How do I lay a cement slab?? I want to expend my patio. Is it hard?
Answers:
Experience is not everything. Remenber being "new" at something you wanted to do and being asked "Do you have any experience?", and wondering how you were ever going to get any experience if you never had a chance to try?
Well, maybe not.
But, still, experience means that my friend who has laid concrete for 12 years can do it twice as fast as I can. Not better. Just faster.
If you want to lay a slab, you'll need a cement mixer. You should be able to buy one for less than $100 or to rent one for $25-30 per day. The choice depends on how much work you have. Then you'll need to buy enough cement, sand and gravel to do the job. Don't buy "premixed" cement unless you want to re-do the job in a few years's time. Your local seller of cement/building supplies will gladly tell you the proportions for mixing.
If you want to extend a patio, you'll also need to be sure that the ground will support it without subsiding. So, you ought to clear the space and then "tamp" it down with one of those "vibrator" machines used for firming soil. That's another $25-30 per day rental. And, you may need some "fill" soil or gravel, since the soil "beyond" your existing patio may not be really firm.
After that, you just need some boards to mark the ends of the "new patio" and to pour and smooth.
Is it hard? Not really. But it is heavy work. Even dry concrete is surprisingly heavy. Then there's the sand, the gravel and the water, not to mention the mixed concrete that you may have to move to the site.
I cannot stress enough how HEAVY this work is.
There is a significant satisfaction, when the work is finished, in saying: "I did that" and even if no-one appreciates what that means, in knowing yourself what it took to do the job.
If money and personal satisfaction matter less than the finished project, hire "professionals". Just don't expect to get it done on your timetable, to have it last as long, or to have any real recourse when it doesn't. A lot of those "professionals" who will get assigned to a small job won't have any more experience than you!
Oh, and munciebirder has an excellent point that I forgot: you'll need wire mesh to keep the whole thing from breaking up. This needs to be about midlevel of your pouring, so you either fix it first, by bending, wiring or propping, or pour half the slab, lay the mesh, and then finish. Overall, I think the former option works best.
As well as local advice, a myriad of books show you how to do this. You can even check one out at your local public library.
I missed the 6 X 4. No "professional" is going to take that on for a reasonable price. Find someone who will sell you the cement, sand and gravel. Buy the wire mesh. Then rent the "vibrator" (to firm the soil) and the mixer. Announce a "patio party". Do a barbecue and serve lots of beer.
Don't drink anything so you can supervise (and keep drunks from stumbling onto the new extention)
Half a Saturday and it's done (oh, and get someone to take the vibrator and the cement mixer back on Monday morning [unless, of coures, you live in America, when it probably has to be back on Sunday]
Other answers:
If you're laying more than a couple feet, which it sounds you are, and you don't have any experience, you should hire someone. Otherwise you'll likely pay a bunch of money for concrete and have it fall appart later. You might get away with following instructions from something like a Home Depot book if you're good with that kind of stuff.
If you're laying more than a couple feet, which it sounds you are, and you don't have any experience, you should hire someone. Otherwise you'll likely pay a bunch of money for concrete and have it fall appart later. You might get away with following instructions from something like a Home Depot book if you're good with that kind of stuff.
No, somewhat easy. Dig it out (about 6" deep) as far as you want, form it up by nailing LEVEL 2x6 forms to concrete stakes, and pour the concrete in. Finishing is more tricky. If it isn't really wide (more than 20') you can draw a 2x4 across the tops of the forms to level the surface of the concrete, then use a float and trowels to make it smooth. When it has stiffened up a little, broom it (sweep the broom at an even pace in parallel strokes). Then seal it with a concrete sealer, and Voilla! I would definitely find a book, or someone willing to explain it in person (and show you when you are doing it). Hope that was a little helpful.
put an expansion joint against the current patio after you frame out your new extension. dig out the ground that you need too to make the new at least 4" thick and the top even with the old. To make the frame you could use 2x6's with a stake in the ground on the outside of the frame about every foot or so to keep it from flexing. Have fun mixing the concrete. Would not be worth calling a truck. Just get a wheel barrel a hoe and a shovel.
I agree with the first responder. You want to hire it done. It is not difficult but it is not worth the trouble. You have to excavate the the ground where you want to pour the concrete. Then you have to erect the forms. Your slab needs to be 4 inches thick. To be really safe you have to lay down a wire mesh, 1 inch off the ground to absorb the strain. Concrete can not take a strain. The ready mix truck will need access to the pour the concrete or you will need a wheel barrel to haul it to the where you want the slab poured. You will need a long 2 x 6 to level it. You will need to be able to calculate how many yards of concrete to order.
You really were not thinking of mixing it yourself, were you? If you were, you will need to order cement, crushed stone, and sand, and you will need to buy or rent a mixer.
The best thing for anyone who has never done the job at hand, is to go out to a local construction sight and watch them pour a driveway or patio. Once you see in person how it is done, you will say my goodness that is easy. Well being a professional, I can tell you like any trade , the professional will make it look easier than it is. Knowing when to trowel the slab and edge it comes with experience. You will notice the other folks did not mention you will need an edger and a trowel for the finish work. They also said you need wire mesh. This is not quite true , you can use wire mesh if you prefer using heavy rusty metal over fiberglass hairs that all the up to date professional folks use.You can buy this is small bags for eight bucks or so at your local ready mix plant.I would have to say if you and your friends do not have the tools for the job and you do not plan on doing anymore concrete work, then you have no need to buy the tools you will need unless you have a tool fetish. Which leads me to say go watch it being done and then ask the people doing it how much they would charge you to do a 6x4 slab in your back yard. I will tell you if you do the digging and the frame work they should send one guy to do it extremely cheap.
Laying concrete is back breaking (believe me). Your are going to lay 6' x 4' probably about 4" thick minimum. Getting a contractor to do this probably will save you time any money. If not done right it will overly crack and fall apart. If not formed up right it will break the forms and pour everywhere. Also you will probably want a broom finish to prevent slipping when wet. If you don't have the tools you will have to invest. If you are not getting that small of an amount of concrete from a batch plant (which they will chage you for a short load) then you will have to hand mix either with a wheel barrow or mixer. If you have sensitive skin the cement in the concrete will burn you or you skin will dry pretty bad. Also they consistency of the mix should probably be about a 3" slump to a 4" slump so that you are not standing there all day waiting for it to dry enough for you to finish it. I don't want to discourage you, but it is important that you know what you are getting into before you jump.