Have always done my own concrete.
Getting to old to enjoy it anymore, was trying to find a concrete contractor on-line in WA for a 30 yard foundation for a shop/alternate dwelling unit at son’s house – 160 ft from the road, so pumper, etc. would be needed.
Have zero experience trying to find a contractor, pretty much a strikeout on the web today, seems it must be an ‘old boy network’ more than any consumer contact outlets. May have to make some phone calls, but hate to take someones time just trying to find a price to compare. (you guys dont count<G>)
So, 1st question: how to find, keywords to look for other than foundation, concrete pumping, etc??
2nd set of questions if I resort to DIY.
a. 160 ft seems a long distance, may get pretty pricy for that size pumper for 30 yards, any estimates of what to expect for the pumper?
b. thought to transport from truck to forms with 1 yard loader bucket and dump, with a good vibrator on hand, as realize even 160 ft transport in a tractor bucket and a 6 foot free drop is likely to result in segragation – any hints on that regards?
c. I have an old 250 gal oil tank and some old transmissions and blig old gears, have thought to build a truck mounted turning tub just to transport a yard at a time from truck to forms, anyone done this successfully?
d. last resort, as I can back my 1T dump up to a 3 cuft mixer, is to hand mix 30 yards!! Have not doen that for a few decades, and would not look forward to it, which is why I’d entertain the notion of <gasp> actually hiring somebody else for the whole concrete foundation job.
… too bad gabe is not still around, he’d likely ream me a new one for being lazy ?
Replies
a long time ago
I poured concrete.
Now I don't.
Time ages people and talent isn't universal.
I know who to call, and who to recommend.
However, they are getting older as well.
There, another non answer on a worthless forum.
Write this down
Pay attention to the young bucks working on those old crews you have used over the years. They will be the one you need to know in the future.
One of the outfits I use is now being run by a grandson of the fellow that started the business. I've also had some of the old guys that are cutting back or retireing refer me to former employees that are starting out on thier own.
A lot of concrete work will make you old,.....real quick.
Dave,
A small problem I have is that most of these subs I've used for the last 20 yrs are the same "young guys" that I worked with in the past. Just like lumberyards, they start to retire. Some do have a couple they could refer, and luckily I guess, they're near 40.
I'm surprised you don't build your own pumper out of that old surplus Forrest Service fire pump and those irrigation pipes in the far shed.
Did you look here: http://www.concretepumpers.com/cgi-bin/htmlos.cgi/001798.2.4884316890010216132
Contact your local ready mix company.
Concrete pumps are a dime a dozen in Florida. It probably has to do with the type of construction we do here (poureed tie beams on top of walls)
Your redimix guy can usually give you some names. The pump guy usually calls in the concrete so everything is there at the same time.
Why is pumped conctete inferior? What did you order? Did you properly consolidate it?
This doesn't look that horrible does it?
http://gfretwell.com/electrical/addition/corner_beam.jpg
Why? Good question.
I've been told here before that pumped concrete leaves the same wall. Not my experience, ever. I've used a variety of pumps from several companies, always similar results. Major problem is under windows.
Last time I got the guy running a statewide pumping outfit to supervise, starting with dealing with the readymix folks. They like each other. I even did something I never do: let him vibrate. Figured I'd learn what I'd done wrong in the past. He was certain of that, told me that his pumped walls would be at least as smooth as the others when I stripped. Did not happen. Worst of course under the windows where there were large voids with aggregate separation. So bad I had to form and re-pour the voids. The client wanted to know what the hell happened. Then apopogized.
I'd argued to use my crane, which wasn't large enough to reach across the 40' clear span. No problem, leave out the corner and park the crane inside. Pour the corner last. Nope, I was told to bring in a pump. Mistake, from both our perspectives. He could clearly see which parts were pumped.
No idea if Art would have a similar experience but I'm pretty sure he'd be upset if he did. Pouring from a loader bucket, if you don't have a crane, works fine. I've done 35 yards with a crawler loader like his, worked well, including under very wide windows.
The pumped house turned out fine, once the concrete was patched. Owner is now commuting 80 miles each way, won't give up the house. That much better than his previous SIPs. I told him there were GCs perfectly capable near his work, but he likes what he's got, no maintenance and tiny utility bills. He's planning for retirement.
So the concrete was not properly consolidated?
That is more of an operator error than a problem with pumped concrete. If you have a complex pour you need to take your time. Pour it up to a few inches above the wintow sills, consolidate that, then continue up to the next obstruction.
Good to see you again Tom.Glad ya stopped in.
I thyink the link Art was trying to post was: http://forums.delphiforums.com/breaktimeclass
Have not seen you post for awhile Tom. Mostly I'm over at 'classic' myself. http://forums.delphiforums.com
In addition to the JD440 loader and dozer, I now also have a Ford 4500 loader/backhoe, which will go a lot faster although it has a slightly smaller bucket that will only fill/carry to about 3/4 yard at 5 ft high. Any suggestions to maximize carry/fill capability other than tack welding on some sheet steel?
Having thought the issue through, and gotten one quote for about $12K for contracting out for 30 yards with a pumper, decided to re-design the foundation and skip having a 5 ft crawl space with storage and concrete floor.
Reduced the concrete needed from about 30 yards to < 9 total. Less than 3 yards for the footings, so can do those by hand in a couple of days (I retired last month, so have the time, 3 cu ft mixer, shovel reclaim out of the back of the 4WD dump truck at an angle, etc.) and then do the other 6 or so yards out of redimix truck with the Ford 4500 bucket. Dropped the crawl space to the minimum 18" height in places.
Will build an additional 199 sq ft building (no permit needed) for the storage that was planned for the high 'crawl space'. The 199 sq ft bldg will be about $300 (mostly for roofing) using all surplus 'stashed' materials. So the redesign difference ($12K vs about $1.2k, incl rebar, etc) is enough to buy another backhoe or an excavator - for my son/grandsons <G>
No idea why everything typed in bold.....
My registration was rejected there, no idea why. Was a little surprised Taunton remembered me, though they'd asked about my absence. Heard from several of the old gang after the fires, tornadoes, and earthquakes. Gets folks thinking about more durable houses like mine. We weren't far from the epicenter, no damage. Probably you know why.
More load desired = larger bucket. Remember Bertha with her 3 yd bucket? Still popular around here. She brings in $85/hr, for a $6k tractor. My considerably larger than 440 crawler went to live in Peru. Surprised me, $17k for the container trip there. Must be a serious shortage of antique Cats. I offered to operate her if they'd buy me a plane ticket, but that didn't work. Needed road building to replace the family farm road that washed out in a 100 yr flood. Language might have been an issue.
Surreal to have a group of Peruvians on my mountain one Sunday evening taking small phone movies of me operating the crawler, sending it to Peru. Then somebody there told them buy it.
You may finally be retired but you're still using the gray matter. My insurance agent, in frustration of trying to fit me into a category, decided several years ago that I must be "retired". As you well know, when faced with a substantial expenditure it's always good to examine your options. That's how eureka moments happen. Extend-a-hoe is well worth the money if you look that direction, but excavators are the main game. Nothing I'd choose to buy, but I'm happy with my duo. I can borrow an extend-a-hoe anytime from a guy who bought it for me to operate, then I taught him. Project's completed, but he loves the tractor.
Your post came out like everybody else's on my browser. Good to see you're still kicking. Have fun with the project. Here, 10 minutes per yard is allowed placement time before surcharges kick in. They cut me some slack, for volume.
How ya doing?
long time gone missing. I finally sold that place in Utah, we're here in New Mexico now. Another not suited for PAHS. Ruby still has her sox, is your Missus still at it?
Check in at the other place, it's a little more entertaining. I had a hard time getting in, Delphi remembers your old name but won't let you use it cuz it's already taken.
Good to see you again, Joe H
Tom
Any trips up to Lake Erie next summer?
And, if you do go over and they let you in........
don't forget to come back and visit. This place isn't dead, doesn't take a genious mentality to navigate and still serves a decent function w/o all the bull shit crap that pervaded the old site.
Not that it's easy nor didn't lose a ton of history with the picture threads and certainly not the volume,
but it's here if you should have an urge to stop by.
But I digress
alot.
Hey Calvin, still making annual trips delivering my mother to Michigan, but I've been flying back. That lovely Pearson hasn't been wet since those strong winds made the marina shallow a couple of years ago, significant hull damage. I think about you as I drive up 23, but that's not a good time to dally. Mom hit 100 this fall. I guess that's the reason for her impatience.
One of these years I'll get to Carey in August for the real show. That is part of your annual schedule, isn't it?
It is nice to see that this forum is still around, serves a distinct function. The photo threads, like Mike Smith's were impossible for me. Then we got better internet, and now they're gone. Was good to see the round photos, that posting still works. If the sniping here is lessened, that would be good. Management asked about my absence, I explained. My primary interest is pretty narrow anyway. q = A (k/t) ΔT, yup that's fascinating (conduction).
Digression is good. Hope you're still taking those excellent photos. I'll try to get back with a couple of conical roof examples that are wonderful. A very interesting guy once opined "Walls are the easy part, just pile up almost anything. It's the roof that gets interesting." His houses were the polar opposite of mine, weighed about as much as an SUV. Had to be anchored to prevent being blown away. And we both favor large spans.
I hope you're not still waiting for that rib delivery...
Tom
As luck would have it-we took over the place when we made our annual late fall sojurn down to New Riegel-25 or so, we had the longest table in the place and Hilda was very gracious in our setup. There's talk of another trip down there soon.
Keep me in mind if you come this way, and tell your mom that she's one heck of a lady!