I just saw one of these in person a couple of weeks ago. Looked at their website and watched the videos. Have not used one but it sure looks like a good solution with 2 guys working. Home Depot here rents them.
planning on pouring 8x8 pad solo
- Thread starter toddt429
- Start date
Yeah, that sounds pretty imprecise, but we're basically talking about mudpies and assuming that what we are being charged for is somewhat related to what we receive. I doubt many of us do really precise measurements of the smallish irregular holes we're filling. Probably different on a major highway project
And just who are you calling a gentleman?
it is very difficult to get an exact measurement also. as I say , better to order too much than not have enough. a wheelbarrow short on a job does nothing good for the project
Absolutely! That's what got me thinking about having someplace to dump/use any overage.
BillK
Well-known member
Dont slam me guys but . . . . . I wonder if this would be a candidate for a dry pour ? I have a small 3x5 slab I need to do and I was thinking about trying it. I guess a lot of it depends on the end use of the slab and the location. The Sakrete site says 36 80 lb bags or 40 bags with a 10% safety factor.
The other option would be a truck like ConCretin mentioned that mixes it on site. I did a 15 x 50 or so driveway using that type of delivery close to 50 years ago and it still looks very very good.
The other option would be a truck like ConCretin mentioned that mixes it on site. I did a 15 x 50 or so driveway using that type of delivery close to 50 years ago and it still looks very very good.
I've recently researched dry pour, and it generally seems like YouTube clickbait. Concrete really needs to be mixed uniformly with water, and doing that after you've spread the dry ingredients on the ground seems like a really hard way to accomplish that. Humans have been using concrete for millennia, and if dry pour was a good idea for structural/load bearing applications, it seems very likely that it would have become a standard procedure at least centuries ago, because contractors always want to save time, money and labor. I'm pretty sure it's often good enough for fenceposts.
I use dry pour for fence posts . I agree that if it was tried & true for anything else it would already be in use
Yep. I think the folks who built the Coliseum in Rome probably already tested that out.
That said, it might maybe be good enough for light foot traffic if done on top of a very well compacted base. But just pouring the contents of a quikrete bag on the ground and sprinkling it or even sprinkling it and trying to mix it in place will not produce nearly the same strength as following the instructions on the bag.
But people are still trying to build perpetual motion machines, too.
Renegade1LI
Well-known member
Unless I missed something you need 22 cu ft, that's 37 bags at 80lbs, .6 cu ft per bag. One skid is 42 bags, set up right with two people you could mix & screed in under 2 hours, bag mix always takes a little longer to set, I would use the high strength about 7$ per bag = 300 plus tax. Around here conc is 175$ per yd, min 3 yd plus small load fee aprox 700$. Bonus if you have a tractor or skid steer with forks to feed the bags , set up mixer along slab, not a big deal, by the time you mix, pour & screed you can edge & trowel, 3 hours. Batch on site trucks are nice if you have them around, 8 wheel barrows & you're done, that would be my first choice, than bags, unless you need other concrete work & can order more.
That sounds like a great plan for a couple of 30 year-olds who do that kind of work all of the time and have all the tools. How does it work for a 51 year-old without much experience and without a tractor or skid steer? Are you volunteering to help the OP and bring along all of your equipment? You're setting him up for a major injury and a failed project.
The problem is the time it takes to mix it all start to finish.
i think I would get a helper.
have 5 gallon buckets marked out for the correct amount of water to make it consistent
while pouring…. I think I would build up say 1/2 of the area 2 inch and make that wet then top off / cap the other 2 inch section
you’ll need to be able to float and finish while mixing
you can judge the mix process & speed with the 1st 2 inch thick section…
say 4- bags a batch you’ll need 13 batches @ 10- 15 minute batches that’s 3+ hours of non stop just mixing
it can be done !
the down side is it can get away from you and you’ll have a terrible / job finish - no coming back once it goes !
60 lb bags
i think I would get a helper.
have 5 gallon buckets marked out for the correct amount of water to make it consistent
while pouring…. I think I would build up say 1/2 of the area 2 inch and make that wet then top off / cap the other 2 inch section
you’ll need to be able to float and finish while mixing
you can judge the mix process & speed with the 1st 2 inch thick section…
say 4- bags a batch you’ll need 13 batches @ 10- 15 minute batches that’s 3+ hours of non stop just mixing
it can be done !
the down side is it can get away from you and you’ll have a terrible / job finish - no coming back once it goes !
60 lb bags
Do you have a certain timeline this has to get done by?
Does the slab have to be one piece?
You could break it up into four 4'x4' sections to make it easier on yourself. That's how I helped my friend pour his 12x32 garage floor. We spread it out over several weekends, and did 12x6/7-ish foot pours. I loaded the mixer, and he did the pours and troweling. 1 bag of cement (or was it 2?), 1 bucket of sand, 1 bucket of gravel, and add water until ready.
We were in our 20's then...so...
Does the slab have to be one piece?
You could break it up into four 4'x4' sections to make it easier on yourself. That's how I helped my friend pour his 12x32 garage floor. We spread it out over several weekends, and did 12x6/7-ish foot pours. I loaded the mixer, and he did the pours and troweling. 1 bag of cement (or was it 2?), 1 bucket of sand, 1 bucket of gravel, and add water until ready.
We were in our 20's then...so...
If I understand correctly and the above numbers are correct I would absolutely pay the extra $400.00 to get the truck to drive up and pour this pad. ($300 for bags I had to mix vs. $700 delivered into my forms.) One guy alone has a decent chance of success with the delivered mud. I don’t think 40 bags and one man can be done.
I thought everyone on GJ had at minimum both a skid steer and tractor?
If OP doesnt have them this seems like justification to make some purchases for his project. He would be “saving” money by mixing and pouring it himself to help offset the costs.
dutchgray
Well-known member
If you're going to do this by hand you want a helper and two mixers, get most of it mixed and in as quickly as possible then when you have to start finishing your helper can finish mixing still using both mixers.
Where I am the part load charge is based on a full 6m load ( some firms 8m) of whatever their cheapest mix is, so just getting 1m wouldn't be economic.
The Volumetric mixer trucks would be the way to go, they are happy to do sub 1m quantities although the price per cube is dearer and it isn't as nice concrete, especially for finishing, though you can't mix it yourself cheaper if you include your own labour.
Where I am the part load charge is based on a full 6m load ( some firms 8m) of whatever their cheapest mix is, so just getting 1m wouldn't be economic.
The Volumetric mixer trucks would be the way to go, they are happy to do sub 1m quantities although the price per cube is dearer and it isn't as nice concrete, especially for finishing, though you can't mix it yourself cheaper if you include your own labour.
Making small pours, there's a fine line between bagged mix and ready mix. Do all the math/time at figure out where you are.
Bagged mix, check out volume pricing to purchase an entire pallet vs just what you need.
I'd also suggest adding Portland Cement to the mix as it goes in the mixer. It will finish alot nicer and bring the strength up. I use a cut off 32 oz Gatorade bottle per 80 lb bag of mix.
Use either Quikrete or Sacrete brand. I would stay away from Menards concrete mix. Their straight Portland Cement is fine though.
Get a smaller 2-3 gallon bucket and mark off 1 gallon. It's easier to handle and dump than a 5 gallon bucket. You may want two smaller buckets for water.
Stay consistent with the mixing.
At least one extra person will be a great help. Even if it's your wife and she's merely filling the water bucket and dumping when told to or filling up the Portland container.
Be prepared to bust your *** at be "done" at the end of the day.
I'm 55 and have mixed several pallets in a mixer, carrying them in buckets up and down the basement steps.
Bagged mix, check out volume pricing to purchase an entire pallet vs just what you need.
I'd also suggest adding Portland Cement to the mix as it goes in the mixer. It will finish alot nicer and bring the strength up. I use a cut off 32 oz Gatorade bottle per 80 lb bag of mix.
Use either Quikrete or Sacrete brand. I would stay away from Menards concrete mix. Their straight Portland Cement is fine though.
Get a smaller 2-3 gallon bucket and mark off 1 gallon. It's easier to handle and dump than a 5 gallon bucket. You may want two smaller buckets for water.
Stay consistent with the mixing.
At least one extra person will be a great help. Even if it's your wife and she's merely filling the water bucket and dumping when told to or filling up the Portland container.
Be prepared to bust your *** at be "done" at the end of the day.
I'm 55 and have mixed several pallets in a mixer, carrying them in buckets up and down the basement steps.
I wonder if you can get a small water meter for the end of the hose?
You can time how long it takes to fill your bucket to the correct level and then go by that time to add water to the mixer. It’s probably not super accurate and filling a couple buckets to the correct amount is easy enough.
HotRod68Camaro
Well-known member
A mud mixer is definitely not the answer. If the truck can get right to it, I would get a ready mix truck and pay for what you need. There may be a minimum charge. You could comfortably do it with two people.
RESTMO Water Flow Meter with Brass Inlet Metal Thread, Measure Gallon/Liter Consumption and Flow Rate for Outdoor Garden Hose Watering, RV Water Tank Filling, Lawn Sprinkler and Nozzle Sprayer https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BL37TN96?tag=atomicindus08-20
For $20 if I was mixing a lot I'd consider it. Cuts down on handling
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
There is no way I would try to save $400 by doing this manually unless I had no choice
Not sure, I've had good luck simply dumping a gallon jug of water in a Menards 2-3 gallon bucket and mark it with a Sharpie.
Yeah, that's what I've done in the past when being precise.
If I mix my own on a project next year I think I'll spend $20 on a flow meter, seems like less handling to just spray with a hose vs. Dumping buckets.
I'm actually shopping for a 1.75yd mix trailer right now...
K13
Well-known member
Multiple small batch companies around here where you can pick up yourself if under 2 yds. Roughly $300 for a yard of concrete (depending on the PSI) and then $30 an hour to rent the mixer it comes in. Guy down the street from me did this a few weeks ago. Seemed to go well he was building a retaining wall.
velocipede
ALLIANCE MEMBER
My son-in-law, grandson and I did 59@80# bags in three hours using a beat up rented MudMixer earlier this year to pour 15 piers for a new shed. Had to schlep the bags five at a time on my flat bed Gorilla cart from a pallet in the driveway back to the build site 100' away. There was no way to get a truck anywhere near the pour and buggy rental or pumper would have been way too expensive. The mixer worked great for this purpose, and once we got dialed in, it provided a pretty steady stream/dribble of evenly mixed concrete. Probably not the best tool for a slab needing more than a yard.
Incidentally, I'm 82 and did my share.
Incidentally, I'm 82 and did my share.
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dcg9381
Well-known member
They do here, but I think they charge $500 on top of the concrete for a "short" load.
I don't think I could mix 40 bags at 80lbs each... Even in 75 degree weather. It'd take me 2 days..
Myself and a neighbor "tag team" each other's concrete jobs, it's way easier with two people.
I can only offer my experience...you mentioned your age, so I'll just say I was several years older than you when I built my WFO, that was the last time I did a couple of fairly large sessions with bagged mix.
When I built my wood-fired oven, I used 80-lb bags of Quikrete. I poured two slabs, one on grade that the base/foundation of the oven was built upon, the other the hearth slab (poured on top of the base) upon which I built the oven dome.
Each slab was in the vicinity of a 40 bag pour, the hearth slab being the larger of the two at 44 bags. Both mix sessions involved mix for the slab plus filling some CMU cores. I mixed by hand using a mason's hoe and a wheelbarrow. The slab on grade was easy, I mixed then just dumped the mix in the form. The hearth slab was a little more work, I mixed in the wheelbarrow but then transferred the mix into drywall buckets and dumped the mix into the raised form, which was about elbow height. I'd mix two bags at a time in the wheelbarrow, each slab took around 2 hours to mix and place.
When I work, I generally don't screw around. I just go at it.
If you do attack it by hand, I'll offer that it takes me a few batches of mix to get into "zen mode". The first few batches of mix I'm a bit clumsy and my movements are inefficient. I get my first batch mixing, and while mixing, I drop the water hose with a nozzle on the end that has enough trickle flow to to fill a drywall bucket with water for the subsequent batch while I'm mixing the previous batch. Enough flow to fill the bucket but not so much to overflow and flood my workspace.
When I'm mixing, I don't use all arm motion. Once I get going I hold the mixing hoe in hands with my arms 'sort of' locked at my side and rock my entire body left-right with my legs. It's my body motion that creates most of the back and forth mixing action for the hoe, not my arms, and that keeps my arms from tiring out.
When the batch is mixed I place the batch in the form, then without cleaning the wheelbarrow I slice and and dump a bag of Quikrete into the wheelbarrow, then add water from the filled drywall bucket, when that's together I'll add a second bag of Quikerete, add more water, and finish that. While I'm mixing that batch, the water hose on trickle is filling the drywall bucket for the next batch. It's a non-stop cycle.
I find that putting the hoe down and picking up the hose and hand spraying water into the wheelbarrow to be irritating versus restful. It slows my workflow and allows my mind to wander and think about the work that that lays ahead. For me, standing still is bad. It drags the project out. I like music playing. I'll usually stream something. I'll pace my work to the length of a song, along the idea that each batch from starting the mix to placing it in the form should take say two songs for example. Keeps my mind occupied and keeps the pace of work going, and offers me a mental challenge for each batch.
In the end, figure out what works for you. Regardless, don't sell yourself short. When you start, if you're like me, give yourself a bit of grace while you figure out how your body (and mind) work.
When I built my wood-fired oven, I used 80-lb bags of Quikrete. I poured two slabs, one on grade that the base/foundation of the oven was built upon, the other the hearth slab (poured on top of the base) upon which I built the oven dome.
Each slab was in the vicinity of a 40 bag pour, the hearth slab being the larger of the two at 44 bags. Both mix sessions involved mix for the slab plus filling some CMU cores. I mixed by hand using a mason's hoe and a wheelbarrow. The slab on grade was easy, I mixed then just dumped the mix in the form. The hearth slab was a little more work, I mixed in the wheelbarrow but then transferred the mix into drywall buckets and dumped the mix into the raised form, which was about elbow height. I'd mix two bags at a time in the wheelbarrow, each slab took around 2 hours to mix and place.
When I work, I generally don't screw around. I just go at it.
If you do attack it by hand, I'll offer that it takes me a few batches of mix to get into "zen mode". The first few batches of mix I'm a bit clumsy and my movements are inefficient. I get my first batch mixing, and while mixing, I drop the water hose with a nozzle on the end that has enough trickle flow to to fill a drywall bucket with water for the subsequent batch while I'm mixing the previous batch. Enough flow to fill the bucket but not so much to overflow and flood my workspace.
When I'm mixing, I don't use all arm motion. Once I get going I hold the mixing hoe in hands with my arms 'sort of' locked at my side and rock my entire body left-right with my legs. It's my body motion that creates most of the back and forth mixing action for the hoe, not my arms, and that keeps my arms from tiring out.
When the batch is mixed I place the batch in the form, then without cleaning the wheelbarrow I slice and and dump a bag of Quikrete into the wheelbarrow, then add water from the filled drywall bucket, when that's together I'll add a second bag of Quikerete, add more water, and finish that. While I'm mixing that batch, the water hose on trickle is filling the drywall bucket for the next batch. It's a non-stop cycle.
I find that putting the hoe down and picking up the hose and hand spraying water into the wheelbarrow to be irritating versus restful. It slows my workflow and allows my mind to wander and think about the work that that lays ahead. For me, standing still is bad. It drags the project out. I like music playing. I'll usually stream something. I'll pace my work to the length of a song, along the idea that each batch from starting the mix to placing it in the form should take say two songs for example. Keeps my mind occupied and keeps the pace of work going, and offers me a mental challenge for each batch.
In the end, figure out what works for you. Regardless, don't sell yourself short. When you start, if you're like me, give yourself a bit of grace while you figure out how your body (and mind) work.
If you get a flow meter like that, post up some pictures. Id like to see how it works out.
Same with the concrete trailer.
Renegade1LI
Well-known member
If the op is not up to the task he really should sub it out, only he knows what he is capable of.