“How much for a slab?” is the least answerable question in concrete, because a slab can be a shed floor, a hot tub pad, a workshop base, or half a foundation. The calculator above gets you to a working number fast: square footage, finish, add-ons, done.
Slab pricing in plain terms
The base is square footage times your rate. Everything else is a modifier:
- Thickness and load. A 4 inch slab for a garden shed and a 6 inch slab for a tractor barn are different animals. More depth means more yards of concrete for the same footprint.
- Reinforcement. Mesh for light duty, rebar for anything that carries weight. The example add-on above uses $1.50 per square foot.
- Base prep. A slab is only as good as what’s under it. Grading and compacted rock are part of the job, and part of the price.
- Finish. Most utility slabs take a simple trowel or broom finish, which is why slab rates usually sit at the low end of flatwork pricing.
Quick reference math
A 10 by 12 shed slab is 120 square feet. At the example rate of $9 per square foot that’s $1,080, before rebar or site prep. A 24 by 30 shop slab is 720 square feet and $6,480 at the same rate. Big slabs eat concrete; small slabs eat minimum job charges. If you don’t have a minimum, small slabs will eat you.
Make it your calculator
The rates on this page are examples. PriceDesk runs the same calculator with your numbers: your rate, your minimum, your add-ons. Set it up in about five minutes and quote slabs from the truck.