Whats the typical Labor cost for a 28 x 36 concrete garage slab. I'm assuming $2500-$3000 for materials.?

Question

Whats the typical Labor cost for a 28 x 36 concrete garage slab. I'm assuming $2500-$3000 for materials.?

Answer 1

Much depends on where you live and how far the concrete company has to travel, as well as how far the crew you hire has to travel.

A typical garage floor will be 4" reinforced steel mesh (rebar) concrete with forms for the outside perimeter.  

Your estimate for materials seems low.  However, it is difficult for an individual to arrange for purchase of the materials and then find a crew to do the work.  It usually comes as a package deal.  You locate a couple of concrete contractors, they give you bids based on your specs, location, etc., and they arrange for the concrete after their bids take into consideration the location, whether or not they can direct pour, have to barrrow it in, or use a pumper truck that will reach farther than the usual trough truck.

My recent experience, in rural Missouri, was $7,900 for a 30X50 garage floor, some rough plumbing in place, four inch with bent over foundation rebar for strength.  Remember, that if you pour a slab, you will first have to have a foundation trenched and then poured and cured for about five days before pouring the slab.  The foundation is typically dug so portions are below frost line, almost always about 14-16" wide for weight control of whatever you put on the slab, and almost always contains its own reinforcement, but a smart owner will insist on at minimum rebar vertically.  If you decide to pour your walls, you will need this for tie in strength.  If you decide to build walls, you bend the upright rebar (about 16" sticking up from foundation) over at right angles into the slab pour space.  This along with the rest of the mesh will give you greater strength on your slab.

I got four bids, easily obtained even though I was four miles off the nearest main highway and about ten miles from the nearest concrete plant.  The crew was four men, the pour was from trough to ground.  Again, I think your materials estimate could be a bit low for your building, but I didn't figure the cubic yards needed since you didn't specify depth of concrete or degree of difficulty or ease of access to the site.  Foundation was dug in morning, pour for that in the afternoon, pour for slab was just over half day a week later.