Concrete work happens early. Foundation, slab, parkade, structural pour, these are the first trades on a project after site prep. By the time a GC is calling for mechanical and electrical subs, the concrete contractor was locked in weeks ago.
That timing creates a problem for concrete and structural contractors who rely on referrals and word of mouth. When the GC’s structural sub list closes, it’s closed. Getting in after the fact means quoting against an incumbent at a disadvantage.
The fix is the same as for any early-stage trade: find the project before the GC has finalized their team.
What permits tell concrete contractors
A new commercial permit over $500,000 needs a concrete sub. A new multi-family residential permit over $2 million needs a concrete sub. An industrial permit for a warehouse or processing facility needs a slab and foundation contractor.
These aren’t speculative leads. A building permit is issued after engineering drawings are complete and approved. The structural system is specified. The GC knows they need a concrete contractor. They just haven’t locked one in yet.
The window between permit issuance and structural sub selection is typically 2 to 6 weeks for commercial and multi-family. For industrial, it can be 6 to 10 weeks. That’s the window.
Filtering for relevant permits
Not every permit needs a structural concrete sub. The filters that work:
New construction with a project value above $500,000. Below that, the structural work is usually simple enough that the GC handles it in-house or uses a framing crew for wood-frame construction.
Permit categories: commercial, industrial, multi-family residential, institutional. Single-family residential concrete work (foundations and driveways) follows a different market with different relationships.
Work types: New Building, New Construction. Alterations rarely involve structural concrete unless there’s a seismic upgrade or major addition.
Structural steel contractors
Structural steel follows the same permit logic but with a shorter window. Steel is often ordered months before a project starts, and fabrication lead times mean the structural steel contractor needs to be in conversation well before the pour.
For steel contractors, the trigger to act is a large commercial or industrial permit. Construction value of $2 million and above typically involves structural steel. A $10 million warehouse permit is a structural steel job. Call the week after the permit is issued.
The conversation
“I saw you pulled a permit for [address]. We do structural concrete in that area. Are you handling the foundation in-house or are you looking at subs?”
That question asked in week one of a permit is a different conversation than the same question asked in week five.
Where volume is
Structural concrete demand follows major construction clusters. The Brentwood and Metrotown redevelopment areas in Burnaby are active, with new multi-family towers at multiple stages simultaneously. Calgary’s southeast industrial corridor is a consistent source of slab and foundation work. Toronto and its 905 suburbs have significant warehouse and industrial construction volume. SiteWire’s index covers these markets; verify which specific cities are live at sitewire.ca.