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Anything I need to watch out for? I’m GC’ing our first house and was just
wondering if there is anything I need to know before getting subs out there and what to look for as far as the quality of work.
This is in NW Arkansas and the driveway will be on an incline. It’s approximately 25′ from street to garage.
Thanks,
Daniel
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Daniel,
I live in North LA so i am closer to you than a lot of these folks lol....Is the 25' a straight shot from house to street.....if so and road is higher than house be sure there is a swale to keep water from washing down drive into garage..Also be sure the contractor uses treated pine expansion joints or heart cedar or cypress.....I would go 5" concrete and 3500 psi also.....We have a lot of "concrete" guys around here who give lower prices and do a lot of work who dont know what the heck they are doing....as a general i try to do my own drives...I also recommend not using a formsetter who finishes his on concrete....I have not found one who can do both properly but that may not be the case in your neck of the woods....down here i use a professional finisher who does only finishing.....also make sure your base is properly compacted and free from pumping or spongy areas.......I would also dowel the joints if it were my own house although we never do much on bid work....
*dan... if it's concrete.. brian's advice sounds pretty good.. although i'd have the single sub formand pour and finish....but if your drive is gravel with a stone topping.. or asphalt.. or brick...then you may want some different advice...what is the rise in the 25 feet ? what is the native soil like .. what is your frost depth ?b but hey, whadda i no ?
*hey mike....what is frost depth????it is 103 degrees here please help us out!!!!!!!!!they say 6" into undisturbed but ive only seen it freeze the first 2" on loose soil.......but i aint all that old either......and daniel is a little further north so i would think 12" max......i forgot about all that we dont have it here......we do use post tension drives some......will they work up north if poured on top of the ground? down here only for expansive(expensive?) soils......just wondering 4" pt vs...12 or 18" concrete footings?
*Hey Brian,Frost depth here is 48" and just north of here it's more. How would you like drilling 48" holes for every deck post, etc? Then again, traffic here is light. Got any in LA?MD
*Daniel:There was a good article about driveways in FHB a while back.Assuming concrete...Watch out for subs that water down the concrete excessively. Avoid pouring in extreme weather - too cold and concrete can freeze - bummer! Too hot and it hardens too fast. Both weaken the finished product.Also, I like using fiber mesh and Bryan's practice of using 3500 PSI concrete in a 5" depth. The cost increase is moderate for the added strength, and shouldn't increase your finishing costs any.Re using separate formers and finishers... must be a big city thing. Never heard of it around here in NC. Not in residential construction anyway. Bryan:What do you mean when you say "I would also dowel the joints"?
*It's about an 8 foot rise and a distance of 25' from the street to the garage of the house.There is also a slight hump, meaning it's not a gradual rise to the house.So, does that mean I definately need the treated wood set for expansion joints or is a monolithic type drive a good idea?I don't think we want anything fancy like the gravel...just plain concrete.Thanks for the suggestions about 5" - 3500psi and reinforced concrete.I'm talking to one of the contractors tonight so we'll see what he can do. And I'm pretty sure he does an all-in-one job...form to finish.
*Daniel, hope you don't mind if I horn in a bit.......Most people seem to think that a concrete driveway is, um, necessary, or required, or "best". Am I wrong, or can asphalt be just as good/durable? After all, highways are frequently asphalt. Does asphalt have a bad name for home driveways because of corner-cutting contractors? Or what?
*Let me answer as I was asked1) Mad dog........I used to drink Mad Dog 20/20 .....we have something in common lol......I would hate to bore 48" into the ground here...you would hit either iron ore or water...Our traffic is not bad...LA means Louisiana not LOS angeles.....watch out for alligators lol.......we are lucky to have asphalt on our streets here.....2) Matt...by "dowel the joints" i mean installing 3/4" dia. dowels in each expansion joint in the drive to prevent differential settlement. One end of the dowel should have a plastic cap or be greased to prevent bonding of concrete in the event of lateral displacement.......sounds textbook huh lol....it is thats why we dont do it here except on our own houses or for custom /cost plus3)Daniel....an 8' rise in 25' is a lot.....i hope your house is on the up end and it is going down to the street.....then the only thing you have to worry about is if you ever buy a travel traileryou will need one with a high axle height to prevent dragging.....be sure your boat motor is trimmed up also.........if it is sloping down to house be dang sure drainage is adequate as any water on drive will run directly into carport unless drive is curved or a "u" drain or swale is in place.....4) Jim.....i like asphalt also for drives but in our area the price is only slighttly less than concrete and the wait is much longer...only 2or 3 subs that have equipment to do and they stay booked.....if you can wait you can save a little but on new construction its not worth the wait for the money......I think asphalt is $2 per sf vs $2.50 for concrete.......
*Yes, it is up-sloping from the street to the house. We tried to back a 24' moving truck up the drive and dug the hitch right into the ground.Just talked with the contractor and he said that hewas going to use 2x4's...is this a bad idea?Should I put expansion joints in it?Brian, explain the dowel/expansion joint to me in a little more detail (sorry, I'm slow). (-:
*Daniel:Re your previous post, You said there is a slight hump in the grade: That doesn't mean that there needs to be a slight hump in your driveway. As a matter of face I think it would definately look better and work better without the hump.Re your most recient post: You say "he said that he was going to use 2x4's...is this a bad idea?" 2x4s for what??? You started out talking about a driveway and we had to guess that you meant concrete - I mean I gotta tell ya, we charge for mind reading...
*Sorry about that...What I meant was that the sub is using 2x4's for the forms...so I guess I'll only get 3.5 inches of concrete?If I had him use 2x6's, I'll get ??? Not sure what actual vs. nominal is on a 2x6.I don't think the "hump" will play a role in the final product...he suggessted we put the forms up and see what it looks like. I believe it's going to be a straight shot from the garage down to the street, I'll just need to get some fill in there.Which bring me to another question:- What's the best kind of fill to use? Just dirt, pea gravel, creek gravel, crushed limestone...?Thanks again guys,Daniel
*daniel... a straight shot is a string line... you don't need forms in place to see what it is going to look like....your driveway is too steep.. but straight is better than humped.... naw... this is a tough grade.. you should have a slightly pitched area right in front of the garage doors..... but you don't have enough room....any fill you place has to be compacted... dan.. i think you need help.. ask your driveway contractor all of these questions...he should know what the best solution is .. if he doesn't .. get another one....if you use an asphalt paving contractor.. they can place fill..... regrade.. finegrade and roll out your drive to take advantage of whatever slope you're working with.. a good concrete man can too... but the asphalt guys work with these grade changes all the time.. piece of cake for them....Asphalt:gravel base.. 1.5 inch base course.. and 1.5 inch top course... that would give you a good drive anywhere south of the Great Lakes..