Pouring Concrete

Hey Tim,

I will be having a continous foundation with a crawl space. The truck will be able to get right next to the forms. Can one person handle this sort of job or would it require more people? I would think that this is the easiest type of poor..

Will,

You need several people..... My foundation pours usually had 6 to 8 men working at a time.

Tim,
I've poured only a few slabs. I'm looking at pouring a 4.5 cu. yd extension driveway. They will occasionally park a car on it. Should I excavate it 4" or 6" with 2" of compacted stone or pebbles. And put mesh or rebar in it.

Jason,
You need to read ALL of my past Concrete columns. There is more to it than that. All of your questions will be answered, plus you will discover all sorts of other helpful tips.

Tim,

I've just spent an informative evening reading many of your columns. Great job and wonderful resource!

I must replace a garage floor due to point of sale housing inspection.

A 2" slab of asphalt was put on what is now 85 year old concrete... I was able to remove most of the asphalt in chunks!

Here's my issue... the existing floor has sunk and cracked in numerous places and must be jack hammered out.

However, the driveway has asphalt that has been built up over the years by many layers.

If I am to build up the concrete to match the asphalt, the concrete will be higher than the sills which will let water sit on them and rot.

I probably have a decent solution, as there is a drain in the middle of the garage floor.

Is the 1/8" per foot slope you talked about set in stone, or can I slope it more (I may have to because of the sill/drain relationship)

Is it okay to have a slope from the driveway into the garage leading to the drain? I may not have a choice here unless I jack up the entire garage!

When I jack hammer the floor, do I simply destroy the drain pipe and then replace?

If I go with a higher slope to the drain, should I go with a lower "slump" number?

Thank you in advance for your time and attention.

Bruce

Bruce,
Slope the new floor to that drain. You should get a backhoe to remove some of the asphalt outdoors to stop the negative slope into the garage. That is bad.

man, if you need to ask what challenges you will have trucking 6 yards of concrete 100 feet, then all I have to say is DONT DO IT.

I'm looking to pour a patio slab of 825 square feet. It will be L shaped around bordering the back of the house and between the side of the house and side of the garage. I will eventually be putting down some sort of flagstone or tile. How thick should I go to ensure minimal cracking, I have it at 8" to overkill. Should I go with strictly rebar? Note I live in Norther Ontario. I also have a 6'x6' slab on one of the inside corners of the house, probably only 4" thick. Should I try to tie into it, or should I just excavate it and keep it all the same.

I am trying to finish my patio, and I read that it needs a concrete slab, we are going to rent a mixer, its more expensive for us to have a truck come here, so we have to do it ourselves, but I want to make sure we buy the right stuff to make this concrete slab. So what would we use Portland Cement, mixed with water , or would we mix Portland Cement and Sand and then mix it to make this concrete slab? HELP PLEASE

I'm planning on pouring a floor inside a building. What is the best way to spread the concrete and screed it off up next to the exterior wall?

How thick does my concrete need to be that I have to reenforce the concrete with wire mess/rebar. I am installing a 16x20 pation, nothing heavy will be plase on it(HOT TUB,ECT) Please help because I have two Contractors one saids no, and the other says yes help please.

Thank You
Ron

hi there!! we had a patio poured 3 days ago,and the sidewalk just yesterday.4 guys and concrete truck and 80% these guys were dying ...yesterday. very,very hard work.i had 2 young guys dig the dirt out for the sidewalk abt 50' and they are in rough shape too.lol good luck!!MY QUESTION IS (ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO WATER....THE NEW CONCRETE??A FRIEND JUST STOPPED BY AND ASKED WHY WE ARE NOT HOSEING???IS THIS A GOOD IDEA??

should i jack up the garage to pour new slab or cut the concrete along the bottom plate? if i do the latter, should i pin the new slab or let it float?

"Steel mesh is often laid on the grade, and it must be pulled up with a large hook to get the steel into the center of the slab."

If the mesh is not within the top 1/3 of the slab, you are throwing your money away. Even when you are able to pull it up into the top third, chances are it will fall back down through the concrete, rendering it useless. "Chairs" work better than trying to hook the concrete, though they are a larger inconvenience. Better yet, ask for synthetic fibers from the concrete supplier. Many experienced masons do not believe in their ability even though there is more than ample scientific evidence to back them up.

Neither mesh nor fibers will STOP cracking. They both work only to CONTROL the cracking. Cutting your joints is necessary.

I just poured a patio slab a wk ago and put tarps on it for cover in temp's at freezing. I left the tarps on for three days and when I took them off, there are different colored gray splotches all over it.
How do I get rid of the splotches??