Questions about quoted concrete?

[Crazy Legs]

I'm new here but love the fact that there is a place for garage junkies like me

Anyhoo, i'm working on having estimates done for my driveway and i'm wondering what you guys thought of the price? Currently concrete is $80 a yard here in Iowa.

I have a 10' by 30' driveway that leads to my 1 1/2 car garage now and its really crumbly and old. It needs to be dug up and hauled away and i'm wanting to add an addition to my driveway 9' wider by 40' long that goes beside my garage leading towards my future 24x36' garage in the backyard.

His quote was $2300 for everything including digging up existing old driveway, addition, and curb work, along with straightening my driveway so it's perpendicular with the street, BTW it'll be 4" thick..... I think that sounds like a really good deal but i'm not sure?

My first quote from different place was $4800 for the same amount of work. OUCH!

 

[47bob]

If I did this right you'll need 24.5 yards of mud @ $80./yd =$1952. With $350. for removal and forming up the slab $2300 is a real good deal.

 

[krooser]

Do it...as long as the contractor is reliable....

 

[Krodad]

That sounds like a really good deal. Give the guys at Carroll Distributing from down in Ottumwa a call to get their opinion of the contractor, then go for it if you get a good reference from them. No way the contractor is from Pella, or your quote would be 3 times higher!!
My Pop's side of the family is from the Rose Hill/ Osky area, so I was happy to see one from that part of the state on this site!

 

[W-Cummins]

If I did this right you'll need 24.5 yards of mud @ $80./yd =$1952. With $350. for removal and forming up the slab $2300 is a real good deal.

If your calcs are correct ( I didn't check them) The guy that quoted this that cheap is probably a hack. That's a lot of work for $350.00 ( unless he just plans on striking it off with a 2X4 and going home You should have a compacted gravel base under the slab if you want it to last. I don't know about the Ottumwa area, but here in SE Iowa gravel isn't any were near free :-( I would get at least 3 more quotes if you can. Some people are really high ( one local guy wanted $7-8k to just pour and finish 2000²' with me doing all the prep work), but you don't want the low ball guys either.

 

[fireman]

If I did this right you'll need 24.5 yards of mud @ $80./yd =$1952. With $350. for removal and forming up the slab $2300 is a real good deal.

I just poured a slab and paid $59 a yard for fiber-reinforced concrete. In my area, he would be making $800+ for his labor.

 

[Crazy Legs]

ok to make along story short.........i'm a total TOOL!!! when i wrote the thread i had my wife read off the estimate to me over the phone and she didn't read it right, its $2300 to replace my existing driveway and another $1895 for my addition...for a grand total of $4195.....OUCH! BIG DIFFERENCE!!... Sorry about that lol

So here's the new question, is that reasonable? and am i retarded for pouring my driveway first then building my garage later? What i mean is the concrete truck will have to drive on my new driveway..... i don't want cracks... so i was thinking of just putting gravel down instead for now, well I just found out that I can't put gravel down now since its new construction...Town law or some ****..........now what?

 

[OldCarGuy]

Over the past year I purchased over 400 yards of 4,500 PSI 6 ½ sack mix cement and the last load was something just short of $85.00 a yard. All my floors, aprons, and driveways are between 6” to 10” thick, and I wouldn’t hesitate to have a full loaded cement truck on any of my driveways. But I would be very cautious about having one on only 4”.

$4195.00 sounds like a good price to me for the complete job. If you decide to pour the driveway first, you’ll have to wheelbarrow the cement when you pour the garage floor. That will add considerable amount of extra labor to the overall job. With the expected increases in the coming year, I would do it all at once and be done with it.

 

[bobbyd]

If I did this right you'll need 24.5 yards of mud @ $80./yd =$1952. With $350. for removal and forming up the slab $2300 is a real good deal.

I don't think 24.5 yards is accurate. If I'm reading the sizes right, there is a 10'x30' portion and a 9'x40' portion. The "wider" kinda clouds it up a little. Then again it could be a 10'x30' portion and a 19'x40' portion, but I don't think so.

So, my calculations indicate 660 square feet of new slab (10*30) + (9*40) = 660. Total cubic feet would be 660 x .3333' = 220 cubic feet. Cubic yards would equal 220 cubic feet divided by 27 cubic feet/cubic yard = 8.14 cubic yards.

At $80 per yard, that's only $651 in concrete material. With the actual bid at $4195, that leaves $3544 in labor and other materials (forms, gravel, sand, debris disposal, etc.)

My experience puts the value of concrete paving at between $3 and $5 per square foot for things like driveways and sidewalks at 4" thickness in the midwest. Horizontal concrete demolition can run between $2 and $4 per foot depending on where the debris has to be hauled (through a transfer station for instance).

That gives us a range of $3.90 to $6.81 for budget purposes. This takes into account that only part of the area is demolished. Ksths2's bid of $4195 comes in at about $6.36 which is kinda towards the high side of the scale, but within reason. I would get one additional bid. If it comes in between $4200 and $4800, I would say it is a sound bid.

 

[Crazy Legs]

sounds good guys, a little update, i'm planning on just putting gravel down now then next spring i'll do the concrete for the garage in the back yard, then do the driveway last Thanks for your help

 

[iiibdsiil]

You could rent a concrete pump later on so the truck doesn't have to drive on the driveway.