Marathon City writes its concrete rules into its own code more plainly than most places: the village says no concrete is to be poured when the temperature may fall below 35 degrees within 72 hours, or on frozen ground. That's the right rule for any slab in this part of the state, and it's how we schedule concrete work in Marathon City, WI, from a village sidewalk to a pole building floor out on a county road.
Village Driveways and Sidewalks in Marathon City
Inside the village, three bodies of rules come into play on a driveway job:
- The driveway permit comes from the Planning Commission, not a counter clerk, and there's no fee. Single-family driveways run 10 to 24 feet wide at the street edge of the sidewalk, and the apron stops at the curb face.
- Sidewalks belong to the owner. The owner builds and maintains the walk along the property and pulls a free permit from Public Works at least 7 days ahead. Where a driveway crosses the walk, that section is paved to the village sidewalk spec at 6 inches, and a walk cracked by vehicles crossing it has to be replaced to spec.
- Curing time is in the code. New public walks stay closed to traffic for 48 hours, or 96 hours when it's below 50 degrees. Plan on longer than that before you drive on a new driveway.
See concrete driveway replacement for how the tear-out and new pour go.
Long Rural Driveways Around Marathon City
Out of the village on the farms and country lots around Marathon City, a driveway can run a few hundred feet to a house set back from the road. The price is mostly length, and on a long run it's fair to ask whether concrete is the right material for all of it. A common answer is concrete where it earns its keep, the apron, the turnaround and the stretch in front of the garage, and gravel or asphalt for the run in between.
When a Marathon City homeowner wants the whole length in concrete, it gets poured in sections with planned construction joints, crowned or cross-sloped so water sheds off the side instead of running down it, and widened where trucks and trailers turn.
Marathon City Shop and Pole Building Floors
A floor that carries a tractor, a loaded trailer or a skid steer is a different slab from a garage floor. Thickness and reinforcement get matched to the heaviest thing that will sit on it, door aprons get extra attention because that's where wheels turn, and floor drains or a wash-down slope get set before the pour.
| Floor | What sets the design | Common mistake |
|---|
| Detached garage | Cars and a workbench | No pitch to the door, so meltwater pools |
|---|
| Pole building or farm shop | Equipment weight and turning tires | A garage-floor slab under a tractor |
|---|
| Equipment pad outside | Point loads and frost | Poured on topsoil instead of a gravel base |
|---|
Wisconsin's uniform dwelling code mostly doesn't apply to detached garages and accessory buildings, which leaves those floors to good practice rather than a code book. Ask any contractor what base and reinforcement they're planning for the load. More on shop and warehouse floors under commercial concrete.
Soil West of Wausau
Around Marathon City and the rest of western Marathon County, the ground is commonly a layer of silty loess over glacial till or weathered granite, with bedrock 40 to 60 inches down in many soils. The silty top layer holds water and heaves in a freeze, so it comes out and gets replaced with compacted gravel under a slab. Near the Rib River, the risk is water rather than rock, and a patio or drive there gets pitched with the river's spring levels in mind. For backyard work, see concrete patios.
Sources: Village of Marathon City Code Title 6 (Sec. 6.1.6, 6.1.9, 6.1.10, 6.1.11); Wis. Admin. Code SPS 320.05; USDA NRCS Marathon and Fenwood soil series.
