Introduction
Pour day is the wrong time to discover you’re missing something. This is the complete pre-pour and pour-day checklist for concrete slabs — patios, driveways, garage floors, shed bases — organized in the order you’ll need things. Work through it top to bottom, and check the volume one last time in the Concrete Slab Calculator before the truck rolls.
Open the Concrete Slab Calculator
One Week Before the Pour
- Permits confirmed — building permit or zoning approval in hand where required; HOA approval if applicable.
- Concrete ordered — volume computed, waste added, order rounded up. Example: a 20 × 12 ft patio at 4 in = 80 ft³ × 1.10 = 88 ft³ = 3.26 yd³ → order 3.5 yd³ of ready-mix. Confirm mix strength (3,000–3,500 PSI patios; 3,500–4,000 PSI driveways/garage) and air entrainment for freeze-thaw climates.
- Delivery confirmed — date, time, and truck access to the forms. If the chute can’t reach, book a pump or line up wheelbarrows now.
- Crew confirmed — 3–4 people minimum for a truckload pour; everyone knows the start time.
- Weather watched — no freezing nights forecast for the first days, no extreme heat without a morning-pour plan. Have a rain contingency.
Site Prep Checklist
- Excavation complete — topsoil and organics stripped to firm, undisturbed soil.
- Base placed and compacted — 4–6 in (10–15 cm) of crushed stone in 2–3 in lifts, each compacted with a plate compactor.
- Forms set, staked, and level-checked — 2×4 for 4-in slabs, 2×6 for 5–6 in slabs; stakes every 2–3 ft; corners braced.
- Drainage slope built in — 1/8–1/4 in per foot (10–20 mm per meter) away from buildings, verified with a level.
- Thickness verified — tape-measured at a dozen points from compacted base to top of form; consistent everywhere.
- Reinforcement placed — mesh or rebar on chairs at mid-slab depth, lapped per spec; isolation joint material where the slab meets structures.
- Forms oiled — release agent on inside faces for clean stripping.
Prep technique for each item is detailed in the pro tips guide; the measurement method in the estimating guide.
Materials and Tools Checklist
Materials on site:
- Concrete — truck scheduled or bags staged (88 ft³ = 147 eighty-pound bags for the example patio; count your pallets)
- Curing compound or plastic sheeting / wet burlap for the 7-day cure
- Sealer (applied after ~28 days, not on pour day — but buy it now so it’s ready)
Tools on site:
- Screed board (straight 2×4 spanning the forms), bull float, hand floats
- Edger, groover or concrete saw with diamond blade for control joints
- Broom for broom finish; steel trowel only if a smooth finish is planned
- Wheelbarrows and shovels if the truck can’t chute directly
- Tape measure, 4-ft level, string line
- Garden hose with spray nozzle (dampening base, cleanup, curing)
- Rubber boots, gloves, and safety glasses for the crew
Material selection guidance — which mix, which steel, which sealer — is in the material guide.
Morning-of-Pour Checks
- Dampen the base — moist, not flooded; a dry base steals water from the concrete.
- Re-verify form dimensions — inside length × width one final time; forms shift overnight.
- Confirm the order — call the plant: yardage, mix, ETA. Have the ticket checked on arrival.
- Crew briefing — who screeds, who floats, who handles joints; where the concrete goes first (far end, working back toward the truck).
- Control joint plan marked — chalk lines on the forms: spacing 2–3 ft per inch of thickness (8–12 ft for a 4-in / 10 cm slab), depth one-quarter of thickness.
During the Pour
- Place from the far end back — never drag concrete long distances; it segregates, leaving rocky patches and weak spots.
- Screed immediately behind placement — sawing motion across the forms, before the concrete stiffens. Assign your best two people to the screed; everything else keys off a level surface.
- Bull-float once to smooth, pulling mesh up on chairs as concrete advances if it wasn’t chaired beforehand.
- Edge and groove while the concrete is still plastic — clean edges and tooled joints now beat saw-cutting later on small slabs.
- Watch the clock — in heat, everything accelerates; keep the crew moving, the next section coming, and water away from the surface (never sprinkle water on to “refresh” stiffening concrete — it weakens the top layer).
Finishing and Curing Checklist
- Wait for bleed water to evaporate and the surface to firm before final finishing — finishing too early traps water and weakens the top.
- Broom finish for outdoor slabs (slip-resistant, forgiving); trowel only where a smooth interior surface is wanted. Don’t overwork the surface.
- Saw-cut control joints within 6–12 hours if not tooled while plastic — before shrinkage cracks appear.
- Apply curing compound right after finishing, or cover with plastic/wet burlap.
- Keep moist 7 days — mist under covers as needed; protect from freezing with blankets in cold weather.
- Traffic timeline: foot traffic after 24–48 hours; light vehicles after ~7 days; full loads after 28 days.
Skipping any step in this section is how slabs end up in the common mistakes guide — worth a final read before the truck arrives.
Related Guides
- Pro Tips for Slabs — base prep, screeding, joint timing, and curing.
- Complete Slab Guide — the full walkthrough of slab estimating.
- Estimating Guide — step-by-step slab measurement.
- Slab Material Guide — mixes, mesh vs rebar, and sealers.
- Common Slab Mistakes — what goes wrong and how to fix it.
Check It Off, Pour It Once
A slab pour is a one-shot operation — there’s no undo. Run this checklist in order, verify the volume in the Concrete Slab Calculator one last time, and pour with everything ready. The slabs that last decades are the ones where nothing was left to pour-day improvisation.
Disclaimer: This checklist is general guidance for typical residential slabs. Site conditions, climate, and local codes vary — check requirements with your local building authority and consult a licensed professional for structural or code-related decisions. Calculator results are planning estimates; verify final volumes with your supplier.
