- Garage pads — detached or attached garage slabs, typically 4″–6″ thick with rebar or wire mesh reinforcement
- Shed pads — smaller slabs (8×10 to 12×16 feet) for backyard storage buildings
- Hot tub pads — reinforced to handle 3,000–5,000 lbs of filled weight
- RV and equipment pads — extra-thick slabs designed for heavy vehicle loads
- AC unit pads — compact, pre-levelled platforms for HVAC equipment
A concrete pad for garage construction in Calgary must meet CSA A23.1 standards for concrete quality and the City of Calgary’s permit requirements for structures over 10 m².
Here’s what a properly built garage slab in Calgary looks like:
- Thickness: Minimum 4″ (100 mm); Concrete Star pours 5″–6″ for most garage pads in Calgary
- Concrete mix: 32 MPa ready-mix concrete with 5–7% air entrainment to resist freeze-thaw cycles
- Reinforcement: 10M rebar on 24″ centres or 6×6 welded wire mesh, depending on load expectations
- Base prep: 6″–8″ compacted gravel sub-base over geotextile fabric
- Slope: Minimum 2% grade toward the garage door for drainage
Skipping any of these steps — especially in Calgary’s climate — leads to cracking, heaving, and costly replacement within 5–10 years.
How Concrete Star Repairs Driveways in Calgary (Step-by-Step Process)
As of 2024, most Calgary homeowners pay $8–$14 per square foot for a standard garage pad, depending on thickness, reinforcement, and site preparation complexity. A typical 20×22-foot garage slab runs between $3,500 and $6,200 installed.
Factors that push costs higher include deep excavation in clay-heavy areas (common in south Calgary communities like Chaparral and Legacy), sloped lots, and thicker pours for RV-weight loads.
Concrete Star provides detailed, line-item quotes — no surprise charges after the pour.
Calgary experiences over 100 freeze-thaw cycles per year — among the highest counts of any Canadian city. Each cycle forces moisture into micro-cracks, expands as ice, and widens those cracks from the inside out.
Combined with Calgary’s heavy clay soils (which expand when wet and contract when dry), a poorly installed garage pad will heave, crack, and deteriorate far faster than the same slab would in milder climates. That’s why Concrete Star specifies air-entrained ready-mix concrete, proper sub-base drainage, and control joints spaced every 8–10 feet on every Calgary project.
Every Concrete Star project follows the same proven sequence Ned has refined across hundreds of Calgary installations:
- Site assessment — Ned visits your property, evaluates soil conditions, and confirms permit requirements
- Excavation & grading — Remove topsoil, compact sub-grade, install gravel base
- Formwork & reinforcement — Set dimensional lumber forms, place rebar or wire mesh, install vapour barrier
- Pour & finish — Coordinate ready-mix delivery, pour to spec, screed, float, broom-finish, and cut control joints
- Curing & handoff — Apply curing compound, provide a 28-day care guide, and schedule a follow-up inspection
Concrete Star backs every garage pad with a written workmanship warranty — because Ned stakes his reputation on every slab.
Concrete Star pours concrete pads across Calgary and the surrounding region, including:
- Airdrie
- Cochrane
- Chestermere
- Okotoks
- All Calgary quadrants — NW, NE, SW, SE, and inner-city communities
Whether you need a garage slab in Airdrie or a shed pad in Okotoks, Concrete Star delivers the same Calgary-tested quality.