Driveway replacement

[MTW]

I need to have our concrete driveway replaced , and I'm clueless! One guy says 4" of concrete with fiber (?) mixed and steel mesh. Another guy says 4 " and fiber mesh ("that's what we're doin' these days"). One of the few articles on the web says go with 5" and steel. We're in N. Florida, so freezing's not a problem. What's a standard for compressive strength? I've seen - 3300-4000 advertised. Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

[Ook]

Mine is 4 inches, no fiber or mesh or anything. It holds a car just fine, but it will crack if you put anything heavy on it, like a big U-Haul truck, etc. My neighbors is 6", fairly new, and it's cracked so go figure? If I was to do it all over again, I would have done it 6", but by the time I realized it was only 4" deep it was too late. The valley I live in is old river bottom and the soil is mud, there is no firm foundation to pour a slab on. I don't think there is much you can do around here to stop concrete slabs and sidewalks and driveways from settling and cracking. IANAE.....

[Rick Blaine]

4", 2500 psi, with wire mesh around here is pretty standard for a similar climate...

[Ook]

What kind of wire mesh, and is the mesh in the middle of the concrete? What good does the mesh to? I can't see how the mesh would stop it from settling and cracking. They use 3000 pound concrete here, fwiw.

What exactly does the psi rating mean? Does it mean a square inch of the concrete can hold 2500 pounds without collapsing or breaking, etc.? Assuming the foundation underneath it does not give way?

[buffalobill]

i did this: simply telephone the local concrete mix supplier, the guys with the big concrete trucks, and ask. note the mix is varied for the climate, job, soil, base, and will behave differently based on temp and humidity. also ask them which driveway contractor pays his bills on time. you might drop by the supplier office with a box of candy, donuts, and a pizza, and find out even more.

[Steve B]

Overkill for the time when someone drops by in their big motorhome. Or that relative with the huge ass driving the Toyota comes to see you and REALLY tests the load limits. It ain't a lot to add some thickness now and not deal with cracking and shifting down the line. I'd go six inches with wire and/or rebar, and know that you can drive anything on there.

But that's me. No sense doing it twice or having it look crappy any time soon.

Steve

[Rick Blaine]

It looks like a 4x4 wire fence fabric. It doesn't stop settling - you have to have a properly prepared base. The mesh just reinforces the concrete from localized loading.

That's my understanding.

[42n8_1]

Go with 4" and fiber and spend a few extra bucks for the 4000 mix. The 4000 mix will make the top last longer and make it easier for the finishers to finish also. That should be more than enough. Tell the contractor that when they pour the driveway that you don't want more than a 5-51/2" slump. Slump is more or less how much water is in the concrete or how wet the concrete is. You could even tell the concrete truck driver when he arrives that if the mix is more than a 5 1/2" slump that you are going to send it back .If you have really bad soil (clay) you could put 1/2" rebar around the perimeter. Wire mesh works very well when it is not sitting in the ground and if you decide to go with wire instead of fiber ,which you could ,make sure when the contractor pours the concrete that the wire is not laying on the ground. peace ' Harry

[MTW]

dig out and install well drained proper gravel base, to minimize

future cracking

Thank you all for the help. I may have a clue!

MTW