Can I do concrete projects myself?

   / Can I do concrete projects myself? #21  
Can't you get redi-mix you pick up in a towable trailer and pour yourself? I've seen that mentioned somewhere on TBN and thought it would be a good compromise to getting concrete delivered and having it poured.

Around here, 6-sack redi-mix is $129/ yard in a towable trailer with a small gas engine to keep it turning.

The same material in a concrete truck is $100/yard. If you get less than 2.5 yards, there is a $50 short load charge. The real concrete truck has a chute for concrete placement, and is just much easier to work with.

Essentially, if I need 3/4 yard or less, it is the towable trailer, 1 yard or more, concrete truck.

I only mix it in a mixer if it is less than about 1/4 yard.

Reg:

I don't think anyone is proposing to mix sacks in a FEL or a wheelbarrow with a shovel.

Redi-mix is usually wet, premixed concrete. Getting it into forms and finishing it is still very demanding physical labor.

Ooops, I had misunderstood "towable trailer" - took it to mean just a utility trailer to go and get 80 lb paper sacks of dry mix in.
We DID do a couple of loads in my FEL bucket this year, but only to fill between some ramp slabs at the lake.
(by "We" I mean the "I" was mostly on the tractor seat and the "they" were doin' the mixin' - "I" saw "them" sweat, so I figgered it was hard work)
 
   / Can I do concrete projects myself? #22  
Here's a picture of a one yard concrete buggy that I'm picking up at United Rentals. Price varies all over the country, so you'll have to figure that out for your area. When comparing the price per yard of this and in a cement truck, be sure to find out the minimum charge and if there's an out of the way charge. Here, it's 4 yards that you have to buy. If you only use two yards, you are still charged for 4 yards. On top of that, I get hit with a $50 out of the area fee because I'm out in the country and it costs them extra to have to come out here. It is what it is.

I've found that the buggies are good for small pours and also those hard to get to locations. I did five yards for the footings on an addition that I put on a house this past spring with the buggies because of the location of the addition. Down an alley and through a small gate. It was either that or take down the fence or rent a pumper.

Eddie
 

Attachments

  • Cement buggy getting loaded.jpg
    Cement buggy getting loaded.jpg
    54.2 KB · Views: 504
   / Can I do concrete projects myself? #23  
I'd have to say a lot depends on how young you are and/or how good your strength and aerobic conditioning is. I've done many smaller areas by hand, but most involved larger scale equipment. Last year I topped the 1000 yard mark at my place! For big commercial sites, that isn't all that much. For an individual homeowner, it's a bit much. For my larger jobs I've had huge pumper trucks (over 100' reach) here with a dozen or more full concrete trucks lined up down the street waiting their turn to empty their load into the pumper. The concrete truck drivers love that because they don't have to get a single chute off their truck and only get out of their truck to hose the one chute out.

About the only thing that I found that I'd do different than what has been explained already is use sheets of wire mesh in the smaller jobs and not rebar. The wire mesh I use comes in large sheets and cannot be rolled due to the thickness of the wire. Basically what it is amounts to 1/4" rebar made into 8'X16' sheets. None of my concrete is less than 6" thick, so all this wire mesh is held up off the bottom by old bricks laid down before the wire is put down. Using the wire that comes in a roll seems to be a complete waste to me. I've removed some slabs that were only about 20 years old and the wire was pretty well gone. It had completely rusted apart inside the concrete and was offering no support at all. I have used 'footers' on all edges along with #5 rebar. Even in my barn where I store heavy equipment and run fork trucks (10" 5000psi concrete) pretty well all of my concrete has developed some cracks. To me the big issue is to make sure that the concrete doesn't move where it cracks. In other words, I don't want any part of the slab being pushed up vertically than other concrete. All the rebar and wire should prevent that.

I included some pictures of a couple of the larger pours. One shows the "rebar matting" I talked about. In another you can see the forms for the concrete over my bridge consisted of a 2X12 on top of a 2X6. I didn't get any pictures of the 2000 pounds of #6 rebar I welded up and put into that portion because I was just too tired to move.
 

Attachments

  • CIMG0388.jpg
    CIMG0388.jpg
    566.9 KB · Views: 231
  • CIMG0409.jpg
    CIMG0409.jpg
    1 MB · Views: 379
  • rebar wire.JPG
    rebar wire.JPG
    239.5 KB · Views: 277
  • 234.jpg
    234.jpg
    628.2 KB · Views: 340
  • 016.JPG
    016.JPG
    253.3 KB · Views: 226
  • bridge beginning pour.JPG
    bridge beginning pour.JPG
    196.2 KB · Views: 314
   / Can I do concrete projects myself? #24  
I have 2 projects that I am wanting to work on that involve concrete pouring. With the economy the way it is and the cost of labor is this something I can do? Wade

Wade,

It's been interesting, and informative reading all the approaches to your question!!! It seems we're all in agreement that's it a lot of hard work no matter what you do! What did you end up doing?
 
Last edited:
   / Can I do concrete projects myself? #25  
I've got a buddy that owns a concrete on demand business. He's got a big truck that carries the material needed to mix up to twelve yards of concrete. He shows up and pumps what you want and you pay only for what is pumped. It's a little more expensive but the price he gave me was only twenty dollars a yard more than a whole pre mixed truck load. Not bad I thought. The neat thing is that you can mix and pump until the job or you are done, whichever comes first. It might leave a joint but it beats dumping the whole load and then finding out you are out of steam.

The price on that Harbor Freight concrete vibrator isn't too bad, by the way. I could have used that when I poured my foundation a couple of years ago. The boy and I poured fifty seven yards that day. It didn't need to be finished but the vibrator would have helped to level it in the ditches.
 
   / Can I do concrete projects myself? #26  
Expansion joints. ;) Gauranteed to crack....may as well crack in a designated spot. :D


On the PHYSICAL question; watch the pros.
They have the pour directed a bit uphill and let it "come to them", they don't work it that much.
Don't wear yourself out trying to move it with rakes and shovels, a good delivery truck guy will work with you to minimize your work.

I think about the only point missed was to be sure to include........ hmmmm, forgot the name.
I guess they're stress relief lines ?
The point is that there WILL be stress and you want to allow big slabs to break if they have to where you prefer, so every so often put the shallow grooves across that make it look like paving slabs. I think its every 4 ft., but check on that.
Someone help me with vocabulary here ?
 
   / Can I do concrete projects myself? #27  
Concrete work seems simple in theory; but what little I've done has been a royal PITA! I've used the concrete on demand for a job that required about 1-cubic yard. It was well worth it to me, especially when I was thinking of using the United Rental 1-cubic yard trailer mounted mixer. Remember, you'll have about a 90-minute window once that little mixer is loaded to get it to the job site and pour the concrete before its working time has expired. From the nearest United Rental with concrete mixer trailers and a batch plant to my place is about 30-minutes on a good traffic day. That shoots down 1/3 of your working time right there just getting the mix to your place.

I also second the use of rebar as rolled up mesh is going to be a PITA to get to lay right before the pour, and it will end up on the bottom of the slab where it does no good from the concrete guys walking on it.

Since you are going to use the slabs outside, that means you need to put a broom finish on it for slip resistance. Don't forget the control joints to control the inevitable cracking. Also, if you are pouring the slab up against your house foundation, be sure to add isolation joint material between the foundation and slab. These joints are about 1/2" - 3/4" thick and I've seen pre-cut materials for this purpose; but most builders in my area use homosote(?) for this as its cheap. This stuff is essentailly thick cardboard for lack of a better description.
 
   / Can I do concrete projects myself? #28  
For larger slabs nothing beats rebar held up by rocks or bricks. But for small slabs I've used chicken wire to help hold it all together. The premade sheets of wire mesh tend to be also pre-rusted and I've found them to rust out and stop providing the reenforcing they are in there for. Chicken wire is galvenized and just doesn't rust.

I learned this when I had to pull up an old 4'x4' section of sidewalk so I could dig through the area for a new construction. Tried the old lever it up and hit with a sledge hammer to break into pieces and it just chipped. After an hour of chipping I finally got to where I could see the chicken wire. That slab was dragged with the tractor to the pond and is now a nice place to set a chair on.
 
   / Can I do concrete projects myself? #29  
What Eddie said about the work being physical. Only tackle concrete work if you are in good physical shape. People tend to underestimate it. You get started just fine, but you will tire. As as the concrete threatens to set up, you get in a hurry, making things much worse. It's very easy to run out of wind at the most critical time.


Me and a couple of friends poured and finished a 20x30' pad, and it just about wore us out. But it came out fine. Get help even on a real small job.

Ya sure you can create concrete projects your self but in certain condition

1) You have enough time do the work.
2) You must require some necessary tools.
3) You must know to make the mixture.
 
   / Can I do concrete projects myself? #30  
If you have not enough knowledge about this than my personal advise is nooo.
because 1/2 knowledge is equivalent to poison. (don't fear here is just a proverb):mad:
 

Tractor & Equipment Auctions

2000 INTERNATIONAL 4300 17FT ROLLBACK TRUCK (A51222)
2000 INTERNATIONAL...
Bad Boy Outlaw XP61 Zero Turn Mower (A48082)
Bad Boy Outlaw...
2012 Case IH Patriot 3330 Self Propelled Sprayer (A50657)
2012 Case IH...
2005 OVERLAND TANK KILL TRAILER (A50854)
2005 OVERLAND TANK...
2014 MACK CHU TANDEM AXLE DAY CAB (A51219)
2014 MACK CHU...
BUSH HOG 2810CD SINGLE FLEX WING ROTARY MOWER (A51406)
BUSH HOG 2810CD...
 
Top