Price for concrete slab:Fair or Ripoff

[THS]

So after 10 years, we're finally moving forward with our shed plans. At least I THINK we will. Here are the basics:

36' wide x 60' long x 16' high. Approx 20' of one end of the shed will contain dog kennel/bathroom/mechanical room and stuff like that. Above this area will be a bonus room with a vaulted ceiling which may turn out to be a workout room or my getaway place. The equipment storage area will be 36' wide by 40' long. I'm putting in two doors that are are 12' wide by 14' high to accomodate a future camper or motorhome. Even with a motorhome in the shed, I think I'll still have enough room for all my tractor/loader/mowers/snowplow and have room for some woodworking equipment. So this is the plan anyways.

Now that spring is around the corner, I'm working on getting my bid for the concrete slab. A guy I know gave me an initial ballpark of $3/square foot last summer for my pad, 5" thick with fiber mesh. My calculations came to about $6500. I thought that was pretty fair. I'm sure I heard him right, and I am almost POSITIVE this was for a finished product. Today, we got a WRITTEN estimate from him, to the tune of almost $12,000! This is what he is proposing: 5" thick slab with a 12" x 12" grade beam and fiber mesh. It will have two rows of #4 rerod in the footing.

Does this sound right? $12 grand for a 36x60 pad? I've barely started and already i'm over budget on paper.... I went to school with this guy, and I trust his work. It's the price that I'm worried about. Any opinions?

Oh yeah, I'll do pictures as often as I can.

 

[DUMBDOG]

The three dollars per square foot was just for the floor and not including the footings is my guess. Six years ago when I did mine, it was $2 a square foot for four inch with fiberglass mesh. No problems with cracking, even with my 20,000 pound backhoe parked inside.

 

[flusher]

So after 10 years, we're finally moving forward with our shed plans. At least I THINK we will. Here are the basics:

36' wide x 60' long x 16' high. Approx 20' of one end of the shed will contain dog kennel/bathroom/mechanical room and stuff like that. Above this area will be a bonus room with a vaulted ceiling which may turn out to be a workout room or my getaway place. The equipment storage area will be 36' wide by 40' long. I'm putting in two doors that are are 12' wide by 14' high to accomodate a future camper or motorhome. Even with a motorhome in the shed, I think I'll still have enough room for all my tractor/loader/mowers/snowplow and have room for some woodworking equipment. So this is the plan anyways.

Now that spring is around the corner, I'm working on getting my bid for the concrete slab. A guy I know gave me an initial ballpark of $3/square foot last summer for my pad, 5" thick with fiber mesh. My calculations came to about $6500. I thought that was pretty fair. I'm sure I heard him right, and I am almost POSITIVE this was for a finished product. Today, we got a WRITTEN estimate from him, to the tune of almost $12,000! This is what he is proposing: 5" thick slab with a 12" x 12" grade beam and fiber mesh. It will have two rows of #4 rerod in the footing.

Does this sound right? $12 grand for a 36x60 pad? I've barely started and already i'm over budget on paper.... I went to school with this guy, and I trust his work. It's the price that I'm worried about. Any opinions?

Oh yeah, I'll do pictures as often as I can.

In late Jun05 I had a slab poured for my 24'x42' garage/shop. Slab is 6" thick, 3000 psi concrete, 12"x18" footing with two #5 rebar rings, and #4 rebar in the slab criss-crossed on 24" centers. Cost was $7500. Had to pay a few bucks more per yard for the concrete because we needed to mix it with ice water to keep it from setting up too fast in the 90F+ heat. We poured early in the morning and then I spent the rest of the day watering down the surface while the concrete set.

 

[EddieWalker]

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to hire friends and family. Don't get me wrong, it works out great some of the time, but it also ends relationships too. I get allot of jobs to come in and redo what a family member did, or never finished. There is usually a conflict or assumption there that doesn't work out and leads to frustration and anger. This is true in building, remodeling and especially in buying real estate.

When I work for family or a good friend, I work for free. Usually they shove money at me, and sometimes I even accept it depending on the situation, but I never ask, and I never expect anything.

I think your "friend" is a little on the high side. $3 is a fair price for a 4 inch slab with a footing all the way around. $6 a foot is taking advantage. I know concrete and rebar have gone up in price, but it hasn't doubled or even come close. I'm thinking it's up about 25% in the last two years. $4 a foot would be what I'd think was top dollar.

I don't think you need a 5 inch thick pad, but if you want it, then go for it. It's just more mud. It's not any harder to work prepair for.

First I'd check around for some other prices. I could be totally wrong and not knowing your area, I probably am. But you need to be sure of what the going rate is for what you want done.

When I pour a slab, I either level it myself, or hire it done. It's about a grand to have a crew come in and level off a pad your size.

Then I set the forms, dig the footings, run the drains and utilty lines and set the rebar. It's all simple to do, but labor intensive. A contractor has to pay a crew to do all these things, plus put a buck or two in his pocket to make sure it's getting done. None of it is hard or very dificult. Just repetitve and time consuming.

When the pad is ready to pour, I call my guy and tell him to pick a date and lets pour. He hires some day labor and charges me $500 for the day. I pay for the concrete and all materials. Never try to pour a pad that large on your own, or with friends. It's not rocket scince, but it is very physical work. If you don't have enough people, and they don't know what to do, you will have a disaster on your hands.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[GT2]

I suggest you get about 6 quotes, and tell them it is up for bid.
When I built my new 1200sft garage ( slab and 2' walls) + 800sft house addition ( 3' footer walls ) I was quoted from $15,000 to $38,000!
Some people will take you for a ride if you let them!

 

[whodat90]

I'm with Eddie. If it's for someone I know, whether it's filling their tires or replacing an engine, the price is a case of beer. That keeps it friendly. If they want to pay someone, I direct them to a contractor or mechanic. As soon as money exchanges hands between friends, it stops being friendly. For the same reason I won't sell or buy a vehicle from a close friend. Get a bunch of bids, hire it out. That said, tomorrow I'm pouring my slab with my uncle's help (he's the one that knows what he's doing).

 

[therebarely]

We pay $210.00 per yard for concrete installed either as flat work or walls. You could use that as your estimator. Concrete work is better left to a professional, especially with the cost of ready mix.

 

[bg71361]

I did a 30x70, 5" thick with 4000 psi concrete. I bought and installed all the rebar, wire mesh etc. All they did was furnish the concrete and finish it. My price started at $6500, but because his estimate was off it used more concrete than expected. Or it could have been the fact that my grading of the stone was off a little more in places, anyway we ended up settleing for the final price of $7000.

Good Luck
Bill

 

[ALHILLDIRT]

Just poured a 24 x 30 slab, 4" thick w/turn down footings for a metal building. 4000 psi, fiber reinforced. In place $3.05 per square foot. I had prices all the way up to $4.60 per square foot. Funny thing is they were all using the same concrete supplier, and I already knew the cost of the mix. Long story short it pays to shop around for the contractor.

 

[Shirleyshusband]

Just yesterday I started working up a price for my future shed. 34 x 70, 4" thick w/12" x 16 grade beam. Concrete alone came up to just over $3000. I'd guess that price would double by the time you add gravel and rebar. Your price sounds kind of high, I'd get a few more estimates.