Concrete prices per yard

[Gary Fowler]

Actually the correct terminology is PLACE it. You dont really pour it or lay it if you are smart, you place it where you want it so you dont have to shovel it or use a concrete"comealong" to move it from place to place.

 

[Gary Fowler]

As for pricing, there are so many variables with concrete, you need to specify what strength you want (most slabs use either 3000 or 4000) and I like to spec 4000 and hope the supplier gives you what you ask for. They will short you if they know you arent going to pull a slump and make test cylinders and lets face it how many homeowners do that. Then you need to decide if you need a plasticizer to make it more fluid without adding a bunch of water which decreases the strength. What kind of cement do you want, type 3 or do you need type 4 for sulfate and chloride resistance. Do you want nylon mesh particles in it to help with crack resistance, do you want a retarder to keep it from flashing off (need this if pouring in the heat of summer). All these add a significant amount to the cost. Your local supplier will tell you what it cost and he may even give the the contractors discount if you are ordering a full 8-10 yard truck or multiples of that. If not, you will be paying extra for the trucking for partial loads.

 

[hizoot]

Actually the correct terminology is PLACE it. You dont really pour it or lay it if you are smart, you place it where you want it so you dont have to shovel it or use a concrete"comealong" to move it from place to place.

oops...your right! Sorry. My tongue got behind my eyetooth and I couldnt see what i was saying

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I was told the other day it was in the low eighties right now. That's about a twenty percent drop from a year ago when we "poured" over a hundred yards.

One of the problems with terminology here is you have at least a national audience, most of the time it's international. Correcting terms is like correcting spelling on the internet... there's only one person that looks like, well,.........

 

[gregfender]

Thanks for all the info. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I should have been a little more specific...considering you guys are a wealth of info.

I am building a small pole barn, 16x20. Since it's not a huge place, I wanted to go with concrete instead of a gravel floor in hope that i will finish up the inside and eventually heat and cool it so I will have a working shop. About the heavest thing I will be putting in it is a tractor - no more than ~4000lbs.

I live in the western NC foothills and while we do get some cold days, extreme temps are rare. The site has good soil and good drainage.

That being said, I was thinking of a 4" pad with a 6" to 8" apron. Since I have never done concrete work before, I am going to prep and level the site, put up form boards, then let the professionals do their thing. Of course if some of the other steps are simple, I might do more to keep the cost down.

Any info/help/tips, etc would be HUGELY appreciated.

 

[George2615]

Mine was slightly larger than yours but I added an 18 x 32 pole barn plus a 2 x 10 apron attached to the back of my garage. It took about 13 yard which cost about $1200. I used 4000 psi fiberglass reinforced mix. I paid the pros (friends of a friend) to finish it at a good price. I also did all the prep work, and framing myself.

 

[rdln]

Watching UFC sat night with a buddy who works at a large union const place. He has alot of union provided toughman paraphinalia, his stocking hat is embroidered "Pour N Crete"
I am pretty sure its called pouring concrete round here.

 

[CurlyDave]

...I am pretty sure its called pouring concrete round here.

I think concrete is "poured" all over the west coast.

I am not a "pro", but a very advanced amateur -- my lifetime accomplishment is about 250 yards on my own, and a lot more if I count the stuff I hired pros to do for me. At this point in my life I would rather hire a couple of day laborers to help with forming for wall and footers. For slabs I would also need a finisher on the day of the pour.

At least a crew I hire will do it my way instead of giving me a bunch of lip about how we don't really need doobies--just pull up the bar (a failure every time it is done), or that rebar doesn't really have to be clean, or that mesh is as good as rebar, or that diesel sprayed on the forms doesn't hurt if it gets on the rebar, and on and on.

 

[terry.dinerman]

Could anyone give me a general idea what the cost per yard is for concrete. I am looking to pour the floor of pole barn.

Gregfender-

In my part of Texas (between Huntsville and College Station) you can expect to start at about $110 for 3000 psi mix and then the sky is the limit as you add retarders, colorants, air entraining additives, fibers, increase the psi etc....

You can also expect small jobs to have a "short load" fee for anything less than a full truck, mileage charges for more than 15 miles or so delivery, and about $60 an hour or part thereof "waiting" charges if you keep the truck waiting more than 10 min to unload.

As someone who has poured more concrete out of the cuffs of his dungarees than most folks have walked over, I would HIGHLY recommend you find a well-established local batch plant and go visit around afternoon coffee time with a box of donuts under your arm and see what they have to offer...

...batching concrete is as much art as an exact science....an experienced operator will save you money in the long run by providing just the right mix for your particular application.

You may be surprised to find some of the operators are more than willing to work with a smaller "owner-builder" and work your project into the schedule along with his larger projects....and if you group a few smaller projects together you can avoid the "short load" fees....

To avoid the "waiting" fees, tight scheduling is paramount...you are going to need a lot of help "pouring/placing/putting/sticking/dumping/pumping/setting" this stuff...and labor is the costly issue here...even a bunch of good friends at least needs to be fed and "watered"....a good operator will make you or break you...

Do as much prep work as you can...if you have not done a large pour before, a trip to the Big Box store or the internet will provide a torrent of books on the subject...if you already know how to move dirt with your tractor, you are halfway there, and putting up form-boards, installing some plastic, rebar or re-wire and getting ready for the trucks to arrive AIN'T rocket science...

Check around with your friends and family...you might be lucky enough to find someone who has done this work and would be willing to be your 'boots on the ground" advisor...

A couple of Rules....

Always overbuild a LITTLE...put in a little heavier or closer spaced bar or wire or buy a little richer mix when you can afford it, but don't get carried away, you're building a slab to park a tractor on, not the Interstate...

....and always keep enough plastic on hand to cover your pour when (not IF) it rains....

Anyway....welcome aboard, good luck on the project and keep posting...

Terry

 

[Gary Fowler]

Pouring concrete is common name for it on construction projects, however the guide for all concrete work ACI (American Concrete Institute) in their many CODE books that governs everything from design to how to put it in the form calls it PLACING. So when talking to an engineer you are placing, if talking to the guy down in the form on the construction site, he will be pouring concrete while the guy on the superslab that is dumping 0" slump concrete from a dump truck into machine to auger it in to place, vibrate it and scread it smooth may indeed be laying concrete.