Contact

Trusted Local Experts

Concrete Floors in Kent

What concrete a floor needs depends on whether it is ground-bearing or suspended, and on what will run across it. Kent Readymix delivers ready-mix concrete for floors across Kent and Medway, from garage and extension floors to workshop, agricultural and warehouse slabs.

Get a Concrete QuoteLearn More
  • 0+

    Kent and Medway Towns Covered

  • 0%

    Fixed Price Model

  • 1-2-1

    Personal Service

Local, reliable, fully insured

Ground-bearing or suspended: which floor you are pouring

A ground-bearing floor carries its load straight into the ground through a compacted sub-base, and is the normal solution for a house, workshop or warehouse on competent ground. A suspended floor spans between supports instead, covering beam-and-block floors and reinforced slabs spanning beams or walls, and is always engineer-designed, so the designation on the drawing is what gets ordered. Knowing which one you have changes the mix, the reinforcement and the volume, so it is the first question, not a detail.

What goes under a ground-bearing floor

The build-up runs, from the bottom: compacted hardcore or MOT Type 1; a sand blinding; a damp-proof membrane lapped and taped and joined to the wall damp-proof course; rigid insulation where the building is heated; a slip layer over the insulation; then the slab with its reinforcement.

The membrane is the part that goes wrong. A membrane punctured by sharp hardcore, or lapped but never taped, or stopped short of the damp-proof course, will let ground moisture through into a floor finish months after everyone has left. It costs almost nothing to get right and a great deal to put right.

Choosing a floor mix

A domestic garage floor or an unheated store is commonly poured in GEN3. A floor carrying racking, plant, forklifts or vehicles is a designed element and takes a reinforced concrete class from the specification.

Reinforcement in industrial floors has moved substantially towards fibres, either steel or macro synthetic, batched into the concrete rather than laid as mesh. That removes the fixing work and the risk of mesh being trodden to the bottom of the slab where it does nothing. Which is right for your floor is a design question, and we quote whichever the specification names.

Power floating and surface flatness

A power-floated finish gives a dense, hard, dust-resistant surface, which is why it is standard in warehouses and workshops. It is a timed operation: the concrete has to be worked at the right point in its set, which is a matter of hours, not a job that can be left until tomorrow.

Where a floor has to meet a flatness tolerance, that tolerance is normally specified against Concrete Society Technical Report 34, which is the reference document for industrial floor construction in the UK. If your floor has a TR34 classification attached to it, tell us, because it affects the consistence of the concrete supplied as well as the way it is finished.

Estimating floor volume

Floor area times slab thickness, in metres. A workshop floor 10 metres by 8 metres at 150mm is 10 x 8 x 0.15, so 12 cubic metres.

Add anything that is thicker than the field of the slab. Thickenings under stanchion bases, machine plinths, an edge beam around the perimeter and a step down at a doorway all take concrete and none of them appears in the area calculation. On a large floor these add up to considerably more than people expect.

Pouring a floor inside a building

A floor is usually poured into a structure that already exists, which is what makes it different from every other pour. The concrete has to get through a door opening, around a frame, or over a threshold, and the lorry has to stand outside.

Three answers cover most floors. A pump line runs through the opening and places the concrete where it is wanted. A volumetric mixer stands outside and discharges into barrows or a dumper. Or a mini-mix vehicle gets closer to the opening than a full-size lorry could. Kent Readymix asks what the building is, where the opening is and what stands between the two, so an approved supplier can send the right combination.

Next steps for a floor pour

Send the floor area, the slab thickness, whether it is ground-bearing or suspended, what will run across it, and how the concrete would reach the opening. Where you have a structural specification, the designation and any TR34 classification on it are what we quote against.

Most of our approved suppliers work on a pay-for-what-you-use basis. Your quotation, delivery and payment are agreed directly with the approved supplier appointed to your pour.

Work Out How Much You need

Concrete Volume Calculator

The concrete calculator needs JavaScript. Contact us and we will work out the volume with you.

What We Do

Common Concrete Floors Jobs We Handle

  • Garage and utility room floors

  • Workshop and agricultural building floors

  • Warehouse and industrial unit floors

  • Extension and conservatory floors

  • Beam-and-block suspended floor toppings

  • Barn and stable floors

Why book with us

Why Choose Us for Concrete Floors

  • One Batch, One Consistent Strength

    Ready-mix concrete arrives already mixed to a single specification, so the whole pour goes in at one strength from one batch. Concrete mixed on site in a barrow mixer varies across the area and leaves a cold joint wherever one batch met the next.

  • You Describe the Pour Once

    Set out what you are pouring, roughly how much, where a vehicle can stand and when you want it. That description goes to the approved supplier appointed to the job, rather than being repeated down a list of numbers.

  • The Mix Specified Before It Is Ordered

    Concrete is ordered by designation under BS 8500, not by description. A shed base, a driveway and a structural slab take different mixes, and the designation is settled with your approved supplier in advance rather than argued about on the day.

  • Access Settled Before Delivery Day

    How the concrete reaches the work is the question worth answering first: what can legally stand in the street, how far the chute reaches, and whether a pump or a smaller vehicle is the honest answer. Describe the access and it is planned rather than discovered.

  • Volume Planned Rather Than Guessed

    Where a volume is genuinely uncertain until the ground is open, a volumetric mixer makes the concrete on site and most of our approved suppliers work on a pay-for-what-you-use basis. Where the figure is known, a standard load is usually the simpler answer.

  • Every Pour Type Across Kent and Medway

    Slabs and floors, footings and foundations, driveways, columns and walls, volumetric and mini-mix loads, and pumping where a vehicle cannot reach the work. Domestic and commercial, across Kent and the Medway towns.

Smooth power-floated concrete floor inside a workshop or garage building

We’re Here To Help

Your Common Concrete Floors Questions Answered

The terms are often used interchangeably, but a floor usually refers to concrete poured inside the walls of an existing or new structure, such as a garage, workshop or warehouse, while a slab often describes a standalone outdoor base with no building around it. Kent Readymix treats both as the same core product, ready-mix concrete matched to what will sit on it, whichever word you use.

Yes, even indoors, because the concrete and the ground it sits on still need to be above freezing for it to gain strength properly in the early hours after pouring. An unheated building in winter can be nearly as cold as outside. Your approved supplier will advise if conditions on the day are likely to be a problem for the mix you are ordering.

Yes, underfloor heating pipe is normally laid and fixed down before the concrete arrives, so that it becomes embedded in the slab as it is poured. Getting the pipework fixed, pressure-tested and protected before the pour is essential, since it cannot be adjusted once concrete is around it. Tell us if underfloor heating is involved so the pour can be planned around it.

How soon flooring or a screed can go down depends on how much moisture the concrete has lost, which is affected by the thickness poured, the ventilation in the building and the weather, so it is not a fixed number of days. A moisture test on the surface is the reliable way to check, not a date on a calendar. Your approved supplier can advise on the mix, but the drying itself is a site matter to test before covering it.

There is no set minimum, but a very small floor, such as a single garage bay, may suit mini-mix delivery better than a full lorry load. Send the floor area and what it is for, and an approved supplier will confirm whether a standard delivery, a part load or mini-mix fits the job best.

A concrete pump is the normal answer, placing the concrete directly onto the floor deck rather than trying to lift or barrow it up. Where a pump cannot be set up, a crane and skip is sometimes used instead. Tell us the floor level and how the building is arranged, and Kent Readymix will arrange the delivery around the placing method your approved supplier recommends.

Local coverage, county-wide reach

Areas We Cover Across Kent

Next Steps

Planning a Pour in Kent or Medway?

Tell us what you are pouring, roughly how much and where a vehicle can stand. The approved supplier appointed to the job comes back to you with the grade, the quantity and the delivery window.

Tell Us About Your PourMessage Us on WhatsApp