Im really impressed I must say, at 66 i dont think i would try it myself, but youre doing a great job from what I can see. I remember my Dad putting in sidewalk around his country house like you, all by hand and mixing it himself, he just did small sections at a time. thanks for sharing and the motivation to keep going!
I agree with the tapered keyways. Best way to interlock pads. Instead of filling in extra space with concrete I would use stone. Cheaper. Using buckets will give more consistent mix. GREAT PROJECT THOUGH!👍
In the UK here and doing very similar. Making several slabs tied together with rebar for a garage base for my 95 Jeep Cherokee. Just got done pouring the first one yesterday so just a little behind ya! Looking forward to the next one!
I bought the same mixer 20 years ago still cranking. 3 hints I always reload mixer before placing so always mixing, I use a bucket with watermark for consistent mix and you might want to pin some rebar between pads to lock them together.
Nice job! My dad and some friends did a small slab back in 82, that’s still around. It has a brushed finish. The last decade, it’s been only me doing the sweeping up… sure wish he’d gone with a smooth finish . I think you will be glad you did. Keep up the good work! 😀
Great job, Jeff! Still, as an engineer, what you really have is a concrete slab on grade without an exterior footer to protect against freeze and thaw cycles. It's OK, if you don't plan on putting a weight bearing structure on top of it. Doesn't mean it won't work in the short term but it'll be good for a non-inhabitable structure for a bit. Always love the updates! :)
@@t.millerii9031 Checking diagnols is good advice and would that fix the issue if the forms were square before pouring as the narrator claimed in his last video? Is it possible the staking was insufficient and the forms moved due to the concrete weight?
I purchased the same mixer, but have not used it yet. My son needs to make a 10x10 concrete pad 3.5 inches thick for an entry way. And then next to it a 5x10 four inches thick for a well pressure tank and water heater room. We can’t get a cement truck close enough to the pad site, plus there is a $250 delivery fee and four yard minimum order. We decided to try and mix the concrete ourselves. You said it took you four hours to do that pad. I’m hoping my son and I can get his two pads done in four hours or less, with him mixing and me unloading the wheelbarrow and finishing the concrete. I’ve done small amounts of concrete mixing by hand in one of those plastic mixing tubs using a hoe. The most I’ve mixed at one time that way was ten bags. The tub was large enough to mix two 80 lb bags. I’m hoping that mixer makes things a lot easier. I appreciate your videos.
I appreciate you watching and the comment! I’m doing this myself for the same reason. And I was just thinking that if I had a guy help me I could easily knock out two of these pads in an about 4-5 hours. All of these pads are going to be 8x7 6 inches thick approximately. Love this mixer. Again thanks for watching!
Looks Great! , Seem to be getting better at the flow of it , Edge and finish is an Art form IMO... Keep it going good Luck! Thanks for taking the time to do these videos I look forward to them. 😛👍
Yeah, I prefer a smooth finish. I watched my employer have a pad poured, and the concrete workers made it shine like glass. Afterward, it was a bit too slippery, but it is much easier to clean up than a broom-textured pad.
Nice slide in camper. I own an Arctic Fox 990 that I purchased with major roof rot, and spent about 3 months rebuilding it. I've enjoyed 5 trips to the Bonneville Salt Flats for SpeedWeek. There's just something about doing it yourself that, brings greats satisfaction. Cheers on your projects.
Just by looking at your finish it looks like you are putting too much water in your mix. The mix should be a little more stiffer. But great job keep up the great work!!
I believe he's making it wetter due to not having a vibrator. A stiffer slump needs vibration to remove air pockets. So one way to get around that as a DIYer is to mix it wetter than normal. Harbor Freight does sell a vibrator for pretty cheap, I'm curious as to how well it would hold up for DIY sized jobs like this.
I just did a 2.5' x 8' x 4". I mixed it in the wheelbarrow. 90° weather and being almost 69 years old, that about killed me. Lol. I thought about getting a mixer from HF for the rest of it, 6'x 8', but think I'll try dry pour but differently that what I've seen others do. Thanks for the videos
When you erect the structure set your exterior walls so the broom finish slab is outside of the building with a man door and overhang to protect the walk in door from the elements. The corner of your building would basically be inset the size of the broom finished pad. Your post would still be at the corner and your end truss wound still sit on long side beam. When the metal goes on you will still cover the end truss all the way to the top corner leaving the pad covered. It’s hard to explain, but rather than having one 90 degree outside corner, you would have two 90 degree outside corners and one 90 degree inside corner making that pad an exterior pad with a man door entrance. It will look like you planned it that way all along. Mix seems a little wet to me. Does it have to be that wet due to the open time you need mixing in small batches? It’s not judgement, only a sincere question. The little bit of concrete I’ve done showed up on a mixer. Last question, what sack mix do you think it turned out to be? Five, six, etc.? Nice work!
Good tips. I make it that wet because the mixer won’t really mix it well if I use less water. A lot gets clumped up. As far as the sack mix, I’d say about 6. Thanks for watching!
@@jeffdeshong Maybe you already tried it, but I wonder if adding the water last while the mixer has had several rotations to combine your 3-2-1 contents would improve how well it mixes. I’ve never used a mixer, only Quick Crete and a wheelbarrow, but never for anything to your scale. I just surmise the dry contents in the sack have been mixed, and I add water last obviously. I’ll have to do some research. I need to pour some piers soon and buying the bulk materials and a used mixer may be cheaper than 80# bags of sac create. Thanks for the reply. ✌️
@@fishandgameman you can add the water last if you’re doing a small mix. But to be efficient with time I was making pretty big mixes. If you add too much sand and gravel at once it seems to put too much strain on the mixer.
I think inorder to use all of your gravel and sand, I would make bordered boxes to hold it. That way, when you shovel gravel or shovel sand, they won't spread out off the osb or plywood.
Great video! Are you using masonry sand? And what type of gravel are you using? Almost looks like limestone? I might try and give something like this a go.
I appreciate you for these videos. Im considering doing something similar myself. I have a couple questions. In your opinion, what do you think about building the form out for the entire length of the floor then sectioning off blocks? My thoughts are this would allow me to ensure that the end product is square and as im going along just removing a section at a time. Second question, on your joining of slabs, i like how you did the angles to create a wedge. I was considering bending rebar into an L shape. Do you think that would make a difference? If the wedge works well thats alot easier to do so id rather do that but wasnt sure. Appreciate your videos as they show me that if you want something bad enough it can be done. I was second guessing myself as I would be doing this alone. You give me hope!
Appreciate you watching! For the forms. You could do it the way you described as long as you don’t use wood. I would just put a cement stake at each corner and run mason line. That way you could just put each form right up to the line. For connecting, wedge is easy and works well. I had rebar sticking out of most of my forms. I think I like that way the best
@@jeffdeshong - I must’ve missed it. My bad. Loving the progress and mad respect for you doing it all by hand. Sounds like you’re like me. I hate paying someone to do something I know I can do or at least figure out. Will it be perfect? No. Will it be a hell of a lot cheaper? Hell yes. Good job and keep the videos coming.
Let me guess. The second slab didn't turn out square either. There's more lateral force on your edge forms than you might think, and the wood bends. You have to shorten the span between your stakes to stiffen the form. Just say'n.
Just a tip for next time. Start at the back and work your way to the front while pouring the pads. When you first started I thought you were going to go down next to the berm all the way which would have been the easiest so you would not have to cross your finished pads to get to the back of the site.
In these first 2 videos I've watched it seems your mix is too wet. That probably helps avoid voids near the bottom of the slab since you're not vibrating but makes problems for the finishing.
It's not that the rain or water you spray as it sets will cause it concrete to cure slower...what actually happens is crystalline growths that interlock throughout the slab that require water for that growth. I've seen the micro-photographs of this in a publication from American Concrete Institute. Ideally you would keep an inch of water on the slab for at least 30 days for the best slab hardness.
Great work man. I diy everything too. I poured a 8” thick bridge last year with 80 lb bags and the same mixer. You watch victory outdoor services on here any?
@@jeffdeshong I subscribed man. Good stuff here. I’m going to start recording some more of my stuff on here. I do remodel work and always something interesting lol. It’s mostly my little boy on my shorts 😂
Two cents here...to guarantee pads will be all at the same elevation install a keyway where pads come together and rebar...make sure keyway is Tapered and oiled for easy stripping...🖖
I agree about the keyway. That is easy to include by modifying the form with a tapered 2" X 2" or 2" X 3" board. He did do a few pieces of rebar. I saw it in his previous video.
Dude!!! You’re killing yourself for nothing. Put the mixer up against the board.Fill the hopper from one side and flip the hopper over to just spill your concrete into the hole
@@jeffdeshong Instead of using the wheelbarrow,you’ll just be emptying your hopper into your pour.Put your stone and sand on the pour you did already and mix it on there.
I enjoyed watching the video but it was quite annoying watching you waste all of the extra energy walking over one batch at a time and walking around the pad every time.
Im really impressed I must say, at 66 i dont think i would try it myself, but youre doing a great job from what I can see. I remember my Dad putting in sidewalk around his country house like you, all by hand and mixing it himself, he just did small sections at a time. thanks for sharing and the motivation to keep going!
I agree with the tapered keyways. Best way to interlock pads. Instead of filling in extra space with concrete I would use stone. Cheaper. Using buckets will give more consistent mix. GREAT PROJECT THOUGH!👍
In the UK here and doing very similar. Making several slabs tied together with rebar for a garage base for my 95 Jeep Cherokee. Just got done pouring the first one yesterday so just a little behind ya! Looking forward to the next one!
Thanks for doing what you do. If you have the time and effort , you can save a bunch of money.
@@AP-fd8iy thanks for watching!
I bought the same mixer 20 years ago still cranking. 3 hints I always reload mixer before placing so always mixing, I use a bucket with watermark for consistent mix and you might want to pin some rebar between pads to lock them together.
He did
Nice job! My dad and some friends did a small slab back in 82, that’s still around. It has a brushed finish. The last decade, it’s been only me doing the sweeping up… sure wish he’d gone with a smooth finish . I think you will be glad you did. Keep up the good work! 😀
@@daveallen924 thank you!
Great job, Jeff!
Still, as an engineer, what you really have is a concrete slab on grade without an exterior footer to protect against freeze and thaw cycles.
It's OK, if you don't plan on putting a weight bearing structure on top of it.
Doesn't mean it won't work in the short term but it'll be good for a non-inhabitable structure for a bit.
Always love the updates! :)
Thanks Mike! Just for a metal building for cars/storage. Thanks for watching as always!
@@jeffdeshong Whenever you post a video, always love to watch it!
You are very resourceful and inspiring, truly, thanks!
Great video. Take a diagonal measurement on your forms. If it’s the same both ways, it’s square. Then attach your stakes. Cheers
@@t.millerii9031 Checking diagnols is good advice and would that fix the issue if the forms were square before pouring as the narrator claimed in his last video? Is it possible the staking was insufficient and the forms moved due to the concrete weight?
I purchased the same mixer, but have not used it yet. My son needs to make a 10x10 concrete pad 3.5 inches thick for an entry way. And then next to it a 5x10 four inches thick for a well pressure tank and water heater room. We can’t get a cement truck close enough to the pad site, plus there is a $250 delivery fee and four yard minimum order. We decided to try and mix the concrete ourselves.
You said it took you four hours to do that pad. I’m hoping my son and I can get his two pads done in four hours or less, with him mixing and me unloading the wheelbarrow and finishing the concrete. I’ve done small amounts of concrete mixing by hand in one of those plastic mixing tubs using a hoe. The most I’ve mixed at one time that way was ten bags. The tub was large enough to mix two 80 lb bags. I’m hoping that mixer makes things a lot easier.
I appreciate your videos.
I appreciate you watching and the comment! I’m doing this myself for the same reason. And I was just thinking that if I had a guy help me I could easily knock out two of these pads in an about 4-5 hours. All of these pads are going to be 8x7 6 inches thick approximately. Love this mixer. Again thanks for watching!
Awesome work. Thinking about doing my driveway solo aswell. I’m half man,half amazing too. Cheers from Buffalo👊🏻
go bills
Looks Great! , Seem to be getting better at the flow of it , Edge and finish is an Art form IMO... Keep it going good Luck! Thanks for taking the time to do these videos I look forward to them. 😛👍
Great job Brother....You wore me out just watching you !
Liked/Subscribed !
*FJB !*
tap the sides with a hammer, or vibrate it some how once you got the mud in your form. that will help the air bubbles fill in those small gaps
Yeah, I prefer a smooth finish. I watched my employer have a pad poured, and the concrete workers made it shine like glass. Afterward, it was a bit too slippery, but it is much easier to clean up than a broom-textured pad.
Keep up the great work young man! I had been looking at that harbor freight mixer; thank you!!
Nice slide in camper. I own an Arctic Fox 990 that I purchased with major roof rot, and spent about 3 months rebuilding it. I've enjoyed 5 trips to the Bonneville Salt Flats for SpeedWeek. There's just something about doing it yourself that, brings greats satisfaction. Cheers on your projects.
@@63mrl thank you and thanks for watching!
Nice ,that.s what I need . You should run some string line for squaring up your forms
@@thomaswhite3831 thank you captain
Just by looking at your finish it looks like you are putting too much water in your mix. The mix should be a little more stiffer. But great job keep up the great work!!
I believe he's making it wetter due to not having a vibrator. A stiffer slump needs vibration to remove air pockets. So one way to get around that as a DIYer is to mix it wetter than normal. Harbor Freight does sell a vibrator for pretty cheap, I'm curious as to how well it would hold up for DIY sized jobs like this.
What if you put the mixer right next to the forms. And eliminated the wheel barrow for the most part?
I just did a 2.5' x 8' x 4". I mixed it in the wheelbarrow. 90° weather and being almost 69 years old, that about killed me. Lol. I thought about getting a mixer from HF for the rest of it, 6'x 8', but think I'll try dry pour but differently that what I've seen others do. Thanks for the videos
When you erect the structure set your exterior walls so the broom finish slab is outside of the building with a man door and overhang to protect the walk in door from the elements. The corner of your building would basically be inset the size of the broom finished pad. Your post would still be at the corner and your end truss wound still sit on long side beam. When the metal goes on you will still cover the end truss all the way to the top corner leaving the pad covered. It’s hard to explain, but rather than having one 90 degree outside corner, you would have two 90 degree outside corners and one 90 degree inside corner making that pad an exterior pad with a man door entrance. It will look like you planned it that way all along.
Mix seems a little wet to me. Does it have to be that wet due to the open time you need mixing in small batches? It’s not judgement, only a sincere question. The little bit of concrete I’ve done showed up on a mixer. Last question, what sack mix do you think it turned out to be? Five, six, etc.? Nice work!
Good tips. I make it that wet because the mixer won’t really mix it well if I use less water. A lot gets clumped up. As far as the sack mix, I’d say about 6. Thanks for watching!
@@jeffdeshong Maybe you already tried it, but I wonder if adding the water last while the mixer has had several rotations to combine your 3-2-1 contents would improve how well it mixes. I’ve never used a mixer, only Quick Crete and a wheelbarrow, but never for anything to your scale. I just surmise the dry contents in the sack have been mixed, and I add water last obviously. I’ll have to do some research. I need to pour some piers soon and buying the bulk materials and a used mixer may be cheaper than 80# bags of sac create. Thanks for the reply. ✌️
@@fishandgameman you can add the water last if you’re doing a small mix. But to be efficient with time I was making pretty big mixes. If you add too much sand and gravel at once it seems to put too much strain on the mixer.
@@jeffdeshong Why did you not use quick crete? Seems like it would be faster.
Good job!
I think inorder to use all of your gravel and sand, I would make bordered boxes to hold it. That way, when you shovel gravel or shovel sand, they won't spread out off the osb or plywood.
Great video! Are you using masonry sand? And what type of gravel are you using? Almost looks like limestone? I might try and give something like this a go.
Thank you! Course sand. 2b limestone
Try taping your forms with tuck tape,it helps with concrete not sticking
I appreciate you for these videos. Im considering doing something similar myself. I have a couple questions. In your opinion, what do you think about building the form out for the entire length of the floor then sectioning off blocks? My thoughts are this would allow me to ensure that the end product is square and as im going along just removing a section at a time. Second question, on your joining of slabs, i like how you did the angles to create a wedge. I was considering bending rebar into an L shape. Do you think that would make a difference? If the wedge works well thats alot easier to do so id rather do that but wasnt sure. Appreciate your videos as they show me that if you want something bad enough it can be done. I was second guessing myself as I would be doing this alone. You give me hope!
Appreciate you watching! For the forms. You could do it the way you described as long as you don’t use wood. I would just put a cement stake at each corner and run mason line. That way you could just put each form right up to the line. For connecting, wedge is easy and works well. I had rebar sticking out of most of my forms. I think I like that way the best
Maybe I missed it, but did you pull the mesh up as you poured? Looks like it remained on the gravel base. Lookin good though!
Can’t tell if you’re joking or not but yes, definitely pulled the mesh up. Thanks for watching
@@jeffdeshong - I must’ve missed it. My bad. Loving the progress and mad respect for you doing it all by hand. Sounds like you’re like me. I hate paying someone to do something I know I can do or at least figure out. Will it be perfect? No. Will it be a hell of a lot cheaper? Hell yes. Good job and keep the videos coming.
@@Lazy-F-Acres thank you for watching! I actually thought you were joking 😂 but thanks man you hit the nail on the head 💪🏻
great work, you can always do a polyurea coating if you care about making it super easy to clean, they sell polyurea kits
Let me guess. The second slab didn't turn out square either. There's more lateral force on your edge forms than you might think, and the wood bends. You have to shorten the span between your stakes to stiffen the form. Just say'n.
Wrong. Second slab is perfectly square.
[ thank, you for youre video. Great looking work]
Just a tip for next time. Start at the back and work your way to the front while pouring the pads. When you first started I thought you were going to go down next to the berm all the way which would have been the easiest so you would not have to cross your finished pads to get to the back of the site.
did you eyeball the water to get the consistency that you wanted?
Yes
In these first 2 videos I've watched it seems your mix is too wet. That probably helps avoid voids near the bottom of the slab since you're not vibrating but makes problems for the finishing.
Good job 👍
It's not that the rain or water you spray as it sets will cause it concrete to cure slower...what actually happens is crystalline growths that interlock throughout the slab that require water for that growth. I've seen the micro-photographs of this in a publication from American Concrete Institute. Ideally you would keep an inch of water on the slab for at least 30 days for the best slab hardness.
Right… but it needs water
Make sure you lift up the wire mesh to make sure it’s in the middle of the pad
@@jamesbackwards415 😂
Great work man. I diy everything too. I poured a 8” thick bridge last year with 80 lb bags and the same mixer. You watch victory outdoor services on here any?
Thanks man 👍🏻 gotta love the diy. And oh yeah I watch victory he’s great
@@jeffdeshong I subscribed man. Good stuff here. I’m going to start recording some more of my stuff on here. I do remodel work and always something interesting lol. It’s mostly my little boy on my shorts 😂
@@terencemerritt appreciate it! I’ll check your stuff out. Remodeling is one of the areas I’m lacking, so always down to learn 👍🏻
Two cents here...to guarantee pads will be all at the same elevation install a keyway where pads come together and rebar...make sure keyway is Tapered and oiled for easy stripping...🖖
I agree about the keyway. That is easy to include by modifying the form with a tapered 2" X 2" or 2" X 3" board. He did do a few pieces of rebar. I saw it in his previous video.
????...yes i'am trolling... i don't even no what that means.
at the end of the job, finish with a concrete polisher
Dang should you pay attention to that alarm sounds serious and long
@@jamesbackwards415 the one that goes off every day?
@@jeffdeshong oh I missed that part why does it go off everyday?
@@jamesbackwards415 it is noon!
😊
Part 3?
This week
Dude!!!
You’re killing yourself for nothing.
Put the mixer up against the board.Fill the hopper from one side and flip the hopper over to just spill your concrete into the hole
Pretty easy work honestly
You might save time though.
Also that wouldn’t work at all
@@jeffdeshong
Instead of using the wheelbarrow,you’ll just be emptying your hopper into your pour.Put your stone and sand on the pour you did already and mix it on there.
@@kriskulczynski8957 appreciate the thought, I really do. But I genuinely think that would end up being more work. Thanks for watching!
I enjoyed watching the video but it was quite annoying watching you waste all of the extra energy walking over one batch at a time and walking around the pad every time.
Thanks for watching