DIY slab pour?

[Kapt]

Has anyone poured their own concrete slab? I've seen it done, but I have never poured anything bigger than a 10 x 8 pad. I need to pour a 24x26 area. Everything is prepped, I'm just waiting for a little warmer weather. I thought we were done with the freezing temps.

Am I foolish for considering it? The alternative is to hire a small crew to handle the pour. The only special considerations are the radiant heat tubing and the pumping truck.

 

[theblur98ss]

I'm in a similer situation. As long as you have knowledge, manpower and the tools to do it I say go for it. If you're lacking any of the above then you may be better off hiring the job out.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Hire a reputable crew, it is more than worth the money.

Charles

 

[twostory]

Hire a reputable crew, it is more than worth the money.

Charles

I second what Charles said. The price of failure is much more than the cost to hire a "recommended" experienced crew.

 

[Bib Overalls]

Hire a crew.

 

[wilbilt]

Yes, hire a knowledgeable crew. I poured a 24'x32' slab for the inlaws a few years ago. My BIL and I dug the footings, set the forms, and laser-leveled the whole shebang. We figured the footage and thought we were good to go.

The "superintendent" (FIL) decided to invite a bunch more relatives and friends to "help". They all showed up and our carefully laid plans turned into a "too many chiefs, not enough indians" scenario. The fact that the slab ended up within 1/4" in all directions is nothing short of a miracle.

Hire a crew. You deserve it.

 

[Der Bugmeister]

When I built my garage, the slab work was the only thing I hired out. You're putting a couple thousand dollars worth of concrete into place, and you have a very limited amount of time to place your zip strips, level, scree and so forth.

And if you screw it up, you either have to live with it for as long as you're in that garage, or pay through the nose to redo it.

The crew isn't that expensive, and man are they worth it.

 

[Hurricane]

a cheaper solution that ive used many times is to get enough of your friends to help as needed, but hire a finisher or 2. you guys will have to do all the legwork and let the finishers tell you what to do. going rate around here is $200 a day/finisher. the finisher is the most important part of the process, anybody can dump it on the ground and drag a 2x4 across it, but somebody that does this every day will be able to get it flat and smooth
________
NU50M

 

[rotus7]

I second Hurricane's suggestion. You don't have a very large slab, so putting it in place shouldn't be very hard or long. Just dump it in place, level it and screed it. Then let a finisher take over to float and finish it. That will save you some money. Just make sure you have enough hands to help move it around as well as proper equipment as well as rubber boots and such.

 

[snorvet]

I was part of a 5 man crew when we did my brother in law's driveway. 2 of the guys were retired concrete guys and we still had a tough time with it. I'd recommend hiring a concrete crew.

 

[kbs2244]

I vote for let the pros do it, with hireing the finishers as a side job a second choice only if money is real real tight.
For something that looks so simple, concrete is one of the most unforgiving things I have ever worked with. And your mistakes last forever. I know, I have a few spread around the neighborhood that I am less than proud of.
If you have tubes in the slab and need to pump the stuff, that is even more need for experience. Those pump trucks do not come cheap. You will need guys that can work fast and hard and correctly.
There is a time to DIY and a time to respect the pros.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

If you have four or five buddies to help, by the time you buy all of them knee high rubber boots, gloves, shovels, a good straight 2/4 to scree with, you probably could have paid a professional crew to do it. There is even an art to dragging the scree across the slab. Do it wrong and the finishers you hired will hate you and have troubles.

There are just way too many things to go wrong, and very little time to correct it. You will probably need to order the mix the day before, give directions to the plant, post a sign or two just in case a driver might have a hard time finding you, and then two of your "buddies" fail to show. Suddenly you will find three mixers waiting to dump and you are up to your A$$ in concrete and no help.

Charles

 

[PAToyota]

Unless you have a couple people with real concrete experience, I'd hire the crew. I poured my own footers with help from a couple friends and some of my ex-wife's relatives... Big mistake. I thought myself and my two friends could keep things in line but it was a huge mess after my FIL started throwing his weight around and was directing the other relatives against what I had said... Including (as Charles mentioned) my FIL taking the call from the plant and through his miscommunication ending up with two trucks there at once. A lot of the problem was that me and my friends were the "younger" guys and ended up on the wheelbarrows while the relatives ended up "overseeing" things even though the experience with actual concrete work was completely the opposite.

I learned my lesson and hired a crew for the slab. I could make up the difference in the footers while I was laying the block, but a slab... The backhoe work for the initial trenches, the slab, and installing the garage doors were the only three things I contracted out for my 1500 s.f. two story shop.

 

[wilbilt]

Unless you have a couple people with real concrete experience, I'd hire the crew. I poured my own footers with help from a couple friends and some of my ex-wife's relatives... Big mistake. I thought myself and my two friends could keep things in line but it was a huge mess after my FIL started throwing his weight around and was directing the other relatives against what I had said.

Yep, been there. No need for FILs, uncles, cousins, etc.
The next one I do will be for me, and Ill dig the footers, set the rebar and form it. As for the rest of it, I'll just sit back and watch.

 

[Pure Oil]

We just poured our slab on Friday. I had dug out the footings, setup the steel forms I had bought. (stayed from wood due to green wood that warps)The steel is GREAT when you are leveling! (I am saving the steel forms for future projects so I get my moneys worth out of them & then someday I may sell them) I put in the rebar & the square wire mesh for the slab. I installed all of the steel stakes. I had my brother come over to double check everything based on the initial project pointers he had given me. When Friday came I had my brother, a friend and another friend with ALL THE TOOLS who is a CONTRACTOR (I am blessed). My 2 cents worth on a DIY slab is; you can save the money IF you do all the prep work yourself - BUT - I would have hired out the pour if I did not have the friends that I have.

 

[PAToyota]

Yep, been there. No need for FILs, uncles, cousins, etc.
The next one I do will be for me, and Ill dig the footers, set the rebar and form it. As for the rest of it, I'll just sit back and watch.

Looking back on it, I really should have gone with the two friends that had the experience and then a bunch of teenagers or college kids that would have actually listened to us and we would have been fine. It was definitely a problem with the people with no experience "taking authority" of the project...