When a parking lot, dock apron or storefront sidewalk in Wausau, WI starts failing, the cost isn't just the concrete, it's the customers who can't get in while it's fixed. As a commercial concrete contractor we replace and pour new flatwork for businesses, and we plan every job around two things residential work doesn't have: loads you can't control and a property that has to stay open.
We work for owners, property managers and general contractors on flatwork around Wausau, Weston, Rothschild and the business parks along Highway 29 and I-39. Every job gets designed around what drives on it. A sidewalk in front of a dental office and a dock apron at a distribution building are both "concrete," but they share very little past the truck that delivers it.
| Job | What drives the design | Where it usually goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Parking lots and drive lanes | Traffic volume, delivery routes, drainage to inlets | Ponding at low spots that freezes into ice sheets |
| Sidewalks and curb ramps | ADA slopes, detectable warnings, snow storage | Cross slope too steep, ramps that fail an inspection |
| Loading docks and truck aprons | Axle loads, turning tires, trailer landing gear | Spalled joints where trailer jacks sit |
| Dumpster pads and approaches | Front wheels of a loaded garbage truck | Asphalt approaches that rut and crack every year |
| Shop and warehouse floors | Forklifts, racking, floor drains, flatness | Curling at joints and cracks through racking feet |
| Curb and gutter | Grades to drain, plow strikes | Gutters that hold water instead of moving it |
Concrete Parking Lots and Drive Lanes
A concrete parking lot costs more to put in than asphalt and less to own over its life. It doesn't soften on a hot day, so delivery trucks don't rut the drive lanes, and it doesn't need sealcoating. Plenty of owners split the difference: asphalt for the parking stalls, concrete where the trucks turn, stop and park their weight, which is the drive-through lane, the dumpster approach and the dock.
Grading matters more than thickness on a lot. Water that sits in a low spot in November is a skating rink in December and a liability problem in January. Lots get laid out to drain to inlets with no flat spots in the walking paths.
ADA Sidewalks, Curb Ramps and Accessible Parking
Accessible routes have hard numbers, and an inspector checks them with a level. Under the 2010 ADA Standards, a ramp can't run steeper than 1:12, a walking surface can't cross-slope more than 1:48, and curb ramps need detectable warning surfaces where they meet the street. Accessible parking spaces and their access aisles also have to be close to flat, which is often the hardest part to hit on a sloped lot.
We form these to the numbers and check them before the pour, not after. If an existing ramp or sidewalk on your property is out of compliance, we can tell you whether it's a section replacement or a redesign.
Loading Docks, Truck Aprons and Dumpster Pads
The concrete in front of a dock takes a tractor's drive tires turning in place and the landing gear of a dropped trailer, which puts a lot of weight on two small feet. Dock aprons and dumpster pads are where asphalt fails first and where a concrete slab pays for itself fastest. Thickness and reinforcement get sized to the trucks using it, and joints are laid out so wheels don't pound the same joint all day.
Shop, Warehouse and Pole Building Floors
Interior slabs are judged on flatness, joint layout and how they handle forklift wheels at the joints. Floor drains, trench drains and slopes for wash bays get set before the pour. For pole buildings and farm shops around Marathon City and the rural parts of the county, the floor often goes in after the building is up, which changes how the concrete gets placed.
Scheduling Commercial Concrete Around an Open Business
Most businesses can't close for a week. Work gets phased so half the lot stays open, entrances get poured at night or on a weekend, and temporary access gets planned before the first saw cut. Concrete needs time before it carries traffic, so we'll tell you up front how long each section is off limits and plan the phases around that.
The honest part: this page is about flatwork. A new building's structural foundation, engineered retaining walls and tilt-up panels are specialty work with an engineer's drawings behind them. If your job leans that way, we'll tell you on the first call whether it's a fit or who to call instead.
Winter Salt and Commercial Concrete
Parking lots and storefront walks get more deicer than any residential slab, and new concrete is weakest against it in its first winter. For a lot poured in late summer or fall, we'll tell you which areas should get sand instead of salt that first season, and which deicers to keep off concrete entirely (anything ammonium-based). A penetrating sealer before the first snow is cheap insurance on entrances and sidewalks.
Site prep can surprise you around here. Glacial cover is thin over much of Marathon County, and rock sits close to the surface in places: soil borings at the Wausau Business Campus hit weathered bedrock as shallow as 2 feet. Where rock or soft spots turn up during excavation, it changes the base work, and we'll show you before it changes the price.