Can I pour my own pad?
- Thread starter Cheap5.0
- Start date
Shadowdog500
Well-known member
My building went in in December and I waited until Spring to do the slab. If you can help it you really don't want a winter mix. Wait till mid to late spring to do the slab. I spent the months between on electric, prep, and figuring out where everything will go. You can still use the building with a dirt floor for the winter to a limited extent.
IMHO Concrete is one of those jobs where you hire pros.
Chris
IMHO Concrete is one of those jobs where you hire pros.
Chris
I wouldn't recommend pouring this in winter in the Yoop, unless you fell you really have to. Don't let the contractors scare you too much, the anticipated concrete price hikes shouldn't be much different than the winter heating costs your'e going to have to pay. The winter rate usually comes off in April sometime, at which time the new price increase will come into place (At least that's how all ready-mix companies have always done it here in WI). Trust me next April or May when the ground is saturated, the same guys will be chomping at the bit for work as well.
One more thing: Those salamander heaters, or any non-vented heater for that matter, shouldn't be run when the concrete is placed and being finished, unless you have excellent ventillation, which really voids the heater's purpose. Those things put out large amounts of CO2, which settles onto the concrete, creating something called "corbanation". Not really good for the concrete, or the guys finishing, not to mention is severely slows the set of the concrete. The humidity those heaters puts off certainly doesn't help either.
One more thing: Those salamander heaters, or any non-vented heater for that matter, shouldn't be run when the concrete is placed and being finished, unless you have excellent ventillation, which really voids the heater's purpose. Those things put out large amounts of CO2, which settles onto the concrete, creating something called "corbanation". Not really good for the concrete, or the guys finishing, not to mention is severely slows the set of the concrete. The humidity those heaters puts off certainly doesn't help either.
Kevin54
MEMBER EMERITUS
There was another thread awhile back where one of the members on here was having problems with his slab. He poured when it was cool to cold and used Salamder heaters. The top of the concrete did not cure right.
It's a personal thing but if you don't get overly anxious, I would wait until Spring when you start getting a few nice days and the freezing and thawing of the ground is completed. The money you spend on concrete plus the amount of it....it's a job that you don't want to fail. Just read through some of the threads where the slab fails in good weather let alone bad weather.
When the trucks roll in, there ain't no turnin' back!!!! 
And if you are not 100% sure about doing the work yourself, spend the little extra and leave it to the pro's.
It's a personal thing but if you don't get overly anxious, I would wait until Spring when you start getting a few nice days and the freezing and thawing of the ground is completed. The money you spend on concrete plus the amount of it....it's a job that you don't want to fail. Just read through some of the threads where the slab fails in good weather let alone bad weather.
When the trucks roll in, there ain't no turnin' back!!!! And if you are not 100% sure about doing the work yourself, spend the little extra and leave it to the pro's.Kevin54
MEMBER EMERITUS
I went back and read but I didn't see whether you are building a Pole Barn or a stick built garage. If you are building a stick built, you could go ahead and get your foundation in. By that I am talking footers, block or solid stem walls. THen you can start stick building your garage. By the time you get it erected it should be close to Spring if doing it yourself. Then get the floor poured. If not, get the building up and insulate it along with your ceiling. Then you should be able to heat it and maintain heat with a portable propane heater. It will make some moisture but be way safer than running salamanders. And with it being insulated you wouldn't have to run the heaters as high or as long.
There is plenty information on the net regarding pouring a slab. Read and then read it all again and you won't go wrong.
I pondered over getting the professionals in when I was ready to do the concrete, but after my research and getting quotes it was a no brainer that I was going to do the work myself, I had to get it right first time or it was going to be costly to remove 35 tonnes of concrete and start again.
The ******** had been down for 7 or 8 months and I had been driving over it to ensure was completely settled and there were no hollow areas.
3 tonnes of sharp sand was spread on top to act as a barrier for the DPC membrane, this stops any sharp pieces of ******** from damaging the membrane and allowing the dampness to get to the garage
I laid the DPC on top of the sand and set the bays out. I started by laying the centre bay as it will allow access from both ends.
The full length timbers running back to front in the garage is the level guide and the rest are there to support them whilst the concrete is being poured and setting
Flexible board and rebar. The flexible board is almost like a compressed old fashioned carpet felt and it will allow for any expansion of the concrete slab without damage to the walls. The rebar mesh is sitting on pedestals at a predetermined height. The blue sleeves are to allow movement between the 3 bays. The dowel in the sleeve will be set into concrete in one bay and the sleeve set in the adjacent bay which will allow movement without causing cracks.
The first section is now in and smoothed out, I have to let it set now before I can try and get a reasonable finish on it
Smoothed out the best I can
The tie bars with sleeves were fitted for two reasons, firstly to make the removal of the timbers a simple task, and secondly to allow movement between the slabs. I pulled out the tie rods and the timber came away much easier than I had expected. I will need to lay more DPC as some of it has punctures with us walking over it. The concrete slab is now covered and will stay like that for a few days until it cures. Once cured I will then slip the tie bars back into their sleeves
I removed the cover today and this is the results. I would give it about an 8 out of 10.
Am I happy with it? I'm really not sure, I have to say it is possibly better than a lot of garage floors, and for my first attempt is is probably hell of a lot better than I could have imagined but if I had the balls to hire a power float it could have been a lot better. The problem with power floats is that the timing has to be spot on, too early and the concrete goes over the walls and the floor is badly damaged and too late and you are wasting your time. If you get it wrong, you've wasted not only a lot of concrete, but a lot of money and time to dig out and re-do the whole thing again
The marks showing in the picture are the fibres from the concrete which I will need to speak with the concrete company about as I don't think they were mixed properly. I don't think it will cause any problems once they have been run over a few times with traffic but if I am paying extra for fibres I would like them to be mixed properly.
Today was spent getting the other two bays ready for the concrete. I decided to screw a small wooden fillets to the wall at concrete finish and this will let me get my levels. All the rebar is fitted but the far away bay has still to be tied together. The fibreboard is all in place underneath the fillets and when I remove the fillets once the concrete has set I can fill in the gap with the appropriate mastic.
The garage floor is now in but not without problems.
Yesterday the concrete truck arrived and we had 4.5 cube delivered for the left hand bay, unfortunately I had to go to Edinburgh with a regular client and by the time I got back the floor had set too hard to finish off. I tried using the float with some water but it was too late so I have put some polythene over it for a few days until it cures then after about 6 weeks I will hire a grinder to repair the damage.
Today I had almost 6 cube delivered for the final bay and although I was there all day working at it the surface is not as good as I would have wanted. I never had any fibres in the concrete yesterday or today and I do wonder of this is a factor in why the finish was not as good as the first bay.
The good news is the 'Easy Screed' machine I hired worked a treat taking the back ache out of levelling and compacting the concrete, I would highly recommend it to anyone who is doing a larger area. I know if I hadn't used the 'Easy Screed' I could never have managed to lay two bays in two days.
The damage to the bay that we did yesterday is surface only so although it is a pain in the ****, it's not really a big deal...
It is good to know that the garage is almost finished as the build started just over a year ago,
Hope this helps you decide
I pondered over getting the professionals in when I was ready to do the concrete, but after my research and getting quotes it was a no brainer that I was going to do the work myself, I had to get it right first time or it was going to be costly to remove 35 tonnes of concrete and start again.
The ******** had been down for 7 or 8 months and I had been driving over it to ensure was completely settled and there were no hollow areas.
3 tonnes of sharp sand was spread on top to act as a barrier for the DPC membrane, this stops any sharp pieces of ******** from damaging the membrane and allowing the dampness to get to the garage
I laid the DPC on top of the sand and set the bays out. I started by laying the centre bay as it will allow access from both ends.
The full length timbers running back to front in the garage is the level guide and the rest are there to support them whilst the concrete is being poured and setting
Flexible board and rebar. The flexible board is almost like a compressed old fashioned carpet felt and it will allow for any expansion of the concrete slab without damage to the walls. The rebar mesh is sitting on pedestals at a predetermined height. The blue sleeves are to allow movement between the 3 bays. The dowel in the sleeve will be set into concrete in one bay and the sleeve set in the adjacent bay which will allow movement without causing cracks.
The first section is now in and smoothed out, I have to let it set now before I can try and get a reasonable finish on it
Smoothed out the best I can
The tie bars with sleeves were fitted for two reasons, firstly to make the removal of the timbers a simple task, and secondly to allow movement between the slabs. I pulled out the tie rods and the timber came away much easier than I had expected. I will need to lay more DPC as some of it has punctures with us walking over it. The concrete slab is now covered and will stay like that for a few days until it cures. Once cured I will then slip the tie bars back into their sleeves
I removed the cover today and this is the results. I would give it about an 8 out of 10.
Am I happy with it? I'm really not sure, I have to say it is possibly better than a lot of garage floors, and for my first attempt is is probably hell of a lot better than I could have imagined but if I had the balls to hire a power float it could have been a lot better. The problem with power floats is that the timing has to be spot on, too early and the concrete goes over the walls and the floor is badly damaged and too late and you are wasting your time. If you get it wrong, you've wasted not only a lot of concrete, but a lot of money and time to dig out and re-do the whole thing again
The marks showing in the picture are the fibres from the concrete which I will need to speak with the concrete company about as I don't think they were mixed properly. I don't think it will cause any problems once they have been run over a few times with traffic but if I am paying extra for fibres I would like them to be mixed properly.
Today was spent getting the other two bays ready for the concrete. I decided to screw a small wooden fillets to the wall at concrete finish and this will let me get my levels. All the rebar is fitted but the far away bay has still to be tied together. The fibreboard is all in place underneath the fillets and when I remove the fillets once the concrete has set I can fill in the gap with the appropriate mastic.
The garage floor is now in but not without problems.
Yesterday the concrete truck arrived and we had 4.5 cube delivered for the left hand bay, unfortunately I had to go to Edinburgh with a regular client and by the time I got back the floor had set too hard to finish off. I tried using the float with some water but it was too late so I have put some polythene over it for a few days until it cures then after about 6 weeks I will hire a grinder to repair the damage.
Today I had almost 6 cube delivered for the final bay and although I was there all day working at it the surface is not as good as I would have wanted. I never had any fibres in the concrete yesterday or today and I do wonder of this is a factor in why the finish was not as good as the first bay.
The good news is the 'Easy Screed' machine I hired worked a treat taking the back ache out of levelling and compacting the concrete, I would highly recommend it to anyone who is doing a larger area. I know if I hadn't used the 'Easy Screed' I could never have managed to lay two bays in two days.
The damage to the bay that we did yesterday is surface only so although it is a pain in the ****, it's not really a big deal...
It is good to know that the garage is almost finished as the build started just over a year ago,
Hope this helps you decide
Ron Lombardo
Well-known member
" in a professional contract, contractors are not allow to make money on material but they're allow to charge labor and services. The material they're charging you should be equal or less to retail. "
WHAT ? WHERE DID YOU READ THIS ? LOL
WHAT ? WHERE DID YOU READ THIS ? LOL
I will be doing pole barn consturction.
At this point, im pretty sure i will be waiting until spring to get this done. I will do like a few others have said and work on running wiring, getting walls/insulation in and maybe work on the grade.
@47p2
AMAZING diy talent you have there, but i am not certain i have the time to learn that much. It looks like things worked out quite well for you though.
Shadowdog500
Well-known member
Pretty neat use of forms there. and it came out pretty good!
Mine was done in one pour. They didn't use forms. They wound up putting a rotating laser level in the building then had a stick with a special beeper on it that beeped when it was exactly lined up with the laser. The bottom of the stick was set to the finished floor level. They also snapped a finished floor level around the perimeter of the building with chalk line. I had fiber and metal mesh with 6" of 4,500 concrete. The sealer claims to increase the hardness even more.
The guy in the second photo owns the concrete co. as well as a concrete plant. He is in his 80s and has been doing concrete in the family business his entire life. You could almost see the knowledge radiate through the air from hits brain. His son in law is on the power plane. The mesh was laid on the ground then raised up into the concrete using a stick with a hook on the bottom.
Everything was done in a couple days including the outside and saw cuts, And I had no stress worrying if the concrete was going to come out all right. It is stuff like this that makes me say go Pro on concrete. You only get one shot at it and you want it right.
Chris
Mine was done in one pour. They didn't use forms. They wound up putting a rotating laser level in the building then had a stick with a special beeper on it that beeped when it was exactly lined up with the laser. The bottom of the stick was set to the finished floor level. They also snapped a finished floor level around the perimeter of the building with chalk line. I had fiber and metal mesh with 6" of 4,500 concrete. The sealer claims to increase the hardness even more.
The guy in the second photo owns the concrete co. as well as a concrete plant. He is in his 80s and has been doing concrete in the family business his entire life. You could almost see the knowledge radiate through the air from hits brain. His son in law is on the power plane. The mesh was laid on the ground then raised up into the concrete using a stick with a hook on the bottom.
Everything was done in a couple days including the outside and saw cuts, And I had no stress worrying if the concrete was going to come out all right. It is stuff like this that makes me say go Pro on concrete. You only get one shot at it and you want it right.
Chris
Last edited:
yucholian
Well-known member
30x40 in an enclosed pole barn, I would definitely do it myself.
You can rent a heater to keep it above freezing and the concrete will generate heat as it cures. The prep work is nothing to worry about, manual labor is about it. If you can rent a bobcat and a plate compactor, you can knock that out in a hurry. As far as the pouring the slab, I would pour in sections to keep the job manageable. For a good pro, you can easily pay $6 per square foot with the typical prep (no heavy earth moving) and #4 rebar on 24" grid with 4000 psi concrete. Ones that are eager to work will do it as low as $3 per square foot, but you need to be careful about their work. Slab work is much easier than high wall form work, give it a go.
You can rent a heater to keep it above freezing and the concrete will generate heat as it cures. The prep work is nothing to worry about, manual labor is about it. If you can rent a bobcat and a plate compactor, you can knock that out in a hurry. As far as the pouring the slab, I would pour in sections to keep the job manageable. For a good pro, you can easily pay $6 per square foot with the typical prep (no heavy earth moving) and #4 rebar on 24" grid with 4000 psi concrete. Ones that are eager to work will do it as low as $3 per square foot, but you need to be careful about their work. Slab work is much easier than high wall form work, give it a go.
Kevin54
MEMBER EMERITUS
There is plenty information on the net regarding pouring a slab. Read and then read it all again and you won't go wrong.
I pondered over getting the professionals in when I was ready to do the concrete, but after my research and getting quotes it was a no brainer that I was going to do the work myself, I had to get it right first time or it was going to be costly to remove 35 tonnes of concrete and start again.
The ******** had been down for 7 or 8 months and I had been driving over it to ensure was completely settled and there were no hollow areas.
3 tonnes of sharp sand was spread on top to act as a barrier for the DPC membrane, this stops any sharp pieces of ******** from damaging the membrane and allowing the dampness to get to the garage
I laid the DPC on top of the sand and set the bays out. I started by laying the centre bay as it will allow access from both ends.
The full length timbers running back to front in the garage is the level guide and the rest are there to support them whilst the concrete is being poured and setting
Flexible board and rebar. The flexible board is almost like a compressed old fashioned carpet felt and it will allow for any expansion of the concrete slab without damage to the walls. The rebar mesh is sitting on pedestals at a predetermined height. The blue sleeves are to allow movement between the 3 bays. The dowel in the sleeve will be set into concrete in one bay and the sleeve set in the adjacent bay which will allow movement without causing cracks.
The first section is now in and smoothed out, I have to let it set now before I can try and get a reasonable finish on it
Smoothed out the best I can
The tie bars with sleeves were fitted for two reasons, firstly to make the removal of the timbers a simple task, and secondly to allow movement between the slabs. I pulled out the tie rods and the timber came away much easier than I had expected. I will need to lay more DPC as some of it has punctures with us walking over it. The concrete slab is now covered and will stay like that for a few days until it cures. Once cured I will then slip the tie bars back into their sleeves
I removed the cover today and this is the results. I would give it about an 8 out of 10.
Am I happy with it? I'm really not sure, I have to say it is possibly better than a lot of garage floors, and for my first attempt is is probably hell of a lot better than I could have imagined but if I had the balls to hire a power float it could have been a lot better. The problem with power floats is that the timing has to be spot on, too early and the concrete goes over the walls and the floor is badly damaged and too late and you are wasting your time. If you get it wrong, you've wasted not only a lot of concrete, but a lot of money and time to dig out and re-do the whole thing again
The marks showing in the picture are the fibres from the concrete which I will need to speak with the concrete company about as I don't think they were mixed properly. I don't think it will cause any problems once they have been run over a few times with traffic but if I am paying extra for fibres I would like them to be mixed properly.
Today was spent getting the other two bays ready for the concrete. I decided to screw a small wooden fillets to the wall at concrete finish and this will let me get my levels. All the rebar is fitted but the far away bay has still to be tied together. The fibreboard is all in place underneath the fillets and when I remove the fillets once the concrete has set I can fill in the gap with the appropriate mastic.
The garage floor is now in but not without problems.
Yesterday the concrete truck arrived and we had 4.5 cube delivered for the left hand bay, unfortunately I had to go to Edinburgh with a regular client and by the time I got back the floor had set too hard to finish off. I tried using the float with some water but it was too late so I have put some polythene over it for a few days until it cures then after about 6 weeks I will hire a grinder to repair the damage.
Today I had almost 6 cube delivered for the final bay and although I was there all day working at it the surface is not as good as I would have wanted. I never had any fibres in the concrete yesterday or today and I do wonder of this is a factor in why the finish was not as good as the first bay.
The good news is the 'Easy Screed' machine I hired worked a treat taking the back ache out of levelling and compacting the concrete, I would highly recommend it to anyone who is doing a larger area. I know if I hadn't used the 'Easy Screed' I could never have managed to lay two bays in two days.
The damage to the bay that we did yesterday is surface only so although it is a pain in the ****, it's not really a big deal...
It is good to know that the garage is almost finished as the build started just over a year ago,
Hope this helps you decide
Like I said, if you are not used to doing it, all the more reason to hire a professional to do it. The first and the other line really sums it up.
The slab is poured in sections and you are using form boards to level it out. Sure you get it almost perfectly level, but then you have to go back in, pull the boards, then fill in. You will have two cracks at every section you filled in, guaranteed. It may be straight cracks but still will be cracks. Then one section you waited too long to finish the surface properly, then yet another section is different than the other pours. Then there is the problem of the concrete mixes not all being the same.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that you did a bad job, better than I would have done. But by the time you rent the proper tools to finish the floor, spend three days or more putting up forms, leveling forms, messing with pieces of plastic, and so on and so forth, the professionals with the proper equipment is in and out in 1 1/2 days on a large pour. One day to pour and finish and the next day to saw and cleanup and load up.
Just sayin'
THANKS for typing this...I was not in the mood. You are RIGHT!!!
And....as for the COST of concrete delivered.....you are now paying winter heat charges, additives, and other costs(fuel for heaters)....throw the building up...wait till spring...Besides...if ur prep is done right...it should feel like concrete (just not smooth) anyways...
AND....when you have the building up...the sun won't flash set the surface when they do pour in the spring...(common on large jobs with inexperienced help...
-T
Like I said, if you are not used to doing it, all the more reason to hire a professional to do it. The first and the other line really sums it up.
The slab is poured in sections and you are using form boards to level it out. Sure you get it almost perfectly level, but then you have to go back in, pull the boards, then fill in. You will have two cracks at every section you filled in, guaranteed. It may be straight cracks but still will be cracks. Then one section you waited too long to finish the surface properly, then yet another section is different than the other pours. Then there is the problem of the concrete mixes not all being the same.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that you did a bad job, better than I would have done. But by the time you rent the proper tools to finish the floor, spend three days or more putting up forms, leveling forms, messing with pieces of plastic, and so on and so forth, the professionals with the proper equipment is in and out in 1 1/2 days on a large pour. One day to pour and finish and the next day to saw and cleanup and load up.
Just sayin'
Oh dear oh dear Kevin54
You read too much into my ramblings which I copied and pasted from my own forum and which was written as the job was being carried out. The forward planning of the delivery of the concrete, having to leave the job to go to work at the last minute and the unusually warm weather all played a part in the finish. I had never done anything of this magnitude before and expected a more or less perfect finish similar to what you see in warehouses. I didn't realise at the time that once the concrete had set and had time to mature then more work was required to have a perfect finish.
1. The area was too large to be done in one pour and the extremes of weather we have in Scotland would have caused the concrete to crack.
2. As to the removal of the form boards, the only boards removed were the 6x2 and 8x2 timbers, the fibreboard was all left in place to allow any expansion to take place. Oh and incidentally there are no cracks anywhere.
3. I don't know (and it's not my business) how much you can earn in 1.5 days, or even two weeks (which is the time I probably spent on the floor, not including reading up on the skills required), but I was quoted almost £4k to have the floor poured, and another £3k to have the top surface ground and sealed, now if I could earn £7k in two weeks I would have happily employed the expertise of the professionals, but after reading what was required and having 6 different companies give me a quote (whilst I listened to the **** they told me, most of which was incorrect) I decided that I could do a better job than the so called professionals. The finished product is possibly 99.9% perfect now and I doubt very much if a professional could have done any more......and I saved myself over £5000
4. Yes one of the sections is different to the extent that it has fibres in it, but I doubt if even an expert could tell the difference now, also I have two different thicknesses of concrete, the area where the ramp is fitted is 2" deeper than the rest of the floor. I own large heavy cars, Mercedes S-Class, Range Rover, Audi A8, Mercedes Viano all in excess of 2 tones each, these are in and out of the garage on a daily basis, if I had not poured the floor properly I am sure that by now I would be seeing signs of the concrete breaking up, there are no signs.
The concrete was left for 6 months after pouring to allow it to dry out and set properly then I hired a grinder to remove the soft top layer.
My original plan was to have a polished finish, but with the wet climate in the UK it would have been very slippery, so I decided to leave a very slight roughness to the surface.
3 coats of clear concrete sealer were applied and allowed to dry out
I now have a completely dust free hard wearing floor
That will teach me not to copy and paste my earlier ramblings
camarotoolman
Banned
You could do it in sections. That would make it easier on ya.
dadsEH
Well-known member
so when does the carpet get laid??
Daniel Dudley
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2009
- Messages
- 3,546
If you have friends who have done it, you can do it.
I now have a completely dust free hard wearing floor
Now that looks great! Looks like your patience and ethic paid off. The grinder is a great (albiet dusty) idea! I personally like the slightly rough look and with the sealer, it shouldn't get "more rough" over time.
Kevin54
MEMBER EMERITUS
I'm not reading too much into it, just sayin' that with pro's doing it, they are in and out. With renting the tools, the lumber for the forms, days spent doing all of that, then waiting 6 months and going back and grinding everything down smooth, you probably have just as much or more in it than letting someone else that knows do it.
And I'm not saying that one can do it theirself, and you did a great job, but the point I was trying to make was for the OP. If he is the least bit apprehensive, then those things I pointed out are things that he will run into and maybe worse. Concrete isn't like other things. When that truck pulls up, you better be ready to go at it. I've done my fair share of concrete in my days. It's not fun. It's heavy work and tedious work. You have one chance to get it right. If it isn't, then either you have to live with the screwup, or it is going to cost more to fix it right.
As far as your floor, in the end it turned out looking good. But you waited 6 months from start to finish on it. That's from pouring the cement to final grinding. The end result is that you got what you want. Quite a few people don't want to wait that long or go through all of the trouble. You Sir, have patience!!! Most people don't.
And I'm not saying that one can do it theirself, and you did a great job, but the point I was trying to make was for the OP. If he is the least bit apprehensive, then those things I pointed out are things that he will run into and maybe worse. Concrete isn't like other things. When that truck pulls up, you better be ready to go at it. I've done my fair share of concrete in my days. It's not fun. It's heavy work and tedious work. You have one chance to get it right. If it isn't, then either you have to live with the screwup, or it is going to cost more to fix it right.
As far as your floor, in the end it turned out looking good. But you waited 6 months from start to finish on it. That's from pouring the cement to final grinding. The end result is that you got what you want. Quite a few people don't want to wait that long or go through all of the trouble. You Sir, have patience!!! Most people don't.
ConCretin
Well-known member
I've been reluctant to weigh in on this one. My initial reaction was "Hell no".
I do concrete for a living and know what it takes to get a proper floor but then I thought, I do plumbing, drywall and about everything else. What would professionals in those trades say?
In addition, as we've read a thousand times on GJ,hiring a pro is no guarantee of of good floor.
At the end of the day, I'm back where I started. If you don't have the experience, skilled help and tools - Don't try to place your own floor.
The difference is the time constraints. Concrete is going to set when it is ready, period. I can re-solder a leaky joint or re-mud a drywall seam but the stakes are a lot higher on a garage floor.
So's as not to offend any other trades, we are talking about the simple side of our respective work. I know all you guys do lots of stuff the rest of us shouldn't mess with.
Placing and finishing a concrete slab is best left to the pro's unless you are willing to work your *** off and accept whatever you end up with. It most likely won't be what you are hoping for.
I do concrete for a living and know what it takes to get a proper floor but then I thought, I do plumbing, drywall and about everything else. What would professionals in those trades say?
In addition, as we've read a thousand times on GJ,hiring a pro is no guarantee of of good floor.
At the end of the day, I'm back where I started. If you don't have the experience, skilled help and tools - Don't try to place your own floor.
The difference is the time constraints. Concrete is going to set when it is ready, period. I can re-solder a leaky joint or re-mud a drywall seam but the stakes are a lot higher on a garage floor.
So's as not to offend any other trades, we are talking about the simple side of our respective work. I know all you guys do lots of stuff the rest of us shouldn't mess with.
Placing and finishing a concrete slab is best left to the pro's unless you are willing to work your *** off and accept whatever you end up with. It most likely won't be what you are hoping for.
I see the thread is alive and well without me
I had the guy who did my parents pole barn 15 years ago reccomend me a contractor. John (the concrete laying family friend) built my mini moto X track when i was younger, did an excellent job on our concrete and we have helped him out during his hard times. You could say, he knows us well and he will not lead us astray.
The concrete contractor came out tonight, looked at the area and we talked. He said next spring, he wont charge over $3/ft. It could be as low as $2.50, but he does not know how much the concrete will be going up this next year.
For that price i get:
4000 psi concrete
5" thickness
Fiber mixed in
He also said he will do my land prep for between $200-250 + sand costs.
For how much he wants, and how thorough he was with his planning and setup i cant think of a good reason i should do it myself.
I had the guy who did my parents pole barn 15 years ago reccomend me a contractor. John (the concrete laying family friend) built my mini moto X track when i was younger, did an excellent job on our concrete and we have helped him out during his hard times. You could say, he knows us well and he will not lead us astray.
The concrete contractor came out tonight, looked at the area and we talked. He said next spring, he wont charge over $3/ft. It could be as low as $2.50, but he does not know how much the concrete will be going up this next year.
For that price i get:
4000 psi concrete
5" thickness
Fiber mixed in
He also said he will do my land prep for between $200-250 + sand costs.
For how much he wants, and how thorough he was with his planning and setup i cant think of a good reason i should do it myself.
stingry
Well-known member
Falcon67
Well-known member
X2 - After watching the guys do mine, it's money well spent.
The family friend that gave me his number stopped into my shop this morning, and asked how it went. I was glad i could thank him, and tell him he sent a winner. He gave me a few phone numbers of people he helped him on jobs with as references, so ill be checking them out as i get time.
I also noticed i didnt post an apples to apples comparison. The other guys i called all said $3/ft with wire mesh, 3500 psi 4" slab.
This guy said for the same thing it would easily be $2.25, which is why i opted to add an inch of thickness and pay closer to $2.50-$3/ft. Plus this guy knows my situation, understands this will be my first build and has been very helpful making sure i get setup correctly and dont have to redo anything because of a mistake. From helping with the layout, to grade ideas, to sourcing materials.
I guess i can say when you find the right contractor its like finding the right tool for the job. EVERYTHING gets easier.
Also i thought i would mention, during my reading on here i found references to my pole barn kit supplier. All the people mentioning them have said that the supplier used local lumber yards to deliver the lumber, but i believe that part of their business has changed as i was told all my materials would be coming out of a big supplier in Indiana. None of it would be local. Just an FYI.
I also noticed i didnt post an apples to apples comparison. The other guys i called all said $3/ft with wire mesh, 3500 psi 4" slab.
This guy said for the same thing it would easily be $2.25, which is why i opted to add an inch of thickness and pay closer to $2.50-$3/ft. Plus this guy knows my situation, understands this will be my first build and has been very helpful making sure i get setup correctly and dont have to redo anything because of a mistake. From helping with the layout, to grade ideas, to sourcing materials.
I guess i can say when you find the right contractor its like finding the right tool for the job. EVERYTHING gets easier.
Also i thought i would mention, during my reading on here i found references to my pole barn kit supplier. All the people mentioning them have said that the supplier used local lumber yards to deliver the lumber, but i believe that part of their business has changed as i was told all my materials would be coming out of a big supplier in Indiana. None of it would be local. Just an FYI.
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