Concrete patio extension in sections?

[gtae07]

Now that the shop is finished, I need to start working on fixing up the rest of the back yard that I've mangled. Part of that process will be expanding the concrete patio to a more usable size. I'd like to keep it concrete, but any concrete I do I'll have to mix and pour myself--I had to have the concrete for my shop pumped, and it's not worth it for the amount I'm going to need to pour. If I go 5 inches thick, it should take about 2 yards. I'm figuring on buying a HF electric mixer to aid the process. I do have a couple questions, though.

Is pouring this in, say, 4x4 sections feasible? Or should they be larger/smaller?

If so, how should I tie the sections together?

Should I tie into the existing patio? How?

Is 5 inches sufficiently thick for a patio (walking loads, a table/chairs, a grill, etc)?

Thanks much

 

[matt_i]

Even if I had to get a gang of guys with wheelbarrows I'd do it from a mix truck. Alternative is renting one of the gas powered dump buggies. You're well over 100 bags of quickcrete from what I see, that's going to take awhile.

5" nominal thickness would be excellent in my opinion, no danger of compression damage for a patio.

 

[MagKarl]

5 inches is way more than you need, I'd go 4 and form with 2x4's if it were mine. Compact crushed rock for the base. I like to use continuous rebar to help keep adjacent slabs from moving relative to one another. Place the rebar then notch a form to fit over the rebar if you need to do it in 2 pours.

 

[akdiesel]

I agree with matt, in that, 2 yards of material is a lot of bags. It will be approx 90 80# bags. It can be done in small pours by simply extending rebar to the next pour. Block it off with the form. Any concrete sag or bleed through the form should not be a problem. You may want to spray the forms with some Cooking Pam to release the forms.
One of if not the most important thing to get done right is the foundation. Proper soil material and soil compaction.
For any concrete pads I pour I go 6" - 8" thick. I have seen 4" (standard size) pads crack and rise over time. Lots of sidewalks have this issue (4" thick).

 

[jhamblett]

4in is perfect. I did 8 yards with a harbor frieght mixer, its dooable. As for tying them together, i drilled 1/2 holes in the forms and placed 2 ft peices of rebar every 2-3 ft. When you go to pour the next pad grease up the rebar peice that is sticking out of the cured concrete so the pads can shift and shrink but stay flat over time

 

[wasfast]

Depending on where you live, there are small trucks that mix on the fly for 1-3 yds. Might check the yellow pages. That's a lot of premix bags.