Concrete quote seems a bit high

[Wardster]

Racer-X,

I encourage you to sit down and develop a complete scope of work for someone to bid from. This should include a drawing detailing what you want along with a list of specifications for site prep, materials, etc. If this is something that is beyond your ability or patience level, then hire someone to do it for you - it is cheap insurance. As a construction manager for a heavy-civil contractor, I have learned that the more time one spends preparing their project up front, the better everyone will be in the long run.

With respect to your question, the price of concrete fluctuates and has been on a steady increase of $4-$5 per year, per cubic yard. This is mainly due to the price of cement, but the cost of fuel comes into play as well. Is $6,000 high for labor? Maybe, but the contractor has to mobilize equipment to prep the site, maybe pump the concrete, rent finishing machines, and cut control joints that are all part of that cost. We pay our non-union guys in Louisiana in the $25/HR range, so that should give you some idea on the actual labor costs assuming you have an idea on crew size. While it may appear high, it doesn't take long to spend $6,000 if you do quality work with quality labor and equipment.

-Wardster

 

[sr4440]

I live about 100 miles away from you and the concrete prices seem a little high. I have been pouring concrete all around the house for the last 4 months (I hate cutting grass) (100 yards) and have never paid more then $70 a yard for non fiber filled concrete.

Joe

 

[Falcon67]

I am just outside of San Antonio... your project sounds pretty close to mine as far as size. Also sounds like they put a bit more effort into it!!

I did give them specs to work from, and the fact that they didn't follow that and are trying to do it the way they want to is throwing major red flags. And the price still looks high for what they are talking about doing.

This is just one quote... I am working on others. This is just the first one I got back and thought it seemed a bit "off" so wanted to get some comments...

Good stuff so far guys! Thanks!

These should tell you what you need to know about foudntation,etc specs.
http://www.sanantonio.gov/dsd/codes.asp?res=1280&ver=true

 

[joes169]

The one thing I didn't see mentioned yet is the amount of labor that goes into forming/bracing/propping a grade beam slab of this size.

Depending on the size of the crew, it could take them a day or two to excavate, add 100+ yards of aggregate for teh base, final grade, form, set steel re-inforcement, etc......

There's more to this than just dumping the concrete & running a power trowel over it. Well, at least, hopefully there will be more to it............

I can tell you that I's probably charge more than what your quote is, but w/o seeing the specs, it's hard to say for sure. Texas does generally have some of the lowest installed concrete prices in the nation though.......

 

[Steves32]

I got a couple of bids but went with the guy who was highly recommended to me. I didn't shop price, I went with my gut (and the higher price). Last thing I wanted is a bad slab for a cheap price. My garage is small & was a single pour, walkways & driveway soon followed. Mine included permits & excavation & cost me 9k.
I could have gotten it cheaper if I shopped around but I'm extremely happy w/ the quality of work done. You can follow the build- including grading & concrete below in my build thread.

 

[Daniel Dudley]

This is just one quote...

And there's the problem. You gave them a shot...

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