topsoil and any soft fill until we hit ground that will hold. Stone goes in a few inches at a time, each layer run over with a compactor. Forms get staked and set to a slope, because even a small pad needs water to run off it, not under it. Reinforcement goes where the slab will see weight, especially on an alley apron where garbage trucks and delivery vans swing wide. After the pour we finish the surface for its use, cut the joints and keep the slab damp or covered so it cures hard. Then forms come out, dirt goes back along the edges and the alley gets swept. In Stickney, where most garages face an alley and side yards are narrow, we also plan how the concrete truck or buggies get in before the day of the pour.