Concrete Patio

[rmk700]

When you say that you are getting the patio prepped, what does that mean? Will it be attached or touching the house? Will you drill holes into your existing slab and epoxy rebar into those holes to tie the patio to the house? Are you using rebar or wire mesh? Wire is cheaper, but it's pure junk and impossible to keep in the middle of the concrete. Anybody who says they pull it up while spreading the concrete is misleading you because they just walk right over it again and push it back down. For a pad, I would only use rebar, and it would be set on chairs. I do not trust anything else, and I wouldn't rely on anything cheaper of faster. Rebar is proven and it works every time.

At $5 a square foot, that's a good price if it includes the concrete.

Be sure to get multiple bids if you don't already know the guy you are hiring. In every case that I've been hired to fix what others did, they guy they hired was the only one they talked to.

Eddie

Prepped meaning, all the dirt grading and base work. They'll supply the concrete, do the forming, pore, and finish.

It is between and against my house and separate garage. I was thinking keeping slab separate by using felt and making a expansion joint along house and garage rather than doweling rebar in. Bad idea? I do want to dowel the two steps though.

 

[EddieWalker]

Keeping them separate with felt is a very good idea. An expansion board is even better. But you also want to tie the slab to the existing buildings. If you don't, it's just a matter of time until the slab moves.

Like everything, the foundation is the most important part. Getting it compacted is critical. When I worked on construction jobs in CA back in the 80's, we mixed water with the soil before spreading it, then compacted with vibratory rollers. After it was built up, it was cut down to grade, then tested. If we didn't get 95% or better, it was dug out and done again. Too much water is worse then not enough, but you have to have a certain amount of moisture in the soil to get it to compact.

If you don't get the soil compacted, it will settle on you over time and there will be a void below the pad that will lead to cracking. Rebar will help this and a lot of the time, nobody is even aware that it's there. I see this in houses when I do a remodel. I also see wire on the dirt under the concrete 100% of the time it was used.

Eddie