Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Concrete guys.....

I have a 24' wide slab to pour for a driveway. I have done a lot of hand screeding and roller screeding, but never tried a static screed.

I have a piece of 6" I beam that can easily span this with acceptable deflection.

My question is, can I drag this as a screed without vibration and expect to clean up the air behind it with a bull float? I will be brooming this and would like to mono pour and saw cut it. Guessing about 4" slump should fly.

I've never screeded without some form of agitation.

Thanks in advance.

It will work if you have enough man power to move the iron.

You will have to work it back and forth and forward at the same time. I’d rent an aluminum screed if possible, bull float too.

24' is a sizeable span to screed. Why not run a form down the middle and rod off 12' at a time? Pulling the form as you go.

I'd also have that center form a little high so you have a slight crown to avoid birdbaths.

I have 2% in the grade for flow. I happen to have this i beam sitting right next to my shop and thought I may be able to put it to use. A quad with a winch on each end pulling from the bottom flange makes sense to me....but as said, I've never tried it.

I wouldn't want to drag a wide flange along as a screed rod.
I agree that breaking up the 24' into smaller chunks would be the ticket.
You could go 2/12' or 3/8' sections.

The age-old method is to use "screed bar hooks"
You'll need some steel stakes (24" or 18") and some bar hooks.
You have to use a 2x4 for your rod and another 2x4 lays into the hooks so the bottom of the 2x4 is grade.



If you're going to do more than a one time deal, this is a nice set-up because you can use a magnesium rod.
A little nicer way of doing it is to use 3/8" x 2" x 10' flat bar for your screed and then you can use a magnesium rod instead of a 2x4 rod
This time, the TOP of the screed is grade and your rod slides over the top....you don't have to monkey with special-cut 2x4's and putting "ears" on 2x4's like you do for the other method described above.
The bar hooks for this method look like this :


So depending on my crew's capability, I might entertain breaking it up into 3/8' strips. Don't do one strip all the way down.
Keep the full 24' wide coming along together so you avoid cold joints.
If I had two good rod guys and two good guys on muck rakes, I might go 12' bays.
12' is a long pull if you don't have guys that know how to "muck" for you.

Edit :
There's nothing that says you can't use 1x2 wood stakes to hold your 2x4 srceeds .
Just not as fast as using the hooks.

At least 100 replies.

Yepp...

Concrete
Sure made me a lot of money over the years.
And we like to talk about it.

Sounds like a cluster to me... just use a 12 or 16ft straight 2x4 to rod with.

Kent

I've helped with a motorized vibratory screed.

That seems like a lot of steel to be dragging back and forth. I wonder what that thing weighs.

When I was working for a guy doing basement and garage floors, we put grade stakes every 6' to 8'. We had a home made screed out of an 8' 2"x 4" with 2 handles on it. You screed from one grade stake to the next. Then bull float it. We didn't vibrate it.

6 Bag, 6 air mix if your in the north.
3 slump, why fight it.
Don’t get cute with devices, when concrete goes it goes.
2- 12’ pours, chop in the seam.
2x4 will bend and dig, I’d rent an aluminum it will help.
Pour, bull float, edge, hit it with a Fresno a couple times, broom, go have a beer.
Most importantly have more manpower than you need.

Good luck, I’m pulling for ya.

Osky

* edit to add a good shovel man in the mud ahead of the screed makes all the difference.

230#

When we roller screed the bridges we roll, float touch with a frezno and broom.

I rebuilt the bidwell that crashed on Graham in boise when they were filming the commercial.

Pulling #230 doesn't scare me, I just want to make sure I can float the whole thing.

Hire good help get it done right, because once it sets up what's there is there forever.

It's 24ft wide but how long is it?

Kent

What's the backup plan if you get started and it doesn't work out like you planned?

What could go wrong ???? I don’t like experimenting with things that get hard like concrete, epoxy, asphalt, etc…….24’ is a big span….. got knee boards/sliders??? Power trowel ? I would divide into smaller pours.

If the job is too small for the Laser Screed, my finishers would want to use their power screed.
They would use a power screed for the OP's job.
It is yet another way to do a smaller job and the local rental yard may have one for rent.
It takes a higher skilled crew and a laser for spot-checking elevation is really a must.