Do I dare a DIY concrete job?

[jlee]

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/concrete-driveway-1

I was quoted $630ish delivered for 6 yards of concrete (16'x30'x4" plus lift footers), but that's truck only. No prep/finish. Is this something I should even think about doing, or should I pay someone who does concrete for a living? Also, should I do 6" instead of 4"? Most lifts call for 4" in existing slabs, but more if it's a dedicated slab. I was thinking 4" with 8" footers on lift bolting points, but I could do the whole thing 6" if need be (~$300 extra in concrete).

This is AZ dirt but the top several inches are really soft and sandy. Digging it out shouldn't be a huge PITA, but renting a Bobcat for prep might make life suck less.

 

[JCH13]

I did a bunch of reading and asked a lot of questions about this a while ago. Consensus was: hire someone. By the time you prep the site, build the forms, and buy or rent all the tools you'll need, the savings will not be worth the spent time and non-professional results.

 

[exdeath]

What? But pulling an engine on sand is SO much fun!

You just need go cart dune wheels for your hoist.

 

[jlee]

Spent time doesn't concern me, but non-professional results do. I'll have to do some more price-checking, then.

 

[vi edit]

What will work against you is AZ weather. That arid heat will make the concrete set up *FAST*. You need several guys pulling and working it and possibly even keeping it wet down while you pour.

6 yards is a decent chunk of concrete. That's a 2-3 man job in most conditions. Maybe more if it's 100+ and dry. Or you just might have to chunk it down into 3 smaller pours to allow you time to work it.

 

[jlee]

Perhaps waiting for next winter would be a good idea, then?

 

[vi edit]

Preferably. If you can get temps into the 70's and keep it there for a few weeks that's ideal. It won't set up too soon and gives you a long, solid cure. It will make for a stronger slab in the long run.

 

[CPA]

My dad and I did 3 yards about 10 years ago. Had truck deliver it. I over 1 yard by myself with bags of cement, a hose and a hoe. Never Again.

 

[drnickriviera]

If you DIY i'd suggest splitting the pour in half. Do a 8X30. It's going to be easier to screed. If you don't have much help, cut it in half again 8x15. Then you'll pay more for the concrete because of the delivery charge. And yes if you've never poured, wait for cooler weather. Last thing you want is for the concrete to set up while you've only finished half.

We poured probably 30yds for the driveway at our last house. I think it took 4 days of pouring and we had 6 people there. 3 who knew how to finish. I'd only pour your job if you had lots of extra labor and had nothing else to do. A crew could pour it all in a day and use their power trowels to finish it. If you want to save some money, you could excavate,build the forms, lay remesh and rerod, vapor barrier etc. That's something anyone can do with some construction skills

 

[TridenT]

Spent time doesn't concern me, but non-professional results do. I'll have to do some more price-checking, then.

God damn, same here.

I'd probably hire a professional since I've heard a lot about how you're supposed to hire a pro for laying concrete. (And making sure you hired a REAL pro with great reviews since a lot of guys are bad at it)

Looking at it on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUgiHghs8vs This looks like a nightmare for one person and possibly expensive because of all the tools required.

 

[Greenman]

Flat work is easy to do, and very easy to screw up. If the slab gets away from you, you're going to have an eighteen thousand pound rock that you'll have to remove to put in your new driveway.

Have a pro do it, it's worth the money. I've been a contractor for 28 years, and I still sub out flat work when it has to look really good.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Pouring your own concrete for anything more than fence posts trips the part of my brain that makes me start hearing Jeremy Clarkson say, "How hard can it be?"

That is, it seems simple, but I'm probably best to leave it to professionals...

ZV

 

[jaedaliu]

Flat work is easy to do, and very easy to screw up. If the slab gets away from you, you're going to have an eighteen thousand pound rock that you'll have to remove to put in your new driveway.

Have a pro do it, it's worth the money. I've been a contractor for 28 years, and I still sub out flat work when it has to look really good.

Wow, I really like this answer. Just thought I'd quote it because of how much this has convinced me to never pour my own driveway.

 

[jlee]

I've been a contractor for 28 years, and I still sub out flat work when it has to look really good.

Hahaha...well, I think that's the conclusive answer right there. Thanks everyone.

 

[jagec]

Pouring your own concrete for anything more than fence posts trips the part of my brain that makes me start hearing Jeremy Clarkson say, "How hard can it be?"

That is, it seems simple, but I'm probably best to leave it to professionals...

ZV

Oh, it's really easy to pour concrete!

Now, concrete with a nice even surface that doesn't crack in a few weeks/months?

Little bit harder...

 

[Greenman]

Oh, it's really easy to pour concrete!

Now, concrete with a nice even surface that doesn't crack in a few weeks/months?

Little bit harder...

There are two kinds of concrete. Concrete thats cracked, and concrete thats going to crack.

 

[skyking]

If you do wait till winter, I may be able to help you
Seriously, you need somebody experienced. About cracks; you control them, not eliminate them. Put in joints where you want them to go.

 

[jlee]

/fix

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Prep surface with 4" of compacted gravel,
install rebar,
float it,
scribe stress relief lines when partially set,
profit.

 

[Pulsar]

Hahaha...well, I think that's the conclusive answer right there. Thanks everyone.

Don't do it. If it was a sidewalk you could do in small blocks, sure. The size of the slabs you'd want.... just NO. Nightmare.

 

[XavierMace]

You guys do see the pictures of the completed job, right?

 

[ViviTheMage]

My dad and I did 3 yards about 10 years ago. Had truck deliver it. I over 1 yard by myself with bags of cement, a hose and a hoe. Never Again.

Same here, had a guy come out with a truck and it looked like shit haha.


looks good jlee, what'd that cost you? I have been considering redoing my whole driveway.

 

[jlee]

Same here, had a guy come out with a truck and it looked like shit haha.


looks good jlee, what'd that cost you? I have been considering redoing my whole driveway.

$6300. 4" (well, 3.5" because they used 2x4's) except the area where the lift will be, which I made them do an actual 4", two 2'x3'x8" footers with rebar, and steel mesh throughout the whole thing. That included removing all dirt, pulling three fence posts, two small tree stumps and a cemented brick walkway. Approximately 1500 square feet total.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Not bad, are you just going to have a lift out in the open? Or will you build a shed/enclosure around it?

How many slabs? In your pictures it looks like you just added to the side of the house?

 

[jlee]

It's separated from the house by expansion board - they poured it in two slabs and connected it with rebar. The lift will be about 12ft in from the back of the slab, starting 5.5ft from the house. I'm looking at 12ft ceiling carports to cover it. It'll be a little while, though.

You can run lifts outside, but I'd like an actual roof over it.

It would've been $1500 cheaper if they didn't have to haul all the dirt away, but checking homewyse it'd have cost me $1700+ to remove it (or wayyy too many Tacoma-loads of dirt to the landfill) so I paid them to do it. I still have to dispose of the stumps, weeds, etc - all they would take was the dirt and bricks/concrete.

The driveway was the only concrete that was there previously, so it was a 60ft+ run from the sidewalk to the back of the house. In the first pic, you can see the old driveway ending at the garage door. Everything else is new.