Slabs and Pads
Concrete Slabs and Pads for Pleasant Prairie Homes
A garage slab, a pole barn or workshop floor, a shed or hot-tub pad, laid across Pleasant Prairie and Kenosha County. Built up from a compacted stone base, with any old concrete broken out and carted off first. The site visit costs nothing.
Most slabs are bought for a building, not for themselves. The garage, the barn, the shed or the tub is the thing you actually want, and the concrete underneath is what decides whether that thing stays level, dry and square for the next thirty years. It is worth getting right once, because it is very hard to get right a second time with a building sitting on it.
Slabs we lay
- Garage slabs for a new detached garage, or to replace one that has split into pieces.
- Pole barn and workshop slabs, with footings where the design calls for them, timed around the builder.
- Shed pads set a touch larger than the shed so the door has somewhere to land.
- Hot-tub pads made for a heavy load that never moves.
- Replacement slabs where the old one has broken up and has to come out.
Concrete is the whole of what we do. Raising the building is someone else's job, and a slab that has only settled in one piece is better lifted than replaced. We will say so.
How a slab job runs
1. Say what will stand on it
Car, tractor, tools, hot tub, garden shed. The weight sets the build more than the footprint, so it is the first thing we ask.
2. A visit and an itemised figure
We walk the spot, look at how the yard drains and work out how the concrete gets there. You keep the written figure whether or not you go ahead.
3. Inspections, base, pour
Where the Village inspects before the pour, that is booked first. Then stone, forms, reinforcement and concrete, and a clear word on when the building can go up.
Built for what stands on it
Three things separate a slab that stays flat from one that cracks across the middle in its third winter. None of them is visible once it is finished.
- A base that has been compacted, not just spread. Stone goes down in layers and each layer is packed before the next one.
- Depth and steel chosen for the load. A pad for a shed and a slab for a truck are different builds, and walls bearing on the edge need a stiffer edge.
- A fall that takes water out the door. Water that cannot escape a slab finds its way under it, and that is where most failures start.
Village rules for a garage or shed
Inside the Village of Pleasant Prairie, a detached garage or shed involves two permits and inspections that happen before any concrete arrives:
| Requirement | Village Code |
|---|---|
| Building permit for an accessory building or structure | s. 370-16 |
| Zoning permit for a detached garage, carport or shed | s. 420-86(A) |
| Staking inspection before work starts on an accessory structure | s. 370-12(G)(2) |
| Footing forms inspection before any concrete is poured | s. 370-12(G)(3) |
| Up to 150 sq ft: side or rear yard only, 10 ft from the house | s. 420-86(B)(1)(a) |
| 151 to 600 sq ft: side or rear yard, 10 ft from the house, 5 ft from a side or rear lot line | s. 420-86(B)(1)(b) |
| No canvas or plastic garages or sheds, and no shipping containers | s. 420-86(A)(1) |
Placement is settled at the staking stage, so the outline of the slab has to match the approved plan before anyone digs.
Pole barns and outbuildings
The Village only allows farm-related buildings in its agricultural zoning districts (A-2, A-3 and AGO under s. 420-86(B)), so check how your lot is zoned before ordering a barn kit. Out in Somers, Bristol, Paddock Lake, Twin Lakes or Salem Lakes the permit comes from that town or village instead, and the rules there are their own.
Common questions
Is the permit for the slab or for the building?
In the Village it is the building that triggers it. A detached garage or shed needs a zoning permit and a building permit, and the slab is inspected as part of that job. For a pad with nothing built over it, ask Village building inspection before assuming either way.
Will you build the shed or the barn too?
No. Our side is the concrete: footings where the building needs them, and the slab. The structure on top is for whoever supplies it.
Can an old garage slab be saved?
Sometimes. If it is still one piece and has only dropped, raising it is cheaper than pouring new, and that is work for a slab-lifting firm rather than us. If it has broken into sections or lost the ground beneath it, it gets replaced.
Where outside the Village do you lay slabs?
Across Kenosha County west and north of here: Somers, Bristol, Paddock Lake, Twin Lakes and Salem Lakes. Each has its own permit office, which we check before quoting.
Read before you book
- how slab prices sort by what sits on top
- the utility locate that comes before any digging
Want a drive done at the same time? A concrete driveway can be priced on the same visit.
Free on-site visit
Answer a few short questions and a local concrete contractor will be in touch to set up a visit to the spot. No commitment comes with it.
Book a Site Visit
Get your free, on-site quote.
Tell us about your project and we'll call you back the same day to set up a free measure and price.