Driveways, patios and shop floors in Gretna
Big lots, brand new houses, and a lot of people who want a shop out back. Gretna is where we pour most of our heavy-duty floors.
Concrete work in Gretna, Nebraska
Gretna has gone from a small town on the Platte to one of the busiest places to build in the state. The subdivisions along Highway 6 and 204th, and out by Nebraska Crossing, come with three-car garages and backyards that are nothing but dirt. Nobody calls us to fix old concrete in Gretna. They call to add it.
So it's driveway extensions, big patios, basketball pads, places to park the boat or the camper, and a lot of shop floors. A shop floor isn't a patio. It has to hold up a lift or a trailer or a tractor, and it usually has to be poured before the building goes up, which puts it on somebody else's schedule too.
Two kinds of ground, and floors that carry weight
The ground changes as you cross Gretna. Up high it's clay that swells when it's wet and shrinks when it dries, which is what cracks a thin slab with no base under it. Down toward the river it's sand and gravel. That drains great but it'll wash out if water keeps running through the same spot. On bigger jobs we dig a test hole before we price it. Twenty minutes of digging beats a change order.
For shop floors, most of what goes wrong is decided before the pour. A two-post lift needs thicker footings right under the posts, poured with the floor. A loaded gooseneck wants six inches with rebar on a grid, not four inches with fiber. A heated floor needs the tubing tied down and pressure tested first. And in Nebraska every shop floor should have a vapor barrier under it, or you'll be wondering why it sweats every spring.
Tell us what's going in the building and we'll size the floor for it.
Parts of Gretna we work in
Pretty much all of it, including Downtown Gretna, Highway 6, 204th Street, Nebraska Crossing area, Linoma Beach area, Platte River road, Gretna acreages and Western Sarpy County. If you're in or near Gretna and don't see your street, call (531) 236-6623 and ask. It takes about thirty seconds.
Gretna questions
How thick should a shop floor be?
Four inches is fine for cars and storage. If you're putting in a lift, a trailer or a tractor, we'd go five or six inches with #4 rebar on a two-foot grid, over packed rock and a vapor barrier. Lift posts need thickened footings poured with the slab. Adding those later means cutting up a new floor.
Can you pour an RV or boat pad?
Yes, all the time. Five inches at the least, six for a big fifth wheel, sloped so you're not parking in a puddle, and tied into the driveway with dowels so the two slabs stay level with each other.
Do I need a permit in Gretna?
Concrete on your own lot usually doesn't. The apron at the street does, and so does the building that goes on a shop slab. If you're on an acreage outside town it goes through Sarpy County instead of the city. We'll tell you which applies.