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EddieWalker · 05-07-2008, 11:10 AM

4 inches is plenty thick for a compact tractor. If you get into an RV or somethng really heavy,then you need 6 inches. These are not accurate numbers since a pour is based on the size of lumber used for the forms. A 4 inch pour is actualy 3 1/2 inches thick.

Rebar is a must. Putting it on 2ft centers is fine for a parking pad. I'd use number 3 rebar, which is also called 3/8's rebar. Number 4 is 4/8 and so on.

Wire is cheaper and easier for a crew to lay, but 99% of the time, it ends up at the bottom of the pour and doesn't do anything. I avoid it like the plague. Those who have it like to think it was done right, but it's not. It will always have areas where somebody steped on it and ends up at the bottom of the pad. Usually you don't know it until you tear it apart. In every pad that I've dealt with that had wire, it was on the bottom.

To increase the strenght of your pad, you can dig a footing at the edge where your tractor will drive up on it. Make this about a foot thick, but a shovel width wide. This extra conctre will go a long ways to stop any cracking that might occur.

I just had a job for a cement pad bid on that came to $2.75 a sq ft to have the land graded, forms set, wire mesh and 4 inchs of concrete poured with a broom finish. I didn't want the wire mesh, and while discussing that change, the client changed his mind and we're going to do something different now.

Concrete is around $100 a yard and most trucks can hold 10 yards. Some a bit more, some less. You pay for what you order, so if you need 8.5 yards, that's what you order and pay for. If you are short, you will have to pay a premium for them to come back again with more!!! If I thought I needed 8.5 yards, I'd order 9 and have a plan to where I wanted the extra dumped.

Remember, the cement truck will also want a place to clean out his truck and wash it down. I have them do it on the gravel driveway of my place, or let the client decide where at their place.

For the size of your pour, I'd hire it out. Learning is something that you don't want to do on your first pour. It will take at least three guys to do it right, and if you don't have two friends who know what they are doing, it will be a mess. Remember this, if you mess up on concrete, it's a mess that you will have forever!!!!

You can save money buy grading the land, adding the base material if you need it, setting your forms and tying the rebar together. I paid a crew $500 in labor to pour 30 yards of concrete for my house after doing all the prep work. Concrete at that time was $80 a yard.

Hire it out and have it done right. Watch what they do and you will realize that it's not something you want to tackle. Physical conditioning is only part of it, skill and experience is the important aspect of getting a smooth, flat surface before it dries on you.

Good luck,
Eddie

05-07-2008, 11:10 AM	#13 (permalink)
EddieWalker Super Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Tyler, Texas Posts: 7,722	Re: Concrete Questions 4 inches is plenty thick for a compact tractor. If you get into an RV or somethng really heavy,then you need 6 inches. These are not accurate numbers since a pour is based on the size of lumber used for the forms. A 4 inch pour is actualy 3 1/2 inches thick. Rebar is a must. Putting it on 2ft centers is fine for a parking pad. I'd use number 3 rebar, which is also called 3/8's rebar. Number 4 is 4/8 and so on. Wire is cheaper and easier for a crew to lay, but 99% of the time, it ends up at the bottom of the pour and doesn't do anything. I avoid it like the plague. Those who have it like to think it was done right, but it's not. It will always have areas where somebody steped on it and ends up at the bottom of the pad. Usually you don't know it until you tear it apart. In every pad that I've dealt with that had wire, it was on the bottom. To increase the strenght of your pad, you can dig a footing at the edge where your tractor will drive up on it. Make this about a foot thick, but a shovel width wide. This extra conctre will go a long ways to stop any cracking that might occur. I just had a job for a cement pad bid on that came to $2.75 a sq ft to have the land graded, forms set, wire mesh and 4 inchs of concrete poured with a broom finish. I didn't want the wire mesh, and while discussing that change, the client changed his mind and we're going to do something different now. Concrete is around $100 a yard and most trucks can hold 10 yards. Some a bit more, some less. You pay for what you order, so if you need 8.5 yards, that's what you order and pay for. If you are short, you will have to pay a premium for them to come back again with more!!! If I thought I needed 8.5 yards, I'd order 9 and have a plan to where I wanted the extra dumped. Remember, the cement truck will also want a place to clean out his truck and wash it down. I have them do it on the gravel driveway of my place, or let the client decide where at their place. For the size of your pour, I'd hire it out. Learning is something that you don't want to do on your first pour. It will take at least three guys to do it right, and if you don't have two friends who know what they are doing, it will be a mess. Remember this, if you mess up on concrete, it's a mess that you will have forever!!!! You can save money buy grading the land, adding the base material if you need it, setting your forms and tying the rebar together. I paid a crew $500 in labor to pour 30 yards of concrete for my house after doing all the prep work. Concrete at that time was $80 a yard. Hire it out and have it done right. Watch what they do and you will realize that it's not something you want to tackle. Physical conditioning is only part of it, skill and experience is the important aspect of getting a smooth, flat surface before it dries on you. Good luck, Eddie __________________ My Goals for 2008 1. Fishing and Hunting with my kids. 2. Build my storage Shed. 3. Put my outside access bathroom together. 4. Fence in a quarter acre for Turkeys. 5. Build my gazebo for my front pasture. 6. Finish back pasture and plant it in Bermuda. 7. Start my food plots. 8. Build a comfortable deer stand for two. 9. Build a wood burning fireplace in my home. 10. New flooring in my home. 11. Build a pasture sprayer. 12. Get my old jeep running.