BagOrBulk
Concrete · Updated

How thick should a concrete slab be?

Common thicknesses by project, and what each extra inch costs you.

Most residential slabs are 4 inches thick (sidewalks, patios, shed bases). Driveways and garage floors are usually 5–6 inches, and hot tub pads 4–6 inches. Each extra inch adds 25% more concrete to a 4 in slab.

Slab thickness by project
ProjectTypical thicknessBase
Sidewalk, patio4 in4 in compacted gravel
Shed base4 in4 in gravel
Hot tub pad4–6 incheck the tub’s spec
Driveway (cars)5–6 in4–6 in gravel
Garage floor5–6 in4 in gravel
RV or heavy truck pad6–8 in6 in gravel, rebar

Local codes and your engineer’s plans override these typical figures. Use the gravel calculator for the base and the concrete calculator for the slab.

Keep reading

More free tools