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Joined: Aug 2005
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Going to pour a 5x10 concrete slab, 3.5" thick. Have a very good tamped base of road base gravel down. Will build frame out of 2x4s and will stake well. Based on calculator I need 29 bags of 80 pound each concrete.
Any advice for mixing this up? Seems like too much to mix in small batches in a wheel barrow but never done it before. Close enough to a Home Depot to rent a mixer easily as well. For a concrete newbie, any obvious things to keep in mind for a small slab?
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 7,398 Likes: 3
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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That's just about 2/3 yd. of concrete. I'd have a truck deliver it....
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Hunter S. Thompson
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Joined: Aug 2015
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Compare bagged mix price and mixer rental against truck delivery. Then factor in what your time/labor is worth. If it was me, I'd have it delivered.
Let's Go Brandon! FJB
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Joined: Aug 2005
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Thanks guys. Making some calls now to see what that would cost out here.
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Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 18,243
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2012
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Good advice above......I don't know about nowday's but back in the dark ages when I was in the field you could get around the small batch up-charge by getting a "clean-up"....which basically meant they'd put a little extra on a load headed your way but they wouldn't guarantee a time frame....best they'd say is "it'll be there sometime today"....it would save you some coin as long as you were gonna be on the job doing other chit anyway.... I don't know if they still do that today but it doesn't hurt to ask... Luck
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Joined: Aug 2005
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I think the building boom in Denver has driven prices sky high on small jobs like this. Backing away from slab and going to 11x7 thick pavers set on sand base. Way cheaper and will work okay for what I need. Thanks for advice guys.
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Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 2,118
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 2,118 |
Trust me, I've placed more than my fair share of concrete in my life. If you're doing it by yourself, call a truck and have it delivered. You'll get a much better product due to it being consistent. It's going to take quite a while to mix that amount. I just got done pouring a footing on about 75 feet of fence that took 60 bags. I could mix 2.5 bags at a time, then wheelbarrow it over. I added an additional scoop of Portland cement in for some added strength. I poured it in 8' sections as that's about all the time I had in the evenings after work. I wish I could have gotten a truck where I needed it. What took several weeks to complete could have been knocked out in an easy day.
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 28,750 Likes: 14
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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Hand mixing a 5 x10 slab would be awful.
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Joined: Aug 2012
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 2,913 |
Pay...and get it delivered. Hardest you have to do is wheelbarrow it..unless its close enough to trough it off the truck. Coloring it is my problem ..if you need a sandy tint..thats where the cement company can be helpful. Also some fencing can strengthen the whole pour and make it last long. Good Luck!
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Joined: Dec 2010
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when i was a kid my old man made every damn thing out of concrete. we had a big old mixer and that thing got a work out. my old homestead still has the sidewalk we put in 45 years later. that thing is about a foot thick and 30 feet or more long. i remember it well. but these days if its more than a little pad, i'm calling the truck. a 5x10 would be a lot in a mixer and dang near ridiculous in a mortar box or wheel barrow.
My diploma is a DD214
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Joined: Aug 2005
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OP
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After reading the replies and getting some estimates, I proceeded to lay an 8" deep road base foundation and put in flagstones for the mutts. They are inside dogs and when they are left in the kennel, they have only pissed inside it twice in 10 months as neighbors are good about letting them out once or twice daily if I am gone.
So getting spooked off the concrete actually resulted in a kennel area that matches my patio area better and will be just as functional. If they lived in it, I'd have gone with a concrete truck on it for sure.
Now to rig up a shade/rain guard for it.
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