Concrete Pads in St. Cloud FL

St. Cloud Pro Concrete pours concrete pads in St. Cloud FL for AC condensers, standby generators, hot tubs, sheds, trash and recycling cans, and pool equipment, set level, sized to the equipment and placed for its clearances. Small pads are priced per job with a minimum charge, not by the square foot: the truck, the forms and the trip cost about the same for a 16 square foot pad as for a 160 square foot one.

Concrete pads in St. Cloud FL: what goes on them

Common pads and what decides their size

Pad for	Size set by	Worth knowing
AC condenser or heat pump	The unit's footprint	Precast composite pads exist ($104 to $182 for 24 x 36 to 36 x 42 in); a poured pad suits strapping and bigger units
Standby generator	Unit footprint plus clearances	Level within 0.5 in; 18 in from the wall, 5 ft from windows and doors (Generac)
Hot tub or swim spa	Tub footprint, often 8 x 8 to 12 x 14	Electrical stub-up goes in before the pour
Shed	Shed footprint plus a small apron	Over a certain size it is a slab, with its own permit line in the county
Trash cans, pool equipment, grill	What sits on it	Often poured with a walk or a side yard path

Sources: concreteslabcost.com AC condenser and hot tub pad guides (October 2026); Generac-built air-cooled generator installation guidelines.

Close-up of a shovel working through wet concrete — Wet concrete being worked into place.

How a small pad is set

Level, a little above grade

Equipment pads are formed dead level, with the top a little above the surrounding ground so sprinkler water and rain run off rather than pooling around a condenser or a generator. On the flat, sandy lots around St. Cloud that usually means building up the base with compacted sand or stone; the sandy soil guide explains why a soft base is the usual reason a pad tips.

Clearances first

For a standby generator, the manufacturer's clearances decide the spot before the pad is sized: Generac's guide asks for 18 inches behind, 3 feet at the front and ends, 5 feet of headroom, and no operable window, door or wall opening within 5 feet. The generator pad page goes through them.

Wind and anchoring

Florida's mechanical code requires outdoor equipment exposed to wind to be installed to resist the code's wind pressures. A pad gives the HVAC or generator installer a solid surface to strap or bolt to; where anchors go into the concrete, they are set or drilled to the equipment maker's pattern.

Satellite image of Hurricane Charley off the southwest coast of Florida in August 2004 — Hurricane Charley off southwest Florida in August 2004, before it crossed the state.

Pad prices: priced as small jobs

A per-square-foot rate quoted for a patio or a driveway doesn't scale down to a pad. Published 2026 figures for stand-alone pads reflect that: a contractor-poured 4 by 4 foot AC pad models at $420 to $2,010 (typically $810), and an 8 by 8 foot hot tub pad at $660 to $2,520, typically $1,160 (concreteslabcost.com), with "almost all of it" the visit rather than the concrete. The concrete pad cost page lists each type. Quotes vary by site, and pouring two small pads on the same visit costs less than two separate trips.

Worked example

A generator pad and a trash can pad on one visit in St. Cloud

In this example a St. Cloud homeowner has bought a 22 kW standby generator. The spot beside the garage is measured against the clearances first, which rules out the space under a bedroom window, and the pad goes on the side wall instead, raised a few inches above the lawn.

A small pad for the trash cans by the side gate is poured from the same truck. The pad is on the City permit; the generator's electrical and gas work is permitted by those trades, per the St. Cloud permit guide.

Generator pad (RemodelingExpense, 2026)	$1,000 to $4,000+
City of St. Cloud residential concrete pad permit, base fee	$60 plus review fees
Generator, gas line and transfer switch	Separate trades and permits

A worked example, not a past job or a quote. The second pad is priced by the site; on the same visit it adds mostly forms, concrete and time.

Concrete Pads in St. Cloud: Questions

Concrete pumped through a hose into a square footing hole, steel reinforcing bars on the ground beside it

Concrete going into a footing hole, with rebar waiting beside it.

Do I need a permit for a concrete pad in St. Cloud?

Yes inside city limits: the City of St. Cloud lists a concrete pad under its residential permits, with a $60 base fee in the 2026 schedule plus review fees. A non-structural pad on a single-family lot outside a special flood hazard area, valued under $7,500, can instead be exempted on the City's written request form under section 553.79(1)(g), Florida Statutes; the St. Cloud permit guide explains it. Equipment set on the pad, such as a generator or a hot tub's wiring, is permitted separately as electrical, gas or mechanical work, which that exemption does not cover.

Does an AC condenser have to be anchored to its pad in Florida?

The Florida Building Code's mechanical section requires outdoor equipment exposed to wind to be installed to resist the wind pressures set by the building code, and equipment fastened to a rated slab or stand in compliance with the code is deemed to meet it. In practice the condenser is strapped or bolted to its pad, which the HVAC installer handles.

Should the electrical for a hot tub go in before the pad is poured?

Yes when the conduit runs under the slab. The concreteslabcost.com hot tub pad guide notes the electrical stub-up, typically $800 to $1,500, must be installed before the pour because the conduit runs under the concrete. Coordinating the electrician and the pour date is the main scheduling step.

What size pad does a generator need?

At least the footprint of the unit plus a margin; Generac's installation guide for its air-cooled units calls for preparing an area about 6 inches longer and wider than the generator when it sits on gravel, and its clearances (18 inches behind, 3 feet at the front and ends, 5 feet from windows and doors) decide where the pad can go. The generator pad page has the details.

Concrete Pads in St. Cloud FL