39$/sq ft for concrete slab!!!

[Mike_72]

Am I crazy to think that this is too much money?! Slab details are as follows...

18’x26’ monolithic 6” thick 4400 psi concrete with 12”x12” thickened edge.
6” knee wall
4 #3 bars in thickened edge and #3 bars @16” OC in slab
Formular 300 2” R10 XPS under slab
10 mil vapor barrier
Some extra fill and compacting required along one side due to the removal of some cedar hedge stumps.

I know things run more up here in Canada but this seems a bit much to me.

 

[The Cobbler]

seems high, but how much excavating needs done?
the knee wall being poured with the slab probably adds a good extra. the foam adds to the cost too.
still seems on the high side for sure , but ...

 

[falkenstein]

I did a 24x32 with 12" footer, spreading fill (I bought the fill), compaction, vapor barrier, and rebar for $7k. So I would say yours does seem a bit high. I am in Florida.

 

[Mike_72]

seems high, but how much excavating needs done?
the knee wall being poured with the slab probably adds a good extra. the foam adds to the cost too.
still seems on the high side for sure , but ...

They are doing the knee wall all in one pour with the slab. Not sure how the forms work for that but apparently it can be done. Using #3 rebar is adding 2900$ in materials and labor over the welded wire mesh.

 

[BukitCase]

A bit short on detail, so I ***-u-me'd that the 6" knee wall was 2' high, then figured cubic yards total - multiplied that by $300 ($100/yd materials, twice that for labor) and came up with $9.73 a square foot - That's USD, if Cad it'd be less.

Sounds fairly close for today's costs to me... Steve

 

[gmtech]

I did a 30x30 block foundation (built on a slope) 5 blocks high at the back and 1 block at front sitting on a 12x12 footing. Filled foundation with 70 tons of 3/4 washed stone, #4 rebar on 18" centers, 6-7" of 4000 psi concrete for under $11/sq ft.

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[The Cobbler]

cost per meter of concrete is running probably $250, meter is a bit more that a yard

 

[Mike_72]

A bit short on detail, so I ***-u-me'd that the 6" knee wall was 2' high, then figured cubic yards total - multiplied that by $300 ($100/yd materials, twice that for labor) and came up with $9.73 a square foot - That's USD, if Cad it'd be less.

Sounds fairly close for today's costs to me... Steve

10 USD —-> 13.50 CAD at today’s exchange rate. Is there something I am missing here to get to 39 CAD/sqft? Knee wall is only 6” tall by 6” wide (just to get the framing off the ground)

 

[Samh]

Mine was 32x60 mono slab 6” thick. With a 24” thickened edge and 3 12”x24” grade beams running the 32’ length. 55 yards of concrete. Rebar and vapor barrier for 13500. That was all labor included

 

[matt_i]

Time for another quote. But, you can bring it down significantly by doing the prep work, I have found. Compact the base with jumping jack, purchase/fill/compact the stone base, lay plastic and set rebar on chairs and wire ties is just physical work.

 

[Blk88GT]

I paid $17/sqft and supplied the XPS. 40x50, no knee wall, 18"x18" thickened edge, 6" 35MPA slab.

Where are you located?

 

[GMCGarage]

Am I crazy to think that this is too much money?! Slab details are as follows...

18’x26’ monolithic 6” thick 4400 psi concrete with 12”x12” thickened edge.
6” knee wall
4 #3 bars in thickened edge and #3 bars @16” OC in slab
Formular 300 2” R10 XPS under slab
10 mil vapor barrier
Some extra fill and compacting required along one side due to the removal of some cedar hedge stumps.

I know things run more up here in Canada but this seems a bit much to me.

Ask them to take the steel out of the slab since its not doing anything for you anyway, or ask them to use a tighter spacing WWF if its for crack control.

 

[Mike_72]

I paid $17/sqft and supplied the XPS. 40x50, no knee wall, 18"x18" thickened edge, 6" 35MPA slab.

Where are you located?

I am in Montreal. Any reinforcement in your slab?

 

[nes999]

How far are you from the plant? Could be some extra trucking costs.

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[Mike_72]

How far are you from the plant? Could be some extra trucking costs.

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There are numerous plants in and around Montreal. Additional fees for that were never mentioned to me. I am getting a couple more quotes to see how they stack up. I am having trouble wrapping my head around the quoted price given that many in the US are paying ~10$/sqft and in Canada ~20$/sqft. Big jump to my quote of 39$/sqft.

 

[JoeMcGov]

Get a non-union quote.

 

[James-W]

You never did mention about the prep work that needs to be done. Depending on just how much prep work you need, the price may not be all that bad. As an example, when I built my garage they had to dig out the old single car garage concrete, dig out some tree roots, dig down and remove a bunch of dirt, put in fill and pack it all down, then put up the forms. It took awhile to do all that and they had to haul away several loads of dirt, tree roots and busted up concrete.

 

[Mike_72]

You never did mention about the prep work that needs to be done. Depending on just how much prep work you need, the price may not be all that bad. As an example, when I built my garage they had to dig out the old single car garage concrete, dig out some tree roots, dig down and remove a bunch of dirt, put in fill and pack it all down, then put up the forms. It took awhile to do all that and they had to haul away several loads of dirt, tree roots and busted up concrete.

There are about 18 cedar hedge stumps in a row to remove. The rest is just typical flat lawn. The largest of the stumps is less than 6” diameter. I believe the quote was 750$ to remove stumps and 1600$ on additional materials and labor to build back up and compact the lost soil.

 

[strick9995]

That is an astronomical price. If its possible I would do all the prep work yourself. I'm building a shop right now and i'm in the process of forming the slab. I've already done the site work and footings. Once its ready I will pay a group of guys 60 cents a square foot to pour and finish it, not including the cost of concrete ($100 a yard).

 

[Slowgsr]

That work is seasonal up there too. $18k.

It's a lot of work, equipment, and labour. Plus they're doing the job probably turn key. Get a couple other quotes, no one on here can give you a quote unless they're a local concrete contractor and do a site visit.

Minimum wage here is $14, and diesel is $1.30/litre. Guys who are in the USA hire Mexicans for $5/hr and pay half the fuel cost. Not to mention the taxes business have to pay here in Ontario.

 

[Slowgsr]

That is an astronomical price. If its possible I would do all the prep work yourself. I'm building a shop right now and i'm in the process of forming the slab. I've already done the site work and footings. Once its ready I will pay a group of guys 60 cents a square foot to pour and finish it, not including the cost of concrete ($100 a yard).

60 cents a sq ft. Yep guys up here want $2-5sq ft to finish concrete, depending on the project And that's cash. Gotta stop comparing your US prices to prices up here.

my 1 car house garage is 12x26 and I got quotes from $800-$2000 to pour/finish. I just did it with my brother in law.

 

[Slowgsr]

Get a non-union quote.

yeah hire scabs that will come back one your building is up and clean you out.

 

[The Cobbler]

yeah hire scabs that will come back one your building is up and clean you out.

There's an educated, informative post

 

[larry_g]

That is a fairly small slab. I bet if you went 36 x 26 you'd find the cost per square foot would drop a lot. Being that small what other restrictions are in place to prevent efficient preparation of the area? Close to the house, close to lot line, rocks, or buried utilities close that the excavator has worry about? All the expenses of moving in equipment, removing debris, and cleanup/move out all figures into the cost and those costs are perty much fixed. So taking those fixed costs and dividing them with a small area makes the per foot cost look high.

It ain't just the cost of the mud that determines the cost of a project.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[rburke65]

Seems like a good price for them

 

[James-W]

That is an astronomical price. If its possible I would do all the prep work yourself. I'm building a shop right now and i'm in the process of forming the slab. I've already done the site work and footings. Once its ready I will pay a group of guys 60 cents a square foot to pour and finish it, not including the cost of concrete ($100 a yard).

To me, 60 cents per square foot sounds awfully cheap. Not to be a jerk or anything, but doing concrete work is a hard job and I don't think I would want to hire a bunch of people that would do the work so cheaply.

 

[GMCGarage]

To me, 60 cents per square foot sounds awfully cheap. Not to be a jerk or anything, but doing concrete work is a hard job and I don't think I would want to hire a bunch of people that would do the work so cheaply.

Its about $30-40 a hour based on this guys slap thickness. Pour and finish only.

 

[brewchief]

Its about $30-40 a hour based on this guys slap thickness. Pour and finish only.

Last year when I was in Canada a case of Bud Light was 40$, everything is way more expensive, I did a quick search and the underslab foam looks to be 43$ for a 2x8 piece, more than twice what we pay here per square foot. Concrete cost looks to be north of 220$ a metere.


I would get a couple more quotes but it might just be that expensive there.

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[pennsylvaniaboy]

There are numerous plants in and around Montreal. Additional fees for that were never mentioned to me. I am getting a couple more quotes to see how they stack up. I am having trouble wrapping my head around the quoted price given that many in the US are paying ~10$/sqft and in Canada ~20$/sqft. Big jump to my quote of 39$/sqft.

That work is seasonal up there too. $18k.

It's a lot of work, equipment, and labour. Plus they're doing the job probably turn key. Get a couple other quotes, no one on here can give you a quote unless they're a local concrete contractor and do a site visit.

Minimum wage here is $14, and diesel is $1.30/litre. Guys who are in the USA hire Mexicans for $5/hr and pay half the fuel cost. Not to mention the taxes business have to pay here in Ontario.

yeah hire scabs that will come back one your building is up and clean you out.

man you guys make Canada sound great........ I thought it was supposed to be socialist utopia....

 

[ConCretin]

It's just about impossible to compare costs regionally much less internationally. It's also hard to know how much earthwork is required beyond the tree removal the OP mentioned. With that said, the price seems high to me by any measure. Around here the concrete portion would run $10-$15 SF.

The only way to know is to get more prices and hope the first guy was really busy or has a bunch of kids to put through college.

 

[nelstomlinson]

Do the prep work yourself. Hire out the excavation if you must, but then build the forms and put in the foam and steel. There is a lot of not-so-skilled labor in the prep work, and this is where you can safely save.

Just hire the placing and finishing, because that's the part you will see when it's done. Or rent a power trowel and go for it. Here in Interior Alaska I pay around $2 to $3 a square foot for placing and finishing. I can rent a power trowel for about $100 per day.

 

[Mike_72]

It's just about impossible to compare costs regionally much less internationally. It's also hard to know how much earthwork is required beyond the tree removal the OP mentioned. With that said, the price seems high to me by any measure. Around here the concrete portion would run $10-$15 SF.

The only way to know is to get more prices and hope the first guy was really busy or has a bunch of kids to put through college.

There is significant savings to be had by ditching the rebar in the slab and using 6x6 wwf (there will still be rebar in the thickened edge). How important is the rebar in a monolithic that is placed on a good base? I’ve seen people say it’s essential and other say it is unnecessary.... hard to come to a good conclusion.

 

[ConCretin]

There is significant savings to be had by ditching the rebar in the slab and using 6x6 wwf (there will still be rebar in the thickened edge). How important is the rebar in a monolithic that is placed on a good base? I’ve seen people say it’s essential and other say it is unnecessary.... hard to come to a good conclusion.

The primary advantage of rebar over mesh is that it's more rigid and thus easier to support. Both provide the same function when properly located in the slab.

 

[Mike_72]

The primary advantage of rebar over mesh is that it's more rigid and thus easier to support. Both provide the same function when properly located in the slab.

I had a second company come for a quote today. Will get their estimate next week but his suggestion was to pour 6” slab of 3500 psi concrete as it is strong enough and will be less likely to crack. Any truth to this?

 

[GMCGarage]

Last year when I was in Canada a case of Bud Light was 40$, everything is way more expensive, I did a quick search and the underslab foam looks to be 43$ for a 2x8 piece, more than twice what we pay here per square foot. Concrete cost looks to be north of 220$ a metere.


I would get a couple more quotes but it might just be that expensive there.

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Im not sure what you are getting at. I was commenting on the labor rate ONLY for a guy that was buying the supplies himself.

 

[GMCGarage]

The primary advantage of rebar over mesh is that it's more rigid and thus easier to support. Both provide the same function when properly located in the slab.

#[email protected]. is not providing any significant function in a slab on grade.

 

[Slowgsr]

man you guys make Canada sound great........ I thought it was supposed to be socialist utopia....

grass is green where you water it. The more you make, the higher the cost of living is, etc. Its relevant

 

[Mike_72]

The company who came today and told me that 3500 psi was more than enough also told me that you don’t put control cuts in Monolithic slabs?? That’s the first I’ve heard of this. Anyone hear of this before?

 

[machsnell]

That work is seasonal up there too. $18k.

It's a lot of work, equipment, and labour. Plus they're doing the job probably turn key. Get a couple other quotes, no one on here can give you a quote unless they're a local concrete contractor and do a site visit.

Minimum wage here is $14, and diesel is $1.30/litre. Guys who are in the USA hire Mexicans for $5/hr and pay half the fuel cost. Not to mention the taxes business have to pay here in Ontario.

I can assure you no one is paying $5/hr to "mexicans" in the US. In fact, I would be finacially ecstatic if I could pay $14/hr. for concrete finishers.

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[ConCretin]

I had a second company come for a quote today. Will get their estimate next week but his suggestion was to pour 6” slab of 3500 psi concrete as it is strong enough and will be less likely to crack. Any truth to this?

3500 psi is more than enough from a structural standpoint. I generally like to go with a slightly higher psi for the additional cement, which helps provide a more durable surface but its not really necessary.

As long as your base is reasonably sound, the slab is very unlikely to crack from loads placed on it. A far more common cause of cracking is shrinkage. It's difficult to avoid shrinkage cracks, especially with a perimeter haunch that restrains the concrete from contracting inward.

If you don't want to see random cracks at the surface, you can cut some control joints to hide them. They aren't a structural concern especially with reinforcing to hold everything together.

#[email protected]. is not providing any significant function in a slab on grade.

Of course it is. Steel reinforcing's only function in a slab on grade is to hold cracks together. #3's at 16" is more than adequate for this task.