New Driveway questions

[Bigboyskioti]

Hello all, I'm getting ready to have the blacktop drive replaced with concrete. Just wanting to know what kind of labor charge I should expect? I've figured the concrete to be around 124 yards. The drive is 12' x 600' with a parking pad being 32 x 35, and the wife decided it might as well go to the shed also that will be a 40 x 40 pad. I'm tossing around the thickness but will probably go with 4" since nothing of any real size will be on it. So what should I expect for these guys to form and finish?

 

[Soundguy]

4.50$ per SF, @ 6" w/ wire mesh.

( that's what our company is paying for flatwork when we sub stuff out.. etc.. ) Location florida...

Soundguy

 

[Bigboyskioti]

Anybody ever use just fiber? No steel? I had a guy telle to forget the rebar and just use fiber..... It's been 16 years since I worked in the concrete business and don't remember using very much of the fiber.... Any thoughts on this?

 

[crbr]

Anybody ever use just fiber? No steel? I had a guy telle to forget the rebar and just use fiber..... It's been 16 years since I worked in the concrete business and don't remember using very much of the fiber.... Any thoughts on this?

Fiber is a myth for primary reinforcement. Wire mesh is about as much useless as a primary reinforcement. Fiber is for lessening of surface shrinkage cracking. Nothing more. The guy that told you that has not one clue as to what purpose for which fiber is used.

Reinforcement bar, placed properly within the concrete placement area is the proper way to maximize your concrete investment. That and expansion joints on where you prefer the concrete to crack (underlyingly).

There is another thread here somewhere close by that discusses this, if you want to read a bit more. Lots of opinions and discussion in that thread.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/102931-concrete-recipes-preventing-cracks.html

 

[Erik_in_Hoyt]

I have to agree with CRBR on this - fiberglass is pretty much useless for strength - and it makes finishing a pain. I've got a neighbor who went that route for his patio and ended up having to do a second pour to put a 2" cap on it because the surface was rougher than natural slate!

I'm a belt and suspenders kind of guy, so I like to go with rebar and remesh at the same time. Also - are you planning on having the whole slab poured flat, or will you be pouring "microfootings" on the edges? (sort of like curbs, only on the bottom -- helps limit undercutting over the years)
if yes, don't forget to bend your metal into the deep pockets on the sides.

control cuts every 8-10 feet will let you pick where the cracks hit, as well.

 

[Bigboyskioti]

Is that 4.50 per sqft for labor?

 

[Ford850]

$3 - $4 per sq ft to form, pour, finish and seal for 4" in OH. Materials and labor included.

 

[Soundguy]

yeah.. 4.50 for the labor.. the mud is extra to cost.. etc.

Soundguy

 

[Toiyabe]

Most new concrete highway pavements don't have rebar in them (Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement or JPCP). Just dowels across the joints. The key is keeping the joint spacing small, around 15'.

Continously reinforced concrete pavements (CRCP) or jointed reinforced concrete pavements (JRCP) do have rebar, but not for strength just to prevent faulting when they crack. CRCP and JRCP are not very popular any more.

That's about highway pavements, driveways are probably built differently but maybe not for a good reason.

 

[speedy67]

Highways can get away without the additional reiforcement because of the extensive use of chemical admixes (expensive) to reduce the need for extra water in the mix to make it workable. Highway concrete is laid by machine and requires minimal finish work by human hands. Highways also use larger aggregates which reduces further the need for water.

Most concrete really only requires about 12 to 16 gallons per yard (this is a generalization) to cure to a high strength. The extra water that most concrete has (another 12 to 16 gallons) is solely to make it easier to work with.