I have been in the concrete business for 55 years. We are pouring in excess of 200 garage floors per year. Also patios (stamped, epoxy-ed, tiled or brushed), driveays, sidewalks and basements. The concrete prices skyrocketed lately, but the business did not slow down too much.
I enjoy watch your videos...I was a full time carpenter for 25 years and did little concrete work, but now I have a few projects at my home which is a driveway and new concrete pad on the front porch here in Baltimore...
26 years started when I was 12. And not playing on the job. I was being pushed hard. 14 years old I was a full blown finisher And I dang good one too. My step dad was hard on us. We need more men like that these days. Now you can’t find anyone to do much of anything.
Mike....Shane here with Disciples concrete....I've done concrete long enough to know it waits for no man nice hustle guys!! Anyway I've learned so much about concrete from you and your videos
Poured 60 yards this past Monday for a hospital outdoor garden area. Had to wheel barrow the first 5 trucks and slid the last truck out. Came out beautifully
@@MikeDayConcrete I'm definitely gonna join you concrete underground! It's formed, barriered and barred already, but I really want to get a nice finish on it. Just waiting on my weekend off.
Hi, can you tell me how long you waited to seal your floor? Mine is 5" thick fiber reinforced. I can't find information on sealing reinforced garage floors!
If it's a cure and seal, you can seal it anytime as long as it's dry. An acrylic topical sealer we wait about a week. Penetrating sealers about 30 days. Epoxies and polyaspartics at least 30 days.
@@MikeDayConcrete Thanks so much for the reply. I was thinking of using a water based stain followed by a glossy water based sealant. Or glossy acrylic if it will work over the stain.
Hey great video. Got a question. I had my 2 car garage foundation poured and have the cutouts for the 9’ garage doors. When I pour the floors, do I need to have 4” over the cutout of the garage doors or can I have 4” in the garage and go about 1-1/2” over the cutout? I would grade the base to about 3” below the cutout and pour 4” throughout with 1” over that lip. Any help would be great.
I like to go 4" over the cut out. If you go thinner it's much more likely to crack where the dirt meets the concrete wall. There's a lot of weight from cars/trucks that drive over this area every day. The thicker the concrete is here the better.
Great video as always Mike 👍I've got about 27 years doing concrete. My crew and I only do about 40-50 garage slabs a year.... we mostly do driveways and patios!
If I have a 2" slope from back to front, I adjust the middle wet pad down an inch. Just move the receiver up an inch on the grade stick to lower grade.
Started my career as an architect working in an office at 18, though I had been doing construction since I was 13 (I'm 70 now). The owner's dad was a concrete contractor. The boss sent me out to work with his dad to learn concrete, block & brick, after a year I was moved to different contractors-framing, electrical, plumbing, roofing to learn each trade as part of my training to become an architect...NOT like these guys that come out of college with a master's degree but don't know which end of the hammer to use. My boss was a bull, having worked for his dad all his life + 5 yrs in the marines...I'll never forget the day he took me to a job site to inspect a pour in progress, my boss in his three piece suite, starts yelling at the finishers that the slab is going off and need to get on it, The rough and ready finisher laughed at him then it came to blows with one finisher laid out. My boss striped down and jumped on the slab with the rest of the crew and knocked the slab...what a day. Moving on to commercial and institutional work, I was amazed to watch these monster radio controlled laser guided screeds screed out these massive slabs with incredible tolerances. Much respect for you and your team; this old architect knows the physical strength, expertise and skill necessary to produce a quality slab. Getting ready to start on a shop for myself-block walls, concrete slab...always interested in learning, even at my age! cheers!
great video! I had a question. I'm having my garage floor replaced, but I have one framed wall sitting on top of the slab in one corner (about 12' long). How would you go about this? would you saw cut right up to that wall and pour new concrete up to the old stuff under the wall? or would you still pull the concrete from below it? I shot the bottom plate down with 3' nails.
@@MikeDayConcrete that sure would of made it easy on my last two gerage.. I know prices are different here in California but what do you charge standard rate for flat work. We charge $10.26 Square foot make decent money but not as much as we should. Materials are out of control. It’s like 90 bucks for a 20 foot 2 x 12
Hi Mike. Love watching your videos. I’m DIYing my own patio outside under a deck with five structural cement posts coming up 3 feet from top of the patio slab. Finishing up the trenching and leveling with hard packed dirt and rock. Starting the rebar soon. I’m in Lake Tahoe. So we get cold weather with freezing and thawing. What kind of cement do recommend? PSI ? Fiber Mesh? Additives? Thanks for all your valuable insight!
I just had a 24' x 30' garage floor poured and the back 1/4 of the floor was poured with the first truck, then we waited 2 hours for the next truck and the first concrete was already stiff and made a terrible joint with the new concrete, Even after power troweling, it looked like crap. The concrete guy didn't use any relief lines and said it may look bad, but structurally the job was fine so I shouldn't complain. Did he cut corners and do a bad pour or is it just me being picky?
They probably already add a mid-range so you're good up to a 6 slump or so. Ask the quality control guy just how loose you can pour and not weaken the strength.
Mom's house has below grade rooms 30x14) rains gets plates wet in. all sheetrock is failed 2" above floor want to top with ??? right material to lift 2" but i need to make new plates higher too and clean up base. Might put in 8" plate and go outside AND MAKE A NEW FOUNDATION GOING DEEPER may dig.. This includes a toilet bathroom with a double shower stall (Do I take out double shower unit in or pour 2" up the side???) Will have remove a 4" doorway wall, has crusty lower damage anyhow. t b o h m e at ya h oo
Mike I am 70 an I just started doing this tip. Of work. An I love it. Tim from Ohio
Awesome Tim!
Love to see that you're from Ohio. I'm looking into the pros/cons of pouring my own vs hiring out the pour for my existing garage.
I have been in the concrete business for 55 years. We are pouring in excess of 200 garage floors per year. Also patios (stamped, epoxy-ed, tiled or brushed), driveays, sidewalks and basements. The concrete prices skyrocketed lately, but the business did not slow down too much.
That's a lot of work. Where you located?
I enjoy watch your videos...I was a full time carpenter for 25 years and did little concrete work, but now I have a few projects at my home which is a driveway and new concrete pad on the front porch here in Baltimore...
26 years. And I still love it. Great job Mike
26 years started when I was 12. And not playing on the job. I was being pushed hard. 14 years old I was a full blown finisher And I dang good one too. My step dad was hard on us. We need more men like that these days. Now you can’t find anyone to do much of anything.
yep you are the one and only . how do we go on
Keep it going Joe! Great job, I'm sure you're an excellent finisher!
Mike....Shane here with Disciples concrete....I've done concrete long enough to know it waits for no man nice hustle guys!! Anyway I've learned so much about concrete from you and your videos
You guys make it look easy. Great video as always
Poured 60 yards this past Monday for a hospital outdoor garden area. Had to wheel barrow the first 5 trucks and slid the last truck out. Came out beautifully
5 trucks? that is like 300 wheel barrow 's worth
Iron man! Awesome
Your videos are top notch. My 32x48 shop will be poured in about 10 days. It'll be me, my cousin and a couple amish doing the pouring and finishing.
Let me know how you make out!
@@MikeDayConcrete I'm definitely gonna join you concrete underground! It's formed, barriered and barred already, but I really want to get a nice finish on it. Just waiting on my weekend off.
Thanks Mike I’m gotten too old to pour Crete but you sure have taught me what too look for when I have other people do it for me.
i liked mike , better with that fiber kick screeding than the mesh on the floor , the fiber is the whole way through the mix and locks it together
Thanks!
@@MikeDayConcrete your welcome
Great video ... im young and learning im struggling to find a formula to find right prices for bidding, could you help me?
He has a bidding video. Look it up
@@smackflack5771 thx bruthah
Such nice work. After 3 back surgeries, I'll leave the kick screeding to someone else ! Thumbs up !
Minute 6:43 I thought it was just one guy screeding that’s how good these guys are, you guys make it look so easy , great job
haha, camera angles! Thanks
wow... I think theres more blocking then studs in those walls.
This is tim i just started doing. An i love it. I watch all ur videos what is the stick for that makes the noise.
Quick question, beginning of the pour why don’t you let the cement pile up a bit and then pull so you won’t keep raking lil by lil
haha, I do that because I'm getting old!
Mike Day Concrete you look like your 20 on ur bad day ! Keep up the hard work man. You inspire me to do my own thing soon
I'm pulling a 23 X 19 garage floor. Any advice on how to lift the garage for the poor and demo
wow no rebar at all you don't worry about settling cracking even with fibber add ?
No, we make sure we pour in properly compacted sub-grade so no worries about settling.
Hi, can you tell me how long you waited to seal your floor? Mine is 5" thick fiber reinforced. I can't find information on sealing reinforced garage floors!
If it's a cure and seal, you can seal it anytime as long as it's dry. An acrylic topical sealer we wait about a week. Penetrating sealers about 30 days. Epoxies and polyaspartics at least 30 days.
@@MikeDayConcrete Thanks so much for the reply. I was thinking of using a water based stain followed by a glossy water based sealant. Or glossy acrylic if it will work over the stain.
Great video Mike... 14yrs
Hey great video. Got a question. I had my 2 car garage foundation poured and have the cutouts for the 9’ garage doors. When I pour the floors, do I need to have 4” over the cutout of the garage doors or can I have 4” in the garage and go about 1-1/2” over the cutout? I would grade the base to about 3” below the cutout and pour 4” throughout with 1” over that lip. Any help would be great.
I like to go 4" over the cut out. If you go thinner it's much more likely to crack where the dirt meets the concrete wall. There's a lot of weight from cars/trucks that drive over this area every day. The thicker the concrete is here the better.
@@MikeDayConcrete thank you for the reply. Learned a lot from watching your videos. Did my own stamped concrete patio thanks to you and your girls 😂.
How do i order. For u to teach me. U r the best.
Is it better to do a concrete floor in sections instead of one slab to avoid cracks?
Great video as always Mike 👍I've got about 27 years doing concrete. My crew and I only do about 40-50 garage slabs a year.... we mostly do driveways and patios!
Awesome Frank! You going to WOC this year?
@@MikeDayConcrete I'm planning on it! How about you? I owe you a beer or 2 for all the tips you've passed on to me!
Hey Mike, what do you adjust your laser to when finding height of wet pads down slope?
You need to find your slope percentage first (rise/run x 100) then set your laser accordingly 👍
If I have a 2" slope from back to front, I adjust the middle wet pad down an inch. Just move the receiver up an inch on the grade stick to lower grade.
@@MikeDayConcrete appreciate it! Was considering purchasing a topcon with slope adjustment but I think i'll stick to just a level
Started my career as an architect working in an office at 18, though I had been doing construction since I was 13 (I'm 70 now). The owner's dad was a concrete contractor. The boss sent me out to work with his dad to learn concrete, block & brick, after a year I was moved to different contractors-framing, electrical, plumbing, roofing to learn each trade as part of my training to become an architect...NOT like these guys that come out of college with a master's degree but don't know which end of the hammer to use. My boss was a bull, having worked for his dad all his life + 5 yrs in the marines...I'll never forget the day he took me to a job site to inspect a pour in progress, my boss in his three piece suite, starts yelling at the finishers that the slab is going off and need to get on it, The rough and ready finisher laughed at him then it came to blows with one finisher laid out. My boss striped down and jumped on the slab with the rest of the crew and knocked the slab...what a day. Moving on to commercial and institutional work, I was amazed to watch these monster radio controlled laser guided screeds screed out these massive slabs with incredible tolerances. Much respect for you and your team; this old architect knows the physical strength, expertise and skill necessary to produce a quality slab. Getting ready to start on a shop for myself-block walls, concrete slab...always interested in learning, even at my age! cheers!
Great video! Thanks again.
great video! I had a question. I'm having my garage floor replaced, but I have one framed wall sitting on top of the slab in one corner (about 12' long). How would you go about this? would you saw cut right up to that wall and pour new concrete up to the old stuff under the wall? or would you still pull the concrete from below it? I shot the bottom plate down with 3' nails.
What is the slump?
Loose ! lol.
Started my apprenticeship in 1965; started my flat work only business in January 1970, at my peak we were doing close to 600 homes a year
Around a 7
@@MikeDayConcrete that sure would of made it easy on my last two gerage.. I know prices are different here in California but what do you charge standard rate for flat work. We charge $10.26 Square foot make decent money but not as much as we should. Materials are out of control. It’s like 90 bucks for a 20 foot 2 x 12
Hey Mike, would you keep doors and windows closed while curing indoors or is it better to ventilate?
Mike, do you recommend laying block directly on a footer or can one do a mono pour and then lay block on the slab?
You can lay it right on the slab, we do!
Hi Mike. Love watching your videos. I’m DIYing my own patio outside under a deck with five structural cement posts coming up 3 feet from top of the patio slab. Finishing up the trenching and leveling with hard packed dirt and rock. Starting the rebar soon. I’m in Lake Tahoe. So we get cold weather with freezing and thawing. What kind of cement do recommend? PSI ? Fiber Mesh? Additives? Thanks for all your valuable insight!
I just had a 24' x 30' garage floor poured and the back 1/4 of the floor was poured with the first truck, then we waited 2 hours for the next truck and the first concrete was already stiff and made a terrible joint with the new concrete, Even after power troweling, it looked like crap. The concrete guy didn't use any relief lines and said it may look bad, but structurally the job was fine so I shouldn't complain. Did he cut corners and do a bad pour or is it just me being picky?
What's the slump for that Mike.
Probably around a 7
Hi mike , I recently had cement poured about two weeks ago and I noticed there are some cracks. And there are some dark spots .
No rebaring needed???
I asked my local concrete yard how much to add water reducer and they said it's already in the mix. Should I ask them exactly which reducer it is?
They probably already add a mid-range so you're good up to a 6 slump or so. Ask the quality control guy just how loose you can pour and not weaken the strength.
Mike what are you guys paying for a yard of 4000psi/6bag concrete? Here in the thumb of Michigan we are paying $135.00 per yard.
It's about 120 here in Maine.
I've been doing concrete/masonry for 40 year also.
Hi , I had cement poured 2-3 weeks ago and I have noticed there is a crack and some dark spots . Can you help me understand what is happening
Awesome Robert, me and you both.
Big ?? how much for a 9 yd job like this? you guys look like a class act.
25 years strong
Yea Man! Awesome
Super plasticizer... its worth it... question... have you ever heard of people using a high mpa filcrete to do a garage pad??
0 doing my first next week. 😬😬😬
Let me know how it goes for you!
Mom's house has below grade rooms 30x14) rains gets plates wet in. all sheetrock is failed 2" above floor want to top with ??? right material to lift 2" but i need to make new plates higher too and clean up base. Might put in 8" plate and go outside AND MAKE A NEW FOUNDATION GOING DEEPER may dig.. This includes a toilet bathroom with a double shower stall (Do I take out double shower unit in or pour 2" up the side???) Will have remove a 4" doorway wall, has crusty lower damage anyhow. t b o h m e at ya h oo
27 years
1 year
Awesome Adrian, proud of you!
Love your work, always wanted to do mason work when I was much younger, great skills right there, Thx for sharing 👍🏻
Wet enough
No doubt, a sloping floor like that if you don’t know what you’re doing.....would be a mess
ive been screeding 36 days