[Diy_efi] ever poured a large slab?

[wdsmith]

Steve,

I did a 25 x50 addition to my old shed last Fall.
Here is my take on the deal:

I priced concrete from every supplier within delivery range. The price 
varied greatly.
I got estimates from a number of guys who contract this kind of work. 
Again, there was a wide range of quotes.

Aside from the wide price range, both were also out of my ballpark 
budget-wise. I also found that concrete was not that easy to get in this 
area at that time. Must be the Republicans and the recession because 
many of the people I contacted told me they were fully scheduled for 
months and all of them stipulated that their schedule would be 
controlled by when concrete was available.  I actually believe them 
because every time I go anywhere around here (central Oklahoma) I don't 
recognize the place.  New commercial and residential building at a pace 
I haven't seen since the middle of the last oil boom.

I had almost talked myself into learning to love a dirt floor when I 
stumbled onto an older, semi-retired contractor. He does only jobs he 
can handle with his sons and usually only for individuals.  He was doing 
some work for my next-door neighbor and they strolled over to the fence 
to see what I was up to.
We kinda got acquainted and he offered to do my slab if I didn't already 
have plans.  Like most people, I knew "all about concrete" but I also 
have a lot more curiosity than most people so instead of telling him I 
couldn't afford him, I kept him talking and let him lead the way.

I had picked up a few clues about the guy's attitude.  He seemed torn 
between hostile and friendly.  Instead of telling him what I wanted, I 
figured the best thing was to just hint at what I had been considering.  
The more I listened, the more he talked and the more he talked, the more 
I realized what I thought I knew about concrete might be 30 years out of 
date. Near the winding down point, he remarked about moving from 
California back to Oklahoma because he was fed up with <expletive 
deleted> contractors that thought they knew concrete. He went on to say 
that he would do my floor for $x if I'd let him do it right.

His price was about the mid-point of the price range I had for delivered 
concrete alone.  I figured the worst he could do was going to be better 
than dirt so I told him to start whenever he wanted.  He said Friday.

Early Friday morning, he came in with a Bobcat, shot and staked the 
location, leveled the site and had forms up before noon.  The man was an 
artist with that Bobcat.  I suddenly had a warm, fuzzy feeling that this 
guy actually did know what he was doing.    He came back from lunch with 
his sons  and the first concrete truck was no more than 5 minutes 
behind.  The truck driver was an artist too. He had less trouble getting 
that monster  front delivery truck in my back yard than I have getting a 
2 wheeled trailer in and out.   The second  truck was pulling up  as the 
first was leaving  and those guys were flying around  spreading and 
leveling the concrete.

Then everything went to hell.   The third and final truck was late, very 
late.... sidetracked   by an unexpected shortage on another, very large, 
job. After much telephoning, griping and gnashing of teeth, they finally 
got another truck out with a rookie female driver.  She had about as 
much trouble and took about as much time as I expected everybody to have 
getting in my back yard.  It was starting to get dark when she finally 
got unloaded.  Those guys finished the slab in the dark!!! They kept 
saying they were sorry for not doing better but finishing concrete in 
the dark just isn't easy.  Next day, I took a close look and found not a 
single thing I could complain about. It was much smoother and flatter 
than any other concrete around my place.

 From this long story, I offer the following:

1. Realize concrete has changed a lot since Roman times and quite a bit 
in the past few years.  Old ideas are not necessarily still valid.
2. Prices vary a lot. Get several quotes on materials alone and 
contracting finished work.  This will give you a base for judging offerings.
3. Look around for somebody you can work with and trust.  References 
from a picky tightwad like my next door neighbor are usually good.
4. Be prepared to be flexible and go with the flow.  I sent this guy to 
a "friend" of mine who also needed a shop floor.  It didn't work. They 
had conflict over some requirements my "friend" considered essential and 
the contractor didn't..... like different slab thickness in some areas 
and a foundation/footing.

In my prime, I could have done this pad myself under good conditions.  I 
would have worked my butt off and spent quite a bit of unnecessary 
money. I would have been SOL if I were faced with the 3rd truck problem 
because I wouldn't have had any clout with the bulk supplier nor would I 
have known what to do while waiting. If I were to do it again, I'd do 
the same thing. I would do extensive homework on suppliers and 
contractors.  I would go with a contractor if the price compared 
favorably to DIY.  I might try it myself if  there was substantial price 
difference and I knew I had help I could depend on. That last one is 
often a biggie.

After all was said and done, I believe I got honest advice and made the 
right choices..  I didn't use rebar and my slab has not cracked as 
predicted by all the "experts."  I didn't get a 6" thick slab. I've 
loaded it way beyond traditional 4" slab limits with no problems and 
none expected.

Good luck!
WDSmith




Scott Pearson wrote:
> I did a pour this spring, with the help of several guys that actually knew 
> something about concrete. Was an educational experience, though I doubt I'd 
> try to do it myself. Hired one guy that was a pro, the rest were weekenders. 
> Did a 19'x22' section in one pour. Here's some pics of the process if you 
> want to see it:
> www.theautoshop.net/DynoPit.htm
> (actual concrete work somewhere in the middle of a bunch of photos)
>
> Scott
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Steve Ravet" <Steve.Ravet at arm.com>
>
>   
>> By large, I mean 25'x45'?  I poured a 10x20 slab last year for a pump
>> house (had only ever done fence posts previously) and was pleasantly
>> surprised at how it turned out, but that size can be screeded with a 12'
>> board, and a hand troweled finish was fine.  I'm building a steel
>> building workshop this summer and am contemplating pouring this slab
>> myself.  I'm OK with the forms and the steel, but not sure if I'll be
>> able to get a good machined finish.  Is this too big a project for a
>> DIYer and some friends?
>>
>> thanks,
>> --steve
>>
>> -------------------
>> Steve Ravet
>> ARM
>> steve.ravet at arm.com
>>
>>