Commercial concrete foundations, slabs and paving.

Foundations and slabs

A commercial foundation is designed by the structural engineer from the soil report: drilled piers where the clay is deep, grade beams that tie them together, and a slab with the reinforcing, thickness and vapor barrier the drawings call for. Plumbing and electrical stubs are set in the forms before the pour, because moving one afterward means cutting the slab.

Our photos show the steps: forms set, poly vapor barrier down, rebar tied on chairs, plumbing stubbed up, and a pump truck placing the concrete.

Inspections and testing

Cities inspect the piers and the slab steel before the concrete is placed. On larger commercial jobs the building code also calls for special inspections and testing by an independent lab, who take concrete samples at the pour and break them later to prove the strength. McKinney, for one, asks for the special inspection paperwork at final inspection, so the reports are kept with the job from the first pour.

Parking lots, drives and sidewalks

Paving is the first thing customers drive on and the last thing poured. A commercial lot is laid out to the site plan for parking, fire lanes and accessible spaces, built thicker where trucks turn, jointed so it cracks where it is supposed to, and sloped so water reaches the inlets.

Sidewalks, curbs, wheelchair ramps, dumpster pads and drive approaches into the street are part of the same work, and the approach into a city street usually needs the city’s own inspection.

Concrete for canopies and equipment

Gas station canopies, sign poles, transformer pads and rooftop equipment supports each sit on their own concrete. Those foundations are small but carry a lot, and they are poured to the engineer’s details along with the rest of the site.