What decides the cost · The Slab
One Day You Cannot Do Again
The floor is the element tenants judge a warehouse by, and it is produced in a single continuous operation that cannot be repeated.
The geotechnical report, the intended clear height and the likely tenant profile. Those three tell us more than a full set of drawings.
The slab
The one element a tenant judges on, and cannot fix
Self-perform
Dewatering and deep foundations in house
Commodity
Fire protection designed to what is actually stored
Licensed
General contractor, licensed in the state of Florida
Flatness is decided in a few hours
Slab flatness and levelness are set by placement and finishing on the day, by the crew doing it, in the conditions of that morning. They are measurable, they are specifiable, and once the concrete has set nobody can improve them without grinding — which is expensive, disruptive and only ever partially successful.
What has to be settled first
- The flatness and levelness specification, in numbers, before placement.
- Thickness and reinforcement, driven by racking and equipment loads.
- Joint layout, coordinated with the intended rack layout.
- Subgrade preparation, which is where slab problems actually begin.
- Curing, which Florida heat makes harder than it sounds.
How we handle it
- 01Agree a measured specification rather than a description.
- 02Prepare and verify the subgrade before any placement.
- 03Coordinate joints with the likely racking layout.
- 04Place and finish with a crew who work to the specification.
- 05Measure the result and report it honestly.
Coordinate joint layout with the rack layout if the tenant is known. A joint running under a rack leg is a maintenance problem for the whole life of the building, and moving it at design costs nothing.
Said plainly
Where we stop
Very high flatness numbers cost real money and take longer. If the tenant does not need narrow-aisle tolerances, specifying them is money spent on a number nobody will use — and we will say so.
FAQ
Common questions
- Can slab flatness be fixed later?
- Only by grinding — expensive, disruptive and partial. Specify and measure it up front.
- How flat does it need to be?
- It depends on the equipment. Narrow-aisle needs far more than general storage.
- Where do slab problems begin?
- Usually the subgrade, not the concrete.
- Does joint layout matter?
- Yes. A joint under a rack leg is a lifelong maintenance problem.
What we build
Distribution Warehouse
The standard big-box warehouse. Four variables decide almost the entire budget, and they interact with each other.
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Light Manufacturing
A building shaped by what happens inside it. Power, compressed air, process drainage and ventilation are the project; the shell is comparatively simple.
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Cold Storage
The most technically demanding industrial building, and the one where an ordinary warehouse approach fails outright.
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Flex & Office-Warehouse
Warehouse with an office component, built speculatively for tenants who do not exist yet. The flexibility is the product.
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Last-Mile & Delivery
A modest building on a site doing an enormous amount of work. Vehicle parking and circulation are the project.
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Cross-Dock & Truck Terminal
Freight in one side and out the other, with almost no storage. The building is narrow, the door count is high, and the yard is most of the project.
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More what decides the cost
Fire Protection
The sprinkler system is determined by what is stored and how high it is stacked, which is information a speculative developer does not have.
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Clear Height
Clear height has risen steadily and it is not free. Each additional foot costs across several systems and only earns it back if the market racks that high.
Read more →
Docks & Truck Court
Door count, court depth and pavement design are set by the vehicles that will use them, and getting the depth wrong is not fixable.
Read more →
Next step
Find out what is actually wrong with it.
An inspection, photographs of what we found, and a written scope. If the honest answer is that it can wait another season, that is the answer you will get.