How to calculate concrete in a tub

[alvinamorey]

It's getting toward winter and I want to pour concrete in a feedroom on the rear of my barn. It's just a small 6 x 12 foot addition, which is slightly less than a cubic yard. The concrete company dont want to deliver such a small amount, but will if I pay almost double the per yard price. I have been planning to pour a driveway extension in front of my garage and was going to just add the amount for this shed to the total and do it all at once. But I see now that there is no way I am going to get that driveway done until next spring. At the same time I want to do the shed now.

I checked into bagged QuikCrete, and the cost for that is even worse than the delivered stuff. I could mix my own by hand and that would be cheaper, but I need to get this job done before the ground freezes.

This concrete company said that they often have left over concrete at the end of the day and said they would call me when they have some and would fill a tub on the back of my pickup truck, and it would be cheap. I like the sound of that, and honestly I did not want to pour that feedroom in all one pour anyhow, because there is no way to trowel it indoors without walking in it. So, doing it in 2 or 3 pieces would be perfect.

My question is how can I calculate the amount of concrete I can put into a 100 gallon livestock tank. I'm no good at math. The tank is designed to hold 100 gallons of water. And for that matter, what will a 5 gallon pail hold. When they get excess, I will drive there, fill this 100 gallon tank and if there's a little more, I'll fill some 5 gallon buckets. I will have to use buckets to transport the stuff from the truck to my wheelbarrow, or just carry them right to the floor. There should be 20 five gal pails in that tank.

OK all your math experts ........

Thanks for all help

Alvin

[dadiOH]

8 gallons = 1 cubic foot so the 100 gallon tank will hold 12.5 cubic feet...not quite 1/2 yard.

[alvinamorey]

Thanks. That would do about half my shed, and thats what I'd like to do is half at a time. 2 of these tubs should do it. I always toss a few smaller rocks on the bottom of the forms before pouring anyhow and that all saves concrete.

Do you happen to know what a cu. foot (or 8 gallon pail) weighs? I am trying to figure the weight of that 100 gallon tub so I dont overload my truck.

Alvin

[Doug Miller]

1 cu ft = 7.5 gallons 100 gallons = 13.33 cu ft

Concrete weighs about 150 lbs/cu ft

13.33 cu ft * 150 lbs/cu ft = one ton exactly

[marson]

You are going to have a heck of a time getting 100 gallons of hot concrete home and shoveled into your forms before it starts setting up.

[Pat]

What about slipping the driver a $20 and asking him to swing by at the end of the day?

[HerHusband]

Alvin,

You might want to check if there are any "mix on site" companies in your area. Basically, it's a high tech truck that holds the raw ingredients (cement, sand, water) and they can mix any quantity you want (usually a 1/4 yard minimum, plus a trip charge) right on site. They'll do small quantities, there's no waste, and they can provide extra if you underestimated. We've used them for years around here and wouldn't do it any other way now.

Alternatively, many rental yards have concrete trailers where they supply the concrete and you tow it home. I've never used these services, so I don't know what it costs. But you would need a truck to pull the trailer.

Anthony

[mkirsch1]

How do you think professionals trowel out large pads? They pour hundreds of square feet at a time, not just what they can reach in an arm's length.

Rent a small "bull float" or build one yourself out of a short 6" wide pine plank and some firring strips for a handle. Once you level the concrete with a screed board, you use the float to smooth it out by carefully gliding the float over the surface, pushing the stones down and bringing the "cream" to the surface. Unless you're looking for a mirror finish on this floor, that may be all you need to do.

Let it set up for a while.

Use some large pieces of 2" styrofoam insulation to kneel on so you don't mess up the setting concrete while you trowel, if you trowel. You don't trowel the concrete until it's set up enough to support your weight on boards anyway. If you're using a power trowel, you don't trowel until you can WALK on the concrete. Keep the trowel wet and work more "cream" to the surface to further smooth the finish, if that's what you want.

A yard of concrete is 2 tons. Half a yard is 1 ton. Even half a yard will overload any compact truck, or F150. Your idea of trucking the concrete yourself is CRAZY. You'll never get it unloaded, screeded, and floated before it sets up all by yourself. Do you realize how many shovelfuls, bucketfuls, wheelbarrow loads a half a yard of concrete is?

Look in your yellow pages. You may be able to find a ready mix company that specializes in small batches, or better yet, one that has rentable trailers that hold up to a yard of concrete and mix it as you drive home. Or, just pay the long buck and have a yard delivered. You're just going to end up with a big mess on your hands if you try to do ready-mix on the cheap.

[Harry K]

I suspect it would be pretty well on the way to setting by the time he starts loading if it is a 'left over batch'. That stuff will have gone to a site, sat a bit while getting set up, back to the plant... I certainly wouldn't expect to wind up with quality 'crete that way.

I haven't had much delivered (just two house perimeter foundations) but they never took any back, any excess was dumped somewhere on site.

Harry K

[Big_Jake]

This is a common misconception about the capacity of a truck. The slang "half ton" pickup dates back to the 1950's, and modern trucks have a capacity way beyond this.

I have hauled 2 yards of gravel in my "3/4 ton" pickup, and that is

6000 lbs. Probably a little over capacity, but doable.

You'll never get it unloaded, screeded,

I couldn't agree with you more on that. The OP needs a couple of helpers.

JK

[mkirsch1]

You can't believe all the hype in the advertisements. There is a LOT of fine print in figuring out how much a truck can haul.

Your typical "half ton" pickup these days has a useful payload capacity of 1500 pounds, give or take. This is Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) minus the truck's actual empty weight.

A "LITTLE" over? Try 3 to 4 times the typical payload capacity of a

3/4 ton pickup. Most of 'em are so heavy these days with options, diesel engines, 4x4, mega-super-hugeo-cabs that many have less payload capacity than many half tons. Typical is around 2000lbs.

[Rodger]

Ignoring all the other questions people have raised about your ability to move and trowel that much concrete before it sets, (and if your livestock tub is strong enough), let Google to the math part for you:

Google calculator is one of the most useful tools on the web:

- Rodger

[Harry K]

The rated load capacity on PUs is way conservative. The main limiting factor is the quality of the tire, after that comes suspension. Hauling a ton (net weight, not gross) on a 1/2 ton PU is no big deal with proper tires.

I am not sure about your GWVR of 1500. I always thought that the GVW was the rig plus whatever load was on it. Thus GVWR of 1500 would just about eliminate hauling anything. Way back when in the days of yore, we had to register PUs here with a gvr lic - common was 6,000.

Harry K

[dpb]

It is and is what he said -- he said a payload capacity of 1500 which is computed as difference between GVWR and tare weight.

But, payload ratings are so variable depending on what options are on a truck there is no general although the plain-vanilla, cheapest models aren't very high simply because to get the price down they have the minimum suspensions made.

--

[Big_Jake]

According to the GMC website, their current 3/4 ton has a capacity of

3800+ lbs, including driver, passengers, and cargo.

So, OK, not "a little" over, but not 3-4 times the capacity. My truck is bare bones, not even power windows.

JK

[Edwin Pawlowski]

And the suspension. I once hauled a load of stone in a Ford F150 that was bottomed out. Glad I only had to go four miles like that.

[Harry K]

Yep, I put 22 #1 RR ties on my 62 chev 1/2 ton and hauled them 30 miles. I also had to replace all 4 shocks the next day.

Harry K

[Harry K]

And that 3800 is very conservative. Usual manufacturers CYA.

Harry K