Borderline11
New member
I'm no expert, but they poured the foundation for my garage yesterday and I thought I would share a few tips.
New Concrete Tips:
1. Don't even consider doing the concrete work yourself. I'm a strong DIYer, but it requires 3-4 people who know what they are doing and work well as a team. My tip for contracting it out is even more important if you want the slab done well.
2. Bids came in at $5-7 per sq. ft. for a 4-6 inch monolithic pour in east Texas. The concrete truck could back up my driveway to the site. It would be more per foot if they have to wheelbarrow it around to your site. I went with the guy who gave the higher bid, but negotiated down to the lowest bid. Depending on their workload (if they are between jobs), they may be flexible on price.
3. Consider deed restrictions. I was going to build 2 ft. from the property line, made layout plans, then had to change them to 5 ft. when I checked our neighborhood deed. The county had a digital copy of the deed I could access over the internet. There may be other requirements that you have not thought of.
4. Trees and foundations don't mix. Over time the roots will expand cracking concrete. I gave 4 ft. boundaries, but I don't know if that was sufficient ( it may depend of the type of tree). However, when they do the site preparation, they will probably have a backhoe and may pull out small root balls for you after you have cleared the trunk and branches. This may save you from having to dig it up by hand or paying someone to grind the stump.
5. Consider foot paths to the garage entries. For example, the entry door to the shop area of the garage is across the driveway from the house. I had them pour a door landing there, and since realized that I'll have to walk around the parked cars in the driveway to get there. I may end up placing a 2nd door nearer the house, but now there won't be a concrete door landing (the place where the exterior door mat goes) on that new entry since they have already poured.
6. Clean-up responsibilities. There will be lots of small to medium sized dirt piles around afterward. Ask your contractor ahead of time if they will clean up the job site and tell them where you want the debris placed (or carried away).
7. The concrete truck will probably be cleaned at your site by rinsing it with water. This makes small piles of concrete in your street and even the neighbor's yard. I should have given a 5gal bucket with a drain holes for them so that we could capture the washed out concrete between loads. I could have then placed it into the foundation instead of shoveling up the concrete afterward and making a pile around the telephone pole. There was probably 3 gal of concrete washed out after each load That would have piled up next to the street in my neighbor's yard.
8. The concrete truck is heavy. They used 7 yd. loads to minimize damage to my driveway. That was still too heavy. If you are picky about your driveway and don't know how strong it was made when new, then ask for lighter loads. They may charge you more since the truck will have to make an extra trip.
9. If you want your family's hand prints in the concrete, ask the contractor about it. This is very common and they can give you timing and tips for doing it.
10. Vapor barrier. If you are doing an epoxy floor, be specific about this before they begin. Let them know it is critical to get an excellent barrier. I noticed that there were some tears where the rebar had caught it and that they used different thickness sheets in different areas.
11. Thickness of the foundation. If you want a specific depth, say so up front.
12. If you want a rain seal where the garage door meets the concrete, say so. That's the 90 degree area where the garage door lands about an inch deeper than the garage floor. It's easier for them to just make a slant to your driveway.
13. Anchor bolts. My contractor placed them for me per the foundation plan. I purchased them and had them on-site before the pour. Ask ahead of time who will be doing it and make sure they know SPECIFICALLY where they will be placed. My plan called for 4 ft. bracing walls between the shop and the parking area. For structural reasons, they specified anchor bolts on those walls. If I did not have a specific written plan, the contractor would not have placed anchor bolts there.
14. Expect that your grass around the site will be damaged from the heavy equipment and foot traffic. A few drops of oil and scuff marks will be on your driveway (if they use it). They will use your water hose. A few nails in your yard. See #6 above.
15. I suspect that it's not a big deal to most people, but the workers will need to use the restroom and in my case discretely went behind the bushes. If you have neighbors or wives that may disagree, work out a plan ahead of time.
16. Details. If you see something that doesn't look like you wanted it, talk about it with your contractor as soon as you notice it. It helps if you are home when they are working. The contractor can put a helper on fixing it and you will be happier.
17. Architectural drawings - I bought a set of garage plans from Behm Design and was able to give a copy of the foundation details (with anchor bolt placements) to the contractor. This helped our communication about what I expected.
18. Concrete contractors (at least in my area) will not place your water and drain lines in the foundation. I bought the schedule 40 PVC and wired it in to the rebar myself, but what ever you do, coordinate with the contractor to get it in before the pour.
I plan on stained concrete floor, so I had them do a very light (almost smooth) broom finish.
Enjoy!
John
New Concrete Tips:
1. Don't even consider doing the concrete work yourself. I'm a strong DIYer, but it requires 3-4 people who know what they are doing and work well as a team. My tip for contracting it out is even more important if you want the slab done well.
2. Bids came in at $5-7 per sq. ft. for a 4-6 inch monolithic pour in east Texas. The concrete truck could back up my driveway to the site. It would be more per foot if they have to wheelbarrow it around to your site. I went with the guy who gave the higher bid, but negotiated down to the lowest bid. Depending on their workload (if they are between jobs), they may be flexible on price.
3. Consider deed restrictions. I was going to build 2 ft. from the property line, made layout plans, then had to change them to 5 ft. when I checked our neighborhood deed. The county had a digital copy of the deed I could access over the internet. There may be other requirements that you have not thought of.
4. Trees and foundations don't mix. Over time the roots will expand cracking concrete. I gave 4 ft. boundaries, but I don't know if that was sufficient ( it may depend of the type of tree). However, when they do the site preparation, they will probably have a backhoe and may pull out small root balls for you after you have cleared the trunk and branches. This may save you from having to dig it up by hand or paying someone to grind the stump.
5. Consider foot paths to the garage entries. For example, the entry door to the shop area of the garage is across the driveway from the house. I had them pour a door landing there, and since realized that I'll have to walk around the parked cars in the driveway to get there. I may end up placing a 2nd door nearer the house, but now there won't be a concrete door landing (the place where the exterior door mat goes) on that new entry since they have already poured.
6. Clean-up responsibilities. There will be lots of small to medium sized dirt piles around afterward. Ask your contractor ahead of time if they will clean up the job site and tell them where you want the debris placed (or carried away).
7. The concrete truck will probably be cleaned at your site by rinsing it with water. This makes small piles of concrete in your street and even the neighbor's yard. I should have given a 5gal bucket with a drain holes for them so that we could capture the washed out concrete between loads. I could have then placed it into the foundation instead of shoveling up the concrete afterward and making a pile around the telephone pole. There was probably 3 gal of concrete washed out after each load That would have piled up next to the street in my neighbor's yard.
8. The concrete truck is heavy. They used 7 yd. loads to minimize damage to my driveway. That was still too heavy. If you are picky about your driveway and don't know how strong it was made when new, then ask for lighter loads. They may charge you more since the truck will have to make an extra trip.
9. If you want your family's hand prints in the concrete, ask the contractor about it. This is very common and they can give you timing and tips for doing it.
10. Vapor barrier. If you are doing an epoxy floor, be specific about this before they begin. Let them know it is critical to get an excellent barrier. I noticed that there were some tears where the rebar had caught it and that they used different thickness sheets in different areas.
11. Thickness of the foundation. If you want a specific depth, say so up front.
12. If you want a rain seal where the garage door meets the concrete, say so. That's the 90 degree area where the garage door lands about an inch deeper than the garage floor. It's easier for them to just make a slant to your driveway.
13. Anchor bolts. My contractor placed them for me per the foundation plan. I purchased them and had them on-site before the pour. Ask ahead of time who will be doing it and make sure they know SPECIFICALLY where they will be placed. My plan called for 4 ft. bracing walls between the shop and the parking area. For structural reasons, they specified anchor bolts on those walls. If I did not have a specific written plan, the contractor would not have placed anchor bolts there.
14. Expect that your grass around the site will be damaged from the heavy equipment and foot traffic. A few drops of oil and scuff marks will be on your driveway (if they use it). They will use your water hose. A few nails in your yard. See #6 above.
15. I suspect that it's not a big deal to most people, but the workers will need to use the restroom and in my case discretely went behind the bushes. If you have neighbors or wives that may disagree, work out a plan ahead of time.
16. Details. If you see something that doesn't look like you wanted it, talk about it with your contractor as soon as you notice it. It helps if you are home when they are working. The contractor can put a helper on fixing it and you will be happier.
17. Architectural drawings - I bought a set of garage plans from Behm Design and was able to give a copy of the foundation details (with anchor bolt placements) to the contractor. This helped our communication about what I expected.
18. Concrete contractors (at least in my area) will not place your water and drain lines in the foundation. I bought the schedule 40 PVC and wired it in to the rebar myself, but what ever you do, coordinate with the contractor to get it in before the pour.
I plan on stained concrete floor, so I had them do a very light (almost smooth) broom finish.
Enjoy!
John
