Ignore all of the idiots that give out negative comments. It's YOUR job. You do it how you want. I appreciate your taking the time to make these videos. The youtube "experts" are sitting on there ass at home and proably have never touched wet concrete or even published a youtube video. Please keep up the good work !!!
I 1000000 percent agree with you too bro… if it wasn’t for people like you taking precious time out yo day to film stuff like this it would’ve been plenty projects I would’ve failed at cuz I use TH-cam creators for a lil direction In my own endeavors! Fuck what a hater gotta say!!🤷🏾♂️
In all seriousness, good job. A couple little comments. You poured a 28 cubic foot, just a bump over 1 cubic yard pad. You used a little less than 6 bags. At a minimum for durability you should be at least 6 bags for one yard. However, I like to be closer to 7 bags per yard. What I like to do is 3 stone, 2 and a half sand and 1 and a half cement. Makes a nice finishable mix. Another pointer that takes some time but will save a lot of time is to meter your water in a bucket and adjust until you get the slump you want. Then you dont have to guess the water and you can put all the water in upfront and not have to worry about it anymore.
Really appreciate it. I’ve gotten it to 6 bags now. I’ve gotten the mix I want now. I just go a little heavy on the sand and Portland as you said. And for the water, I don’t guess. There’s a line in the mixer. I fill the mixer first with water until it hits that line. Then every mix has the same amount of water. Thank you for the tips and the well thought out comment 💪🏻👍🏻
When I was young we never had a mixer. We mixed in a wheel barrel with a hoe. The sand/gravel came from shoveling at the creek into our pickup. Now we’ve gotten to the point where we watch tv and have somebody else come and do it for us. You did a good job.
I've been using my HF crment mixer for around 5 years now, just small things 2x2x3 pads, 10x12 shed slabs, when I need to do over 25 fence post holes. It's been holding up just fine, even built it a ramp that hangs on that solid bar below the drum so I don't have to empty the contents into a wheel barrow. Solid $189 purchase
Good job on the first pad square. I found that using a reciprocating saw without a blade on the forms help remove the voids. Not such a big deal on the inside edges that will have another pad poured up against it, but on the outside it would be a good idea. It costs a lot for a contractor do do the job because its a lot of manual labour. If you are willing to do it, you can save a lot of money.
I have the same mixer. It was cheap but works good for the past 2 years. I find it easier to to pour directly into form and I also leave running when I pour it out.
You do you, I’ve done the same thing with my inexpensive Princess Auto mixer here in Canada and it has worked out fine. Did a 12x20 workshop floor for my shed and everything is fine, small expected cracks after putting my cj5 in and jacking but over all, great.
I've poured several of these through the years, I did an 8X10 x 4" using sakrete concrete bags and by myself, hell of days workout and it was much warmer, can't remember the amount of bags but it was like over 40 I think, one thing to note if you didn't is oil those forms so they come off super easy. I did another 10 x 12 one time and hired a cement truck to come pour it all. My sides had lots spots like yours where the concrete didn't settle properly, if you can find a concrete vibrator that would eliminate that just by running it around the sides. Over all nice job on mixing it yourself and it turned out great, good luck with the rest of them.
Even Mike Day gets haters and he has over 30 years experience. Don't worry about those folks. If you want to save yourself a few trips with the wheelbarrow, try two dumps from the mixer into it. Also I will always do a test pull with my broom if I'm not happy with it I just hand float over it or bull float and I just want a little longer. Great video looking forward for the next one.
To raise the PSI with the concrete you can add more cement, as for the slump start out with adding a little water at a time to the consistency you think you’ll need so that it’s not too watery and it won’t take long to dry and harden.
I did a 10x26 pad using the harbor freight mixer. It was a lot of work but it turned out well. Did it in 10x10 foot sections. It turned out great. I found that if I put the mixer in the middle of the square it was easier. The mixer mess was in the middle of the slab. Minimal cleanup. You did a great job keep up the good work
How do your separate pads line up? I’ve always had issues getting the tops perfectly level when I try to do individual pads that make up a single bigger pad
@@missinmachmakinmemories9429 I formed it like it was a 10x26 slab and put a form at 10 feet with notches for the steel. The notches were “V” shaped so I could lift the form straight up and move it 10 feet down the form Leaving a 6x10 section at the end. Because the two 26’ forms never moved until the end of the pour- I had no problems with level, straight or flow lines.
@@missinmachmakinmemories9429 note if you are rodding off the previous slab you need to add 1/8” to the bottom of the rod on the slab side to allow for shrinkage in the previous pour
We just did the same thing this weekend. A 4m (13') x 3m (10') x 10 cm (4") slab broken into 4 equal parts of 1m (3.3') x 3m (10'), with inter-connecting 1/2" rebar (by way of notches in the form that will "slide" into the next quarter as we get to pour it). The rebar was sitting on 3" dobies, some of which toppled over. The entire form is on builders plastic. For the first quarter (which was in most areas closer to 6" deep) we went through 10 mixers-full, each consisting of * 1 bag of 25kg 42.N portland cement * 22 shovels of 0-32 mm ballast (rock/sand mix) I think we got approximately the same result in similar weather conditions. Key difference maybe is that we used a vibrator (which aids in moving the mud around inside the form and reducing honeycombing, but I think also brings bleed water to the top maybe a bit too early). Used an aluminium screed bar. Used magnesium floats. I didn't get to the broom since we needed to get a move on as it was getting late, and also the available brooms in the EU are a bit crappy. For the 2nd quarter this weekend, I will try to run a wooden bullfloat that I made in between the screeding and floating. Hopefully I can get to the broom. Dunno how to post a pic anywhere on utube to show my results, but would like to. Good to see some other poor bastard giving this a go. Shout out to @AJDIYNetwork who also posted a nice vid on the same method.
Hats off to you for making it happen! Bummed that you forgot the vapor barrier, once enclosed your floor will sweat bad on humid days. But hey, you’re making it happen and that’s a really huge deal! Keep up the good work.
Sweet! I wasn’t sure of your overall usage. I bought some property with a shop and if they had done that my floor would be nice and smooth, but they didn’t and it’s a real pain in the a!!
Well done! I'm doing a mini version of your project(shed) and have never worked with concrete before, so I'm surfing youtube looking for tips and also real world experience with the HF mixer. 2 or 3 of these mixers going at the same time and you could really crank projects out.
Nice man! Anytime you can save money. People don’t realize we do these thing not because we want to (well some do) but because of the economy and money we have no choice but to choose the cheapest path. Bravo 👏 we cant afford a million $ house but who’s stopping you from trying to build one 👌🏻
Great video. I'm going to pour my own footers so this was very helpful. I have a small channel and as others have said, I just ignore the haters. Actually, I thank them for watching. :) We (non-professionals) watch these videos to learn how to do things. As I said before, this is going to be very helpful. Thanks for taking the time.
Good concrete work, Jeff! However, if you plan to put any type of weight bearing structure on these slabs, you would really need some footers in place. Otherwise, it's gonna be a troublesome experience. Generally, weight bearing load structures require a footing to be placed 12" below the frost line in your area. As @wisdomtrek1 mentioned, a monolithic slab would be the way to go with proper footers incorporated. A few cement trucks and a properly prepared base could be done in a day. Then, you could build whatever you want on top of it. Still, love your grit and tenacity as well as your videos! :)
Thanks Mike! Yup already have everything planned out. For the metal garage I’m buying, this is actually extreme overkill. One of the main reasons I’m not using a cement truck is because they would have to drive over a septic tank so I can’t get one close.
@@jeffdeshong I should have know you had already thought a lot of this through. Carry on - looking forward to more! Thanks, Jeff! Always love the content! :)
@@MikeBMW you’re the man Mike! I did originally plan on going the footer route. But I decided that it was going to be crazy expensive and a crazy amount of work. I really need a garage and I’m pleased with how my shed turned out so I decided to give a metal garage a go.
@@jeffdeshong I would expect nothing less than you already figuring the options. As a bonus, we now get to see a way to get this done which could be beneficial to many others. As for me, putting a small slab for a cover over my generator with the upcoming Florida Hurricane season. One never knows where the experiences you present could lead. :)
Just stumbled over this video and had an idea while watching. Could you use a section of rain gutter and bypass the wheelbarrow all together like a cement truck. I don't know, would the rain gutter be wide enough for the idea to work, or something similar shape.
I'm an amateur so please excuse me if this is a dumb question: Why did you choose to mix the gravel/sand/cement yourself instead of buying bagged concrete mix? I just looked and it looks like it would be 42x80lb bags of high strength which is about $282 at HD. I guess plus the wire you said was $44 or something so you are saving ~$75 per section here. Is that the only reason you mix it yourself or are you going for some specific ratio or something else? Just trying to weigh the savings versus the trouble. Thanks for making such an informative video.
Thanks for the question. Yeah mostly the cost savings. If you buy bags you still have to mix it. I would never do a dry pour personally. Getting the materials for me really isn’t that bad and I find it easier than moving 80lb bags around. Thanks for watching!
I'm a fan of doing things myself and as long as you tie them together with rebar and some of that concrete bonding stuff on the edges should be just fine.
It’s not monolithic. So using a bonding agent wouldn’t make any difference. Once the base settles and the slab goes through temperature changes, it’s just going to shear along the edge. Bonding agent is meant for when a chunk of concrete breaks off (corner for example) and you want the new concrete to adhere. Rebar dowels would be fine by themselves, unless the “concrete bonding stuff” you’re referring to is epoxy inside the holes you drill. That’s mainly used for installing anchors, but wouldn’t hurt. If you size the bit correctly, you just hammer the rebar into the first slab and call it a day.
Not sure what your using the platforms for but if your not driving on it I would just do 3”-4” thick and use premix bags. Would save a lot of time and effort? I like the sharp edge look! Any reason though why you didn’t round them?
Definitely going to be driving on it. Premix bags is a lot more work in my opinion. Didn’t round them just to save some work and time. I don’t really need them rounded. Just going to be a garage floor. Thanks for watching!
I’m not a know it all and not in any way criticizing I drove a mixer for twenty eight years and can’t tell you how many times home owners put mesh in and leave it on the bottom of the concrete. That won’t do one bit of good. You have to pull it up as you go so it’s in the middle of the concrete. It looks really good also I hope all of those small slabs don’t heave differently and leave you with an un even floor. Looks like your gonna have a ton of water flow off that hill and under the slab. Again good job and good luck!
With this size of a project I would pay the delivery fee and pour it in a couple of hours. Great job doing what you are doing. Mucking with boots and a rake may help the voids.
@@BoatPatrol that's where your wife and kids come. Honestly. I simply go to local corner where there are plenty of men looking for work that will wheelbarrow the mix. There is no way this slab would cost $10,000. Two to three men at most.
Is it cheaper to buy bags of concrete or use a Portland mix. I ask because I am about to poor a slab in my barn. Videos like this are a huge help! Thank you
In some areas, the local rock is not cool. ie: NYS shale. As such even in small pieces, it works as a base, but in the concrete it weakens the result, and is usually a disaster. So, the two are not comparable. Concrete companies might sell rock for concrete, but they might be further away (distance = cost). And in East Texas, there is not much rock. So, rock gets expensive, whereas local contractors might be getting huge trucks in, and it might behoove you to use them. So, it's a regional comparison. And not an easy answer, as you also have to consider the value of your time. ie, the neighbor was a contractor, and had more work then he could do, so, even he outsourced the concrete work for a giant garage he built. So, it's basically a local research project.
The issue often is getting a pre-mix that has strength close to what you can achieve by mixing your own ballast and cement. Buy the rock/sand/cement and roll your own. It's fun anyway.
I enjoyed your previous video and have told the story to several people of this guy who was a big enough beast to take on a large pad by himself and do a decent job on it.
When i was fortunate enough to live in the country, my driveway sucked. Especially when it rained hard and thats frequent, it washed away a lot of gravel. It needed drainage by the road really but i was thinking about doing a concrete driveway in sections just to improve things. Also, so i could play basketball with the kids.
East Texas has very little rock, and finding good rock, is difficult. I wanted two ton delivered (any rock), the companies are too busy with bigger projects (a year or two ago). They never even discussed price, they were just too busy, delivering hundreds of tons. So, the rock drama, changes the dynamics of concrete in East Texas. Even the neighbor contractor, used a concrete contractor, because his work was hopping. Certainly 2 years ago, contractors were busy with months of work scheduled. But, if getting a ton of rock takes a day of driving, that's a big problem, as it also increases the risk, and the wear on your truck. But if you need 8 tons, it's time to find another solution.
Nice looking work. You placed one cubic yard basically, so you’re at $250 per cyd on material. You are doing it at your own pace at a one man scale. Even though you could buy ready-mix for half that rate, you could not get just one yard delivered. You’ve made a sound choice and your cost is about as low as one could achieve.
Not for a house. And they will all be tied together with rebar. You drill holes and put rebar in when you’re pouring the next pad. No movement should occur
Dude i havevthe same mixer and it is a good buy. It take a while to really learn concrete. But my friend id have you on a job with me. You have a can do attitude. Haters cona hate
How exactly could he do it any other way? Get 1000 pound bags of concrete? Too bad, 80 pounds is standard. This is what it takes to do the job, try it some day
@@BoatPatrol What's your problem? I've done lots of this kind of work. It's exactly as I described...endless repetition and hard physical labor...for me it was either a hot desert day or a freezing cold winter day. BTW 60 pound bags are also standard and as I've aged I've come to prefer them. It always amazes me when someone takes umbrage at one of my innocent remarks.
@@choimdachoim9491 Sorry, I mistook your comment for sarcasm. This channel has gotten a lot trolling type comments, and I enjoy the videos here and want the guy to keep uploading. My mistake sir, have a nice night.
This video gives me a little bit of hope. I'm wanting to do all the cement work myself for our house. About how much time does it take from when you first turn in the mixer to when you pour it?
Actually. It's probably irrelevant. The main thing I would need to figure out is how much time per bag of cement, so I can gauge the time of the entire job that I would want to do
@@WindwalkerHomestead in the latest video I knocked a pad out in about 2 1/2 hours. It was a little over a yard. I think maybe 1.2. You could calculate how many bags for 1.2 yards and figure it out that way.
Am I missing something here: a 7x8 foot pad x 6 inches = Volume = 7 * 8 * 0.5 = 28 cubic feet.There are 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard. In Denver, a cubic yard of ready mix is $150.00 (Im assuming that the sand and stone had a delivery fee... as would readymix. A 10 yard load is about $120 / yard. 10 pads at @ 3 hrs - $30 hrs. I think cost wise its a wash or close.
Usually concrete companies have a minimum load you have to order, 2 or 3 yards, depending on the company. I don’t know if you can order a load this small.
I would have set up material where my shovel goes straight from the pile to the mixer... No turning, twisting and switching directions with the shovel.
It's always going to be cheaper product wise to DIY, but what's your time worth to you? Gotta factor that in. I used to try and do everything myself too but in all honesty, I'd rather pay an expert that will do it right and offer me a warranty so I can go do things I enjoy instead. But nice job none the less
Rebar needs to float off the ground half the height of the pour. Go in there with a hammer and it will be easy to demo. None of the rebar will be attached to the concrete. It will still be laying on the ground in the same place. Ask me how I know. 😢
Because you end up moving the cement mixer a lot, which is heavy and a lot harder to move than a wheelbarrow. And you move the cement mixer away from the materials. Or you leave it in one place and keep pulling all that concrete? Definitely not the way I would do it as you can see. Thanks for watching.
if you formed up the pad, placed WWF (Rebar), placed the stone and hired a crew to place concrete....you might save some money actually, cost of tools , mixer, headache, good job though. A five man crew could that that entire thing done in no time with one load or two of trucks, you might be loosing money actually.
Ignore all of the idiots that give out negative comments. It's YOUR job. You do it how you want. I appreciate your taking the time to make these videos. The youtube "experts" are sitting on there ass at home and proably have never touched wet concrete or even published a youtube video. Please keep up the good work !!!
Thank you 👍🏻
I 1000000 percent agree with you too bro… if it wasn’t for people like you taking precious time out yo day to film stuff like this it would’ve been plenty projects I would’ve failed at cuz I use TH-cam creators for a lil direction In my own endeavors! Fuck what a hater gotta say!!🤷🏾♂️
Couldn't agree more.
@@smackmurph7414 appreciate you 💪🏻
In all seriousness, good job. A couple little comments. You poured a 28 cubic foot, just a bump over 1 cubic yard pad. You used a little less than 6 bags. At a minimum for durability you should be at least 6 bags for one yard. However, I like to be closer to 7 bags per yard. What I like to do is 3 stone, 2 and a half sand and 1 and a half cement. Makes a nice finishable mix. Another pointer that takes some time but will save a lot of time is to meter your water in a bucket and adjust until you get the slump you want. Then you dont have to guess the water and you can put all the water in upfront and not have to worry about it anymore.
Really appreciate it. I’ve gotten it to 6 bags now. I’ve gotten the mix I want now. I just go a little heavy on the sand and Portland as you said. And for the water, I don’t guess. There’s a line in the mixer. I fill the mixer first with water until it hits that line. Then every mix has the same amount of water. Thank you for the tips and the well thought out comment 💪🏻👍🏻
When I was young we never had a mixer. We mixed in a wheel barrel with a hoe. The sand/gravel came from shoveling at the creek into our pickup.
Now we’ve gotten to the point where we watch tv and have somebody else come and do it for us.
You did a good job.
Thank you!
I would conciser repositioning the mixer and dump directly in the form to save some hauling
It's already done...nothing to "reconsider" 🙄🙄🙄
@@strjourneys7919 Guess you aren't paying attention. There are still 11 more slabs to pour... Stay focused...
@@bullpuppy7455 already done...
@@strjourneys7919it’s far from done genius
@@bullpuppy7455 stay focused more like pay attention lol
Pls keep us updated on this project would love to keep seeing the progress!
I've been using my HF crment mixer for around 5 years now, just small things 2x2x3 pads, 10x12 shed slabs, when I need to do over 25 fence post holes. It's been holding up just fine, even built it a ramp that hangs on that solid bar below the drum so I don't have to empty the contents into a wheel barrow. Solid $189 purchase
You did a damn fine job for 1 man, and the video was well done. Your grandpa is proud I'm sure, and rightly so.
Good job on the first pad square. I found that using a reciprocating saw without a blade on the forms help remove the voids. Not such a big deal on the inside edges that will have another pad poured up against it, but on the outside it would be a good idea. It costs a lot for a contractor do do the job because its a lot of manual labour. If you are willing to do it, you can save a lot of money.
Don't let the youtube schmucks change how you operate Your channel. The algorithm is working. I subbed
Really appreciate it 👍🏻
There will always be armchair critics. I just bought that same mixer. Instructions sucked but I’m ready to start several projects. Good job.
Looks good Jeff I’m going to keep watching Thanks one man can do it if he wants to 👍
Awesome freaking job, bro! Just what I needed.
I have the same mixer. It was cheap but works good for the past 2 years. I find it easier to to pour directly into form and I also leave running when I pour it out.
You do you, I’ve done the same thing with my inexpensive Princess Auto mixer here in Canada and it has worked out fine. Did a 12x20 workshop floor for my shed and everything is fine, small expected cracks after putting my cj5 in and jacking but over all, great.
Fantastic results sir...👍
Love your video! Thank you for it!!! It has all the questions I have for a do it yourself guy!!!
Thanks for watching! Glad I could help 👍🏻
Thanks for watching! Glad I could help 👍🏻
Nice job, I never thought about screeding as you go. That looks like a good idea.
You never thought about doing it? That’s what you’re supposed to do.
Nice job man! Great doing things for yourself!
Very nice job, and very well explained.
I've poured several of these through the years, I did an 8X10 x 4" using sakrete concrete bags and by myself, hell of days workout and it was much warmer, can't remember the amount of bags but it was like over 40 I think, one thing to note if you didn't is oil those forms so they come off super easy. I did another 10 x 12 one time and hired a cement truck to come pour it all. My sides had lots spots like yours where the concrete didn't settle properly, if you can find a concrete vibrator that would eliminate that just by running it around the sides. Over all nice job on mixing it yourself and it turned out great, good luck with the rest of them.
I think you did well and saved money great job!
Looks like it turned out good! You save a lot of money when you're willing to learn and put in some work.
Even Mike Day gets haters and he has over 30 years experience. Don't worry about those folks. If you want to save yourself a few trips with the wheelbarrow, try two dumps from the mixer into it. Also I will always do a test pull with my broom if I'm not happy with it I just hand float over it or bull float and I just want a little longer. Great video looking forward for the next one.
Thank you very much! And some good tips 👍🏻
@@jeffdeshong Mike Day is the Man.
To raise the PSI with the concrete you can add more cement, as for the slump start out with adding a little water at a time to the consistency you think you’ll need so that it’s not too watery and it won’t take long to dry and harden.
I did a 10x26 pad using the harbor freight mixer. It was a lot of work but it turned out well. Did it in 10x10 foot sections. It turned out great. I found that if I put the mixer in the middle of the square it was easier. The mixer mess was in the middle of the slab. Minimal cleanup. You did a great job keep up the good work
How do your separate pads line up? I’ve always had issues getting the tops perfectly level when I try to do individual pads that make up a single bigger pad
@@missinmachmakinmemories9429 I formed it like it was a 10x26 slab and put a form at 10 feet with notches for the steel. The notches were “V” shaped so I could lift the form straight up and move it 10 feet down the form Leaving a 6x10 section at the end. Because the two 26’ forms never moved until the end of the pour- I had no problems with level, straight or flow lines.
@@missinmachmakinmemories9429 note if you are rodding off the previous slab you need to add 1/8” to the bottom of the rod on the slab side to allow for shrinkage in the previous pour
You did good for your 1st one! ❤❤❤
We just did the same thing this weekend.
A 4m (13') x 3m (10') x 10 cm (4") slab broken into 4 equal parts of 1m (3.3') x 3m (10'), with inter-connecting 1/2" rebar (by way of notches in the form that will "slide" into the next quarter as we get to pour it). The rebar was sitting on 3" dobies, some of which toppled over. The entire form is on builders plastic.
For the first quarter (which was in most areas closer to 6" deep) we went through 10 mixers-full, each consisting of
* 1 bag of 25kg 42.N portland cement
* 22 shovels of 0-32 mm ballast (rock/sand mix)
I think we got approximately the same result in similar weather conditions.
Key difference maybe is that we used a vibrator (which aids in moving the mud around inside the form and reducing honeycombing, but I think also brings bleed water to the top maybe a bit too early).
Used an aluminium screed bar.
Used magnesium floats.
I didn't get to the broom since we needed to get a move on as it was getting late, and also the available brooms in the EU are a bit crappy.
For the 2nd quarter this weekend, I will try to run a wooden bullfloat that I made in between the screeding and floating.
Hopefully I can get to the broom.
Dunno how to post a pic anywhere on utube to show my results, but would like to.
Good to see some other poor bastard giving this a go.
Shout out to @AJDIYNetwork who also posted a nice vid on the same method.
Thanks for watching and the comment! Definitely a lot of work but worth it if willing.
Do a Short on TH-cam
Great work! 👍🏻
Nice work!
No matter your experience you did and excellent job .
Hats off to you for making it happen! Bummed that you forgot the vapor barrier, once enclosed your floor will sweat bad on humid days. But hey, you’re making it happen and that’s a really huge deal! Keep up the good work.
Thanks for watching. Definitely didn’t forget. Not needed.
Sweet! I wasn’t sure of your overall usage. I bought some property with a shop and if they had done that my floor would be nice and smooth, but they didn’t and it’s a real pain in the a!!
Awesome job bro!
Thank you!
Wow that’s a huge job to do yourself. If it were me I’d buy one of those mudmixer machines and then sell it after the job is done. Good work!
It would be cheaper and a lot easier to order the load from a concrete company.
awesome brother! Im encouraged to try with a helper ! lol
Nice work.🎉
Good video man, starting my concrete project soon and this is a ton of help, keep it up. Fuck internet the pros DIY is where it’s at
Well done! I'm doing a mini version of your project(shed) and have never worked with concrete before, so I'm surfing youtube looking for tips and also real world experience with the HF mixer. 2 or 3 of these mixers going at the same time and you could really crank projects out.
I actually thought about buying another one just for this project. Thanks for watching! Good luck on your shed!
It looks fine bro
Nice man! Anytime you can save money. People don’t realize we do these thing not because we want to (well some do) but because of the economy and money we have no choice but to choose the cheapest path. Bravo 👏 we cant afford a million $ house but who’s stopping you from trying to build one 👌🏻
Great video. I'm going to pour my own footers so this was very helpful. I have a small channel and as others have said, I just ignore the haters. Actually, I thank them for watching. :) We (non-professionals) watch these videos to learn how to do things. As I said before, this is going to be very helpful. Thanks for taking the time.
Thank you! And some comments are so outa line, they’re hard to ignore 😂 but thanks for watching and I’m glad I could help 👍🏻
Good job Jeff. Are you going to drill holes and put rebar in between each pad to tie them all together? Going to be a nice floor for your building!
Thank you and yes sir! They’ll all be tied together. Can’t wait for it to be done 👍🏻
Nice work.
Good work brother! Subbed.
Thank you!
Good concrete work, Jeff!
However, if you plan to put any type of weight bearing structure on these slabs, you would really need some footers in place.
Otherwise, it's gonna be a troublesome experience.
Generally, weight bearing load structures require a footing to be placed 12" below the frost line in your area.
As @wisdomtrek1 mentioned, a monolithic slab would be the way to go with proper footers incorporated.
A few cement trucks and a properly prepared base could be done in a day. Then, you could build whatever you want on top of it.
Still, love your grit and tenacity as well as your videos! :)
Thanks Mike! Yup already have everything planned out. For the metal garage I’m buying, this is actually extreme overkill. One of the main reasons I’m not using a cement truck is because they would have to drive over a septic tank so I can’t get one close.
@@jeffdeshong I should have know you had already thought a lot of this through.
Carry on - looking forward to more!
Thanks, Jeff! Always love the content! :)
@@MikeBMW you’re the man Mike! I did originally plan on going the footer route. But I decided that it was going to be crazy expensive and a crazy amount of work. I really need a garage and I’m pleased with how my shed turned out so I decided to give a metal garage a go.
@@jeffdeshong I would expect nothing less than you already figuring the options.
As a bonus, we now get to see a way to get this done which could be beneficial to many others.
As for me, putting a small slab for a cover over my generator with the upcoming Florida Hurricane season. One never knows where the experiences you present could lead. :)
Just stumbled over this video and had an idea while watching. Could you use a section of rain gutter and bypass the wheelbarrow all together like a cement truck. I don't know, would the rain gutter be wide enough for the idea to work, or something similar shape.
I think what you’re talking about is possible
Looks good. How are you going to keep the pads to hold together?
Thank you 👍🏻 drill holes and rebar
Build a chute and set up closer to your form. That way, u can eliminate the wheelbarrow and the hauling. Don't pay attention to the ex-squirts. 😂
Good job!!
I'm an amateur so please excuse me if this is a dumb question: Why did you choose to mix the gravel/sand/cement yourself instead of buying bagged concrete mix? I just looked and it looks like it would be 42x80lb bags of high strength which is about $282 at HD. I guess plus the wire you said was $44 or something so you are saving ~$75 per section here. Is that the only reason you mix it yourself or are you going for some specific ratio or something else? Just trying to weigh the savings versus the trouble. Thanks for making such an informative video.
Thanks for the question. Yeah mostly the cost savings. If you buy bags you still have to mix it. I would never do a dry pour personally. Getting the materials for me really isn’t that bad and I find it easier than moving 80lb bags around. Thanks for watching!
You shouldve rented 3 of them things.
Looks good bro
Thank you 👍🏻
I'm a fan of doing things myself and as long as you tie them together with rebar and some of that concrete bonding stuff on the edges should be just fine.
It’s not monolithic. So using a bonding agent wouldn’t make any difference. Once the base settles and the slab goes through temperature changes, it’s just going to shear along the edge. Bonding agent is meant for when a chunk of concrete breaks off (corner for example) and you want the new concrete to adhere. Rebar dowels would be fine by themselves, unless the “concrete bonding stuff” you’re referring to is epoxy inside the holes you drill. That’s mainly used for installing anchors, but wouldn’t hurt. If you size the bit correctly, you just hammer the rebar into the first slab and call it a day.
Not sure what your using the platforms for but if your not driving on it I would just do 3”-4” thick and use premix bags. Would save a lot of time and effort? I like the sharp edge look! Any reason though why you didn’t round them?
Definitely going to be driving on it. Premix bags is a lot more work in my opinion. Didn’t round them just to save some work and time. I don’t really need them rounded. Just going to be a garage floor. Thanks for watching!
I’m not a know it all and not in any way criticizing I drove a mixer for twenty eight years and can’t tell you how many times home owners put mesh in and leave it on the bottom of the concrete. That won’t do one bit of good. You have to pull it up as you go so it’s in the middle of the concrete. It looks really good also I hope all of those small slabs don’t heave differently and leave you with an un even floor. Looks like your gonna have a ton of water flow off that hill and under the slab. Again good job and good luck!
Should be in upper third not middle.
He was moving it as he poured
@@lunchlady2023lower third
With this size of a project I would pay the delivery fee and pour it in a couple of hours. Great job doing what you are doing. Mucking with boots and a rake may help the voids.
Except he would need a team of 10 men to do it in one go with a truck. And that would be $10000 minimum, he's doing the whole thing for $3k
@@BoatPatrol that's where your wife and kids come. Honestly. I simply go to local corner where there are plenty of men looking for work that will wheelbarrow the mix. There is no way this slab would cost $10,000. Two to three men at most.
Running your mat wild by 16" would prevent the need to drill for tie in. Put holes in the form bards so the mat can run past. Just a thought.
It’s a good thought
@@jeffdeshongwe always drill slightly oversized hole and stick rebar halfway through, harder strip the form but it's a good connection
Is it cheaper to buy bags of concrete or use a Portland mix. I ask because I am about to poor a slab in my barn. Videos like this are a huge help! Thank you
From what I’ve seen, making your own with Portland seems to be cheaper.
In some areas, the local rock is not cool. ie: NYS shale. As such even in small pieces, it works as a base, but in the concrete it weakens the result, and is usually a disaster. So, the two are not comparable. Concrete companies might sell rock for concrete, but they might be further away (distance = cost). And in East Texas, there is not much rock. So, rock gets expensive, whereas local contractors might be getting huge trucks in, and it might behoove you to use them. So, it's a regional comparison. And not an easy answer, as you also have to consider the value of your time. ie, the neighbor was a contractor, and had more work then he could do, so, even he outsourced the concrete work for a giant garage he built. So, it's basically a local research project.
The issue often is getting a pre-mix that has strength close to what you can achieve by mixing your own ballast and cement. Buy the rock/sand/cement and roll your own. It's fun anyway.
Same Harbor Freight mixer broke in 6 hours of use good luck
You do a good job. & Kno wat you're doing.
Awesome Job, ignore those negative comments.
Much appreciated!
I enjoyed your previous video and have told the story to several people of this guy who was a big enough beast to take on a large pad by himself and do a decent job on it.
Hey really appreciate that 💪🏻 thanks for watching
Thicker on the edges for frost line?
Looks good
Spraying kerosene or diesel on the forms before you start pouring will make them peel off real nice like at the end.
Very nice. I would have gone with a very smooth floor for a garage floor to make it easy to sweep
Check out part 2. Thanks for watching
When i was fortunate enough to live in the country, my driveway sucked. Especially when it rained hard and thats frequent, it washed away a lot of gravel. It needed drainage by the road really but i was thinking about doing a concrete driveway in sections just to improve things. Also, so i could play basketball with the kids.
Man I'm about to get some land in TX and want to do this exact same thing, just a little thicker from tractor trailers and equipment machines.
East Texas has very little rock, and finding good rock, is difficult. I wanted two ton delivered (any rock), the companies are too busy with bigger projects (a year or two ago). They never even discussed price, they were just too busy, delivering hundreds of tons. So, the rock drama, changes the dynamics of concrete in East Texas. Even the neighbor contractor, used a concrete contractor, because his work was hopping. Certainly 2 years ago, contractors were busy with months of work scheduled. But, if getting a ton of rock takes a day of driving, that's a big problem, as it also increases the risk, and the wear on your truck. But if you need 8 tons, it's time to find another solution.
Nice looking work. You placed one cubic yard basically, so you’re at $250 per cyd on material. You are doing it at your own pace at a one man scale. Even though you could buy ready-mix for half that rate, you could not get just one yard delivered. You’ve made a sound choice and your cost is about as low as one could achieve.
$250 for all materials. Not just the material to make concrete
Big job but you’ll save money if you don’t mind the labor just spread it over a week or so and you’ll have it man . Good job
How do you plan to connect the next pad to this one? With rebar?
Yup rebar
You have no vapor barrier under your slab. You can get water under the slab even with proper drainage.
genuine question: if this is for a house, wouldn't the separate slabs move independently over time?
Not for a house. And they will all be tied together with rebar. You drill holes and put rebar in when you’re pouring the next pad. No movement should occur
Curious for a dog kennel 20 x 15 you think 6 inches is to much or i can get away with 2
6 would be overkill, but if you ever wanted to use it for something else you could. I personally would probably go 4
Whaddaya do if it rains on your sand? Is there any way to keep that dry
I cover it
Dude i havevthe same mixer and it is a good buy. It take a while to really learn concrete. But my friend id have you on a job with me. You have a can do attitude. Haters cona hate
20x30 40-50k cnd good luck 💪
It must have felt like you were trying to fill in the Grand Canyon using a teaspoon.
How exactly could he do it any other way? Get 1000 pound bags of concrete? Too bad, 80 pounds is standard. This is what it takes to do the job, try it some day
@@BoatPatrol What's your problem? I've done lots of this kind of work. It's exactly as I described...endless repetition and hard physical labor...for me it was either a hot desert day or a freezing cold winter day. BTW 60 pound bags are also standard and as I've aged I've come to prefer them. It always amazes me when someone takes umbrage at one of my innocent remarks.
@@choimdachoim9491 Sorry, I mistook your comment for sarcasm. This channel has gotten a lot trolling type comments, and I enjoy the videos here and want the guy to keep uploading. My mistake sir, have a nice night.
Try using 5 gallon buckets for your materials.. very fast and accurate
This video gives me a little bit of hope. I'm wanting to do all the cement work myself for our house. About how much time does it take from when you first turn in the mixer to when you pour it?
To make one mix? Like each wheelbarrow?
@@jeffdeshong yes, or rather do you remember how many times you did a load and I can figure the math myself with that 3.5 hours
Actually. It's probably irrelevant. The main thing I would need to figure out is how much time per bag of cement, so I can gauge the time of the entire job that I would want to do
@@jeffdeshong So yeah, you don't have to answer that. Thank you for replying, though. That means alot
@@WindwalkerHomestead in the latest video I knocked a pad out in about 2 1/2 hours. It was a little over a yard. I think maybe 1.2. You could calculate how many bags for 1.2 yards and figure it out that way.
Am I missing something here: a 7x8 foot pad x 6 inches = Volume = 7 * 8 * 0.5 = 28 cubic feet.There are 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard. In Denver, a cubic yard of ready mix is $150.00 (Im assuming that the sand and stone had a delivery fee... as would readymix. A 10 yard load is about $120 / yard. 10 pads at @ 3 hrs - $30 hrs. I think cost wise its a wash or close.
Yup you’re missing a lot
Did you really use an extension as rebar?🤣 If it works, bwahahaha...
How much did it cost to do this?
About $250 per pad
By doing it yourself, I’m guessing is cheaper than getting a concrete truck. Just asking because that’s a lot of work for one guy
One of many reasons
Usually concrete companies have a minimum load you have to order, 2 or 3 yards, depending on the company. I don’t know if you can order a load this small.
Another consideration is whether the truck can get to where the job is. A lot of times trucks can break sidewalks or crush septic tanks.
Did a 10'x11' 3" thickpad by my self mixing in wheelbarrows...at age 65. Didn't need no stinking mixer.. done in 3 hours..
💪🏻
wow
Only thing I would do differently would be to install rebar dowels so the next pour is connected better
You can drill holes after it’s done and set them in before the next pour.
Looks like it bowed. Maybe a few more stakes next time.
I would have set up material where my shovel goes straight from the pile to the mixer...
No turning, twisting and switching directions with the shovel.
That was a Ton of gravel?
Yup
:02 The pic of the slab would be a better thumbnail, you’ll get way more clicks
Maybe I’ll try it
It's always going to be cheaper product wise to DIY, but what's your time worth to you? Gotta factor that in.
I used to try and do everything myself too but in all honesty, I'd rather pay an expert that will do it right and offer me a warranty so I can go do things I enjoy instead. But nice job none the less
If you didn't figure it out, leaving one form board off until later at the end would have saved you a lot of moving of the concrete lol
Rebar needs to float off the ground half the height of the pour. Go in there with a hammer and it will be easy to demo. None of the rebar will be attached to the concrete. It will still be laying on the ground in the same place. Ask me how I know. 😢
You couldn’t be more wrong. Maybe try watching again.
How come you did not just put the cement mixer right next to the forms then you could just dump it in and spread it where you need it
Because you end up moving the cement mixer a lot, which is heavy and a lot harder to move than a wheelbarrow. And you move the cement mixer away from the materials. Or you leave it in one place and keep pulling all that concrete? Definitely not the way I would do it as you can see. Thanks for watching.
Save ur money and just order trucks
You must not have watched the whole video. No worries, thanks for watching
That's not a concrete Spike that's a 3/8 drive extension for your toolbox friend
But works as a concrete spike lol good eye
20x30?
21x32 total
How bout ya tomater soup
if you formed up the pad, placed WWF (Rebar), placed the stone and hired a crew to place concrete....you might save some money actually, cost of tools , mixer, headache, good job though. A five man crew could that that entire thing done in no time with one load or two of trucks, you might be loosing money actually.
Thanks but It’s going to cost me $3000 total for the 20x30 pad. Find me a 5 man crew that can get it done for cheaper. Not worried about time at all.
I'd have done 4-2-1 mix, and id have filled the barrow before tipping into the form.
Thanks for watching
too narrow when you consider you will lose 7" minimum off the width of 21'.