Who would you recommend to hire T-dub? I know I could do this myself, but it would take a like 5 tons of concrete and about a month of my time to get the project complete. Not really 5 tons of concrete, but it really would take a shit load, and VERY time consuming. I don't have time, so, I'd like to see how much a contractor would come and do it for. If it's too outrageous, I'll just slowly do it myself. No biggie.

[GO]

2/4/2010 3:07:20 AM

ntlb

2/4/2010 4:30:52 AM

I expected more from this thread.

2/4/2010 4:33:08 AM

You shouldn't have.

2/4/2010 4:35:54 AM

what a let down t-dub. Do I need to repost this in the Homeownership Woes thread in the Old School section or something?

[Edited on February 4, 2010 at 5:46 PM. Reason : .]

2/4/2010 5:46:43 PM

more like homownership

2/4/2010 5:48:08 PM

^^Yeah, pretty much.

not a woe, but it's a handy thread.

2/4/2010 5:54:43 PM

haha, I'm not sure this is a DIY job. But I have no recommendations for you...

2/4/2010 6:10:02 PM

well, how long does the driveway need to be? do you require a turnaround or a little pad off to the side? i've got some experience doing this and would even be willing to help you pour it if it's small enough for both of us to handle and you live in the raleigh area. you don't want to do it a little along all by yourself because every pour will be a different shade(aka it will look like shit).

2/4/2010 6:48:58 PM

or you could just have a pallet of pavers delivered

2/4/2010 6:54:40 PM

^^I, too, wouldn't mind helping.

2/4/2010 6:59:34 PM

TWW driveway building party?

you all can wear name tags and what not

2/4/2010 7:05:42 PM

Thing is, on top of the cost of concrete, most contractors are gonna charge you $50, $60, $70 per yard of concrete. So if it can be done yourself you souldn't pay someone else to do it. Unless you're worried about screwing it up, which is always a possibility.

2/4/2010 7:09:22 PM

I haven't closed on the house yet, but it's going to be a long driveway and a lot of concrete. I'll have to take measurements sometime when I find time. If I had to take a guess, the driveway is going to be about 100 feet long... and I'd really like to make it a "double lane" so cars can park side by side. Yeah, this sounds ridiculous I'm sure...

Quote :

"you don't want to do it a little along all by yourself because every pour will be a different shade(aka it will look like shit)."

This is a concern of mine since I know it's going to take a shit ton of concrete to finish this driveway. I'm handy with the steel if you know what I mean, earn your keep haha. I'm not so worried that I can't do it. I mean, I've never messed with concrete on this scale... but I've done research and looked up DIY forums, etc... It's really just pretty straight forward. Again, if the price was right, I wouldn't mind paying a contractor to do it who would warranty the work against cracks, faults, or defects. Also, they would be able to get it done much more quickly than I. If I decide to go through with this myself, I may ask for help. We'll see. I just wanted to get some free appraisals for now and go from there.

[Edited on February 4, 2010 at 7:56 PM. Reason : .]

2/4/2010 7:55:05 PM

EARTHWORK
-Clear off the top soil.
-Proofroll the subgrade with a loaded tandem axle dump truck to identify soft areas.
-Undercut any soft areas and replace with good soil.
-Place 4" of #57 washed stone

REINFORCEMENT
-You can either use 6"x6" welded wire fabric or #3 rebar on a 2'x2' spacing
-If you go with welded wire fabric, you have to make sure someone is keeping that in the middle of the slab when you're placing the concrete.
-If you have rebar, tie it together and buy metal rebar chairs to make sure that the rebar is always in the middle of the slab.
-Keep the vibrator off the rebar

CONCRETE
-4-5" of concrete will be thick enough for light duty traffic/parking
-Estimate the the theoretical volume and then add maybe 5% to 10%
-Form up the area
-3,000psi concrete should suffice. Make sure it has an air entrainment admixture.
-Vibrate the concrete while placing (don't over vibrate)
-Screed off excess concrete so it's on grade or sheds water
-Float it
-Apply either trowel or brush finish
-Saw cut joints in accordance with ACI (usually about 15' max) If you have a driveway you might want to take one joint down the center the entire length of the slab and then cut across the slab every 15'.

Bull floats, wet saws, power trowels, and concrete brushes can all be rented at sun belt.

[Edited on February 4, 2010 at 9:54 PM. Reason : A crew of 6 can have it placed in about 3-4 hours, finished by 5-6, and cut by 7-8]

2/4/2010 9:52:15 PM

i don't have any contractor recommendations, but a paved drive is only as good as the earth underneath. I would definitely hire this out.

2/4/2010 9:54:30 PM

I can inspect/proofroll the subgrade for you.


RL Ussery is a local concrete contractor.

2/4/2010 9:57:43 PM

Blalock Paving is a local group that did my parents' driveway. Just make sure they go heavy on the joints. They do good work, though.

2/4/2010 10:03:19 PM

Yeah dude, with a driveway of that size I would just get a contractor to do it. They all do things a little different but the end product should be about the same as long as the crew does quality work. I've never put rebar in a driveway since the fiber they include in concrete nowadays is usually good enough. Oh, and you do realize warranty or not, concrete is always going to crack. If not right away that shit will definitely be cracked somewhere before very long. It's just the way it is. Anyway, good luck with that.

2/4/2010 11:09:33 PM

I realize this thread is about paving your own driveway.... which I have not. Hear me out, maybe I can offer some insight.

I am in outside sales, which is currently salary+commission, but will move into straight commission starting at the beginning of July 2010. I have been in this position since July 2009. I have competition from several direct manufacturing sales reps, large distributors, and local distributors. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of each:

Direct Advantages: Immediate knowledge of new technology, no middle man mark up, one shipping bill (paid by manufacturer or buyer of goods), access to larger range of non-commodity items, control inventory, have access to many distributors that can effectively sell their goods which increases market share, and set prices of commodity they manufacture.

Direct disadvantages: Typically have 1-3 sales reps per region (i.e. southeast, mid-atlantic, northeast, etc.) limiting the number of accounts they can successfully manage/cold-call, lack physical customer service or physical technical service available to or affordable for smaller users or altogether, are sometimes not trustworthy because they will go in behind their distributors that sell their commodity to one account in large quantities (i.e. they missed a big account, and have found out about it through a distributor selling their particular product) which leads to the distributor not selling their product anymore, have too many distributors selling the product ultimately driving the set price down through deviations, possibly rely on distributors to actually sell the product, and competition from other direct sources.

Large distributor advantages: have access to other commodities that go hand in hand with other manufacturers (poor example- grocery stores sell milk as well as cereal), get direct pricing, many locations regionally or nationally easing the shipping burden of buyers with multiple locations, personal service either customer or technical, many sales reps that are able to cover a broader territory, access to multiple manufacturers of the same commodity allowing to keep prices in check, service programs that smaller companies can't offer and direct providers can't match in price or value, and experts of many many commodities as opposed to one or a few.

Large distributor disadvantages: smaller local distributors creating price wars (think Michael Scott Paper Co vs Dunder-Mifflin), direct mfg's going in behind and stealing business, limited access to all of the mfg's (you won't find Harris Teeter name brands in Food Lion and visa versa), can't truly set prices because it's based on both supply and demand, territory management, and tough growth prospects in slower economies (this is true for direct as well really)

Local distributor advantages: Typically a good ol' boy setting where the seller and the buyer know each other for years (this does happen at all levels, but mostly at the local level), local folks are right down the street and can be used in emergencies, if the local guy buys at high enough volumes then there is no shipping charge to the end user, and access to both direct mfg's and large distributors.

Local distributor disadvantages: easily beaten in price, array of commodities, array of technology, lack of trained staff, low cash flow, etc etc etc.

This is what I have noticed in my six months, I am sure there are plenty more that need mentioning. The way I am setting myself apart as a sales person is this: I go after the big accounts right now while I am new. The big accounts, if I land them, will take care of me while I am new and building a customer base. The money made off of those allows me to focus free time on smaller accounts that get me higher margins. I build up big accounts, I would like to have 5-10 of these, then get 20-30 medium accounts. If I lose 1 or 2 big accounts, the 20-30 medium accounts keep me afloat while I go after new big accounts. I don't really waste time on small accounts simply because they basically pay for breakfast or something really small.

I will say this, if you can't get a big account in the first 6-8 months (assuming you have cash flow that you can ride this long) you could be in a world of trouble. If you can get one, it will really make going after the others a lot more enjoyable and less stressful. It's simply just very exhausting wasting any time on anything other than big accounts in the very beginning. You work just as hard on the medium sized accounts and see 1/3 to 1/36 of the money in my situation.

If you have any other questions, you can PM me. I hope this helps in the slightest!

2/4/2010 11:20:36 PM

TL;DR. Is any of that crap on topic dude? Cause I skimmed it and I had an urge to smack you.

2/5/2010 12:20:05 AM

69 and Jeepman

2/5/2010 12:37:21 AM

Me and 2 friends can hand screed and float it pretty quick.

Ask for rtc407, Jose, and Eduardo

2/5/2010 1:16:14 AM

^^^^ hahaha I was wondering when that would show up.

2/5/2010 1:19:13 AM

^^ sounds lucrative

2/5/2010 1:19:44 AM

Quote :

"I've never put rebar in a driveway since the fiber they include in concrete nowadays is usually good enough."

Oh yea, I forgot about fiber. You don't need rebar if you want them to put fiber in the mix.
Fiber in the mix will be a bit harder to finish though.

But remember that fiber is extra and they don't include it in concrete nowadays unless you ask for it. You just need to figure out if the cost of fiber is more or less than rebar. With how high the cost of steel is, I think fiber would be a cheaper alternative investment.

I forgot to add

CURING CONCRETE
You need to cure the concrete after you have finished it. There are many options to choose from
-Wet cure: hose the concrete down and cover it with plastic. You need to keep water on it 24/7 for a few days. So you have to add water under the plastic so it's like a pool in there.
-Wet Burlap: cover the concrete with burlap and keep hosing it down so the burlap is always saturated
-Curing compound: Easiest by far. After the concrete has been finished, you "paint" on curing compound with rollers. You can see areas you've done and areas you haven't. It works great. Might cost a little more though.

Quote :

"Ask for rtc407, Jose, and Eduardo"

I lol'd

[Edited on February 5, 2010 at 8:58 AM. Reason : -]

2/5/2010 8:52:48 AM