concrete slab for workshop

I've built the forms and prepped for pouring several slabs myself, but would never attempt finishing concrete. You screw up and it's permanent. Hire a professional; he's worth it. I'd recommend reading a book before you start, but I would rebar and cut in control joints. Ron

Reply to
Ron
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Nope.

I paid someone $750 (plus materials) to pour ~ 1400 square feet of floor, it's a little high here, a little low there.

It's one helluva site better than I could have done, and it's better than some commercially done floors I've walked on.

Reply to
Mark

bradnh responds:

I had a friend once who decided to add a small extension to his house, with a concrete slab floor. In that area, 32" deep footings were needed. He went 42" for security (he said). He set up the forms and was all ready for the concrete truck. I got my rake and walked over. I noticed that bracing was maybe 5' apart and said something. He said it would be fine.

Every brace bowed, ends of forms separated, concrete filled the entire trench. Nothing to do but yank the forms entirely, rake and level at the trench tops after ordering in more concrete on an emergency basis.

What a mess!

I had little desire to work with large amounts of concrete before that, but now...NO desire, and that was 30 years ago.

Charlie Self "Wars spring from unseen and generally insignificant causes, the first outbreak being often but an explosion of anger." Thucydides

Reply to
Charlie Self

Well. from the sound of it I was the victim of dumb luck. when I decided I needed a bigger shed/shop than the 12x18 dutch barn style I built on cinder block piers. Bought a set of plans and followed the recommendations for a monolithic slab. 10" deep at the edges for 4" in then angled up at 45° to a 4" thick center. Laid out 2x6 forms, staked at

2' > I've built the forms and prepped for pouring several slabs myself, but would
Reply to
Joe Gorman

Hi, I went through this same dilemma last year after we bought are house. I considered doing the work myself (to save money, "I know what I'm doing", etc.) but after careful thought, as well as some wise comments form individuals in this group, I hired the job out. Best decision I ever made. While I cringed at signing the check, it was a joy to watch the whole process from the comfort of my front porch, and to plan for the part of the project I know best - working with wood. While I usually hate the thought of watching someone else do what I "think" I can do better, and for less, I felt very good about my decision. Sometimes saving a few bucks just doesn't make sense - a hard lesson to swallow for a person that would rather die than to allow a repair person into his home. Yes, I could have done 75% of what the concrete contractor did (build forms, dig footings, etc.), but he and his crew got it right the first time and far more quickly than me and my wife could. The process went much faster and the results were far superior to what I could have accomplished on my first try - wood is very forgiving - concrete is not! Keep us posted.

Bill

Reply to
Bill

Does everyone else here do this? On the rare occasions where I have to hire some help, I measure how much it cost compared to wood or tools. "Why, I could have bought two blurfls for what that cost!".

todd

Reply to
todd

There's a huge amount of good advice in that. When we learn woodworking (and a whole lot of other trades and crafts) we have an opportunity to practice and throw away what didn't work out. Every concrete pour is a finished job. There are no practice areas for finishing concrete. Your very first one has to be good enough for what it's intended.

Apprentice concrete finishers at least start out with a journeyman showing him what to do (and what not to do). We DIYers don't have that luxury. I've learned to do concrete finishing (which is why I know what I'm talking about in that first paragraph), but I don't want to pour and finish much more than a 4'x4' pad, and that's with some help mixing.

- - LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

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Reply to
LRod

If you want to keep your neighbor as a friend, you might want to talk him into a professional on this. Maybe help out with the prep work and setting up forms, etc. Find a concrete guy who will do the actual pour and finish work but let you do the setup.

I have been reading this thread for a while, and I'm sort of glad I didn't read it a year ago. I built a new front stoop on my house to replace a poorly conceived older one that was starting to fall apart. I built a semi-circular, 3 step, stoop with brick risers and backfilled with concrete. The outer step is about a 5' radius curve. I dug out footers and used 1/4" OSB to form them, in steps. Then I built a double row brick wall for each step. After all that was done I backfilled the interior with rubble and dirt, packed it down. Then put in a crosshatched rebar mesh and poured on top of that. A couple friends helped me. We backfilled the gaps behind the first to risers with concrete, and the main top we screeded off with a slight pitch away from the house. My friends had worked as mansonry helpers years ago in their youth, but other than that we were flying blind. Worked out pretty well, considering. So far, no cracks or settling. Had I read this thread a year ago I might have paid someone else to do it. Thinking back on it, I might pay someone else to do it if I had to do over.

The fun part was building, essentially, 3 curved brick walls. It wasn't as hard as I had expected.

Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va.

Reply to
ranck

I have been a "helper" on several concrete projects. These were all jobs without a true concrete professional. In all cases the final product came out OK but there were moments of near panic.

In one case some of the forms started to yield. A couple last minute braces were able to stop the problem. In another job we had a cart full of premix that started to harden before we could offload it into wheelbarrows. In all cases you need to be fully prepared when the concrete arrives. When the pumper comes to the site and the concrete truck arrives you need to have everything under control.

Even when you believe you are fully prepared it is likely that you will tie up the delivery truck for longer than his allocated time so there will be additional time charges. This should be one saving for the use of a contractor for the job. He will eat any extra time for the concrete delivery.

Dick

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Reply to
Richard Cline

Given the pretty basic level of the questions posed, I'd say see a professional. Ask them what of the grunt work you can do and let them do the pour/finish. For example, getting a really dead flat gravel bed can save you a bunch of concrete ($$$) which can defray part of the cost of getting someone to handle the pour. Gravel can be worked at a leisurely pace.

There's an old saw: "You can work the concrete or the concrete can work you." Pro's do the former; newbies the latter.

good luck,

hex

-30-

Reply to
hex

After all the good advice I have noticed that we haven't heard back from Ronald, who started this thread. What was your and your neighbors decision? Have a professional do it right, I hope. I've always enjoyed watching people try pouring and finishing concrete when they didn't have a clue. I have actually got my tools out and helped them while they stepped back and watched in amazement how easy I made it look. Well, what can I say, 37 years of finishing concrete?

I now enjoy my wood shop, take my time and not worry about mistakes because I have the TIME to redo my mistakes. Don't finish a project today, always have tomorrow. Not so with concrete!

Got some gluing to do on small pieces for inlays on jewelry boxes (al la Doug Stowe's books) so better get busy. Grandkids graduations coming up fast. Better get busy and turn of this puter. Good luck, Ronald and Neighbor. Al in WA

Reply to
Al

Damn, sorry, I'm busy that day.

-Dan v.

Reply to
Dan Valleskey

Just ran this one by my resident neurosurgeon. The opinion was "brain surgery is easier than plumbing and much easier than concrete work.";-)

RB

Lew Hodgett wrote:

Reply to
RB

I guess that is reflected in their pay.

There are guys who do nothing but concrete finishing. When I poured my garage floor the guy showed up with his windmill buffer deal after the concrete was screeded. He just "owns" the final finish. He floated it out and when it was set he power troweled it.

Reply to
Greg

Hello Everyone

Thank-you very much for your honest opinions. We have not decided which way to go yet. He doesn't have the permit yet either. We will get a few prices from contractors to build & place the concrete , then decide from there. Concrete is about $84 a cubic yd plus 15% tax. We figure around 6 yds to pour a 6 inch thick slab. Plus we will need a pumper truck($200-300) & rent one of those upside down helicopters to finish the concrete to a nice smooth finish. That's Canadian dollars. I called one concrete supplier for a price. To me cement & concrete are kinda interchangeable words.When I asked for a price on cement , he advised me that they don't sell cement. So I said sorry wrong number. I call the number again out of the yellow pages. Same guy answers. Can you give me a price on cement. Same response. We don't sell cement , we sell concrete. So I won't say where I told him to put his concrete. I'm sure he knew what I was looking for. NEXT. ron PS We are still leaning towards doing it ourselves. I'll keep you posted.

Reply to
Ronald Murray

Sorry, but they're not. Cement is a product made from ground and fired limestone. It is the basis for several masonry products including mortar and concrete. Concrete is a mixture of cement, water, aggregate, and sand (a smaller aggregate).

He was trying to give you a lesson. Too subtly, perhaps.

Less subtle, since the first lesson didn't take.

Our teachers are under-appreciated and over-abused.

Not knowing the difference between cement and concrete, I'd suggest you lean toward contracting it out.

- - LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

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Reply to
LRod

He must be busy enough not to want any extra business. Ed

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

It would probably behoove you to get used to calling it concrete. I bet when a guy hears you want "cement" it suddenly becomes a bit more expensive, just because he can ;-) There are also different compressive strengths of concrete and lots of additives you may or may not want. A slab is a pretty undemanding application, compared to prestressed girders and such but you still want the right order. I'm sure the pro guys here will jump in with recomendations but google can be your friend too. Garden variety Borg bag mix is 3000# gravel the last time I checked, just for a starting point.

Reply to
Greg

Flatwork guys around here (Wisconsin) are notoriously hard to deal with, because they're so damn busy. But, having seen how much work it is, and how well they do it, it's worth paying for it to be done.

I did nearly everything involved in building my house; foundation, framing, systems, and even the drywall. But, flatwork I hired out on the theory that it's more work than 3 people can handle, _and_ it's a one-time shot. Even though the flatwork guy badly delayed my project by not showing up as promised, repeatedly, I wouldn't want to tackle it myself.

Reply to
Dave Hinz

In this usage a cement mixer would be rather useless. It would simply churn away at the powder. We must admit that common usage often confuses the two.

Dick

Reply to
Richard Cline

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