No, I do not mean going out and mixing a bazillion bags of concrete myself, but rather as a homeowner hiring a supplier to deliver to my desired location and feed the concrete onto a pump-fed hose or conveyor to my backyard.
I am in Gwinnett County, Georgia (30518-519) and have no idea what the cost is these days to get the material supply delivered. As a DIY-er of sorts, I wonder how much this alone would cost. Then add the amount for someone to prep the footprint, install the forms and form the concrete, etc.
I know people price the concrete by the yard (cubic yard), but I do not know how much those trucks hold, the common cash-counter minimum purchase requirements, and so on. I think to the overall job costs, the material costs would probably be more minority than majority. I’m also thinking about pouring footings around the perimeter of the footprint for ‘future’ needs.
Also, I wonder in the same mental note what it might cost to acid-stain concrete concrete surfaces.
Replies
I don't know about acid stained concrete but an outdoor project - like a shed might a good place to try it out...
Other than that, here in NC, a few states away from you, 3000 PSI concrete is running about $101 a cubic yard delivered and the ready mix companies have a 2 or 3 yard minimum with possibly a short load sur-charge. Concrete trucks around here hold either 9 or 10 yards, depending on the truck style. If you order 11 yards there is not short load surcharge, and the order terminology is "10+" (ten plus).
Pump trucks can get expensive, like maybe $225 an hr with 2 hr minimum. Those miniature pump trucks are neat but I've never seen one around here. The other thing is that you have to provide a place for the pump truck to prime and cleanout which can sometimes result in a significant of concrete mess, so generally a large hole is dug for the pump to use.
If you want someone to prep and form, you might as well have them pour too. A turn key contractor price for standard 4" (nominal) thick flatwork might be around $3 a sq ft, so I'll guess a HO might expect to pay around $4, or even $5 for a smallish job - say under 6 yards. They would probably for-go the pump and either "hump it" in a wheelbarrow or "georgia buggies" or just use their bobcat to transport the concrete to the back yard, provided there is some access. If it is up hill they might use motorized georgia buggies. Your yard can get really messed up though.
Matt, thanks for replying. When you say 'pump truck' can you clarify this? I am talking about a man holding a 2" (ID) hose that is pump-fed. The hose lays on the ground for 50-150'. This is not a pump truck when there is a giant boom-arm with steel tubing attached to the boom--those run ~$1200/day rental.
The last time I priced concrete around my home (~5 years ago) it was running $150/yard, but I do not know if the pricing has gone up or down. While $3/SqFt is reasonable (thinking 20'x24'), I would wonder what the charge would be footings as well. Can footings and slab be poured monolithicly?
Oh, the grade is all downhill from front to back yard.
If you pump through a hose laying on the ground, or through a boom in the air, it's still a pump. Still needs a place to dump the cleanout.
Yes you can pour the footings and slab at the same time. Have you calculated the amount of concrete required? You really need to know that pretty early so you can get meaningful answrers from the concrete supplier and the concrete movers ... either a pump or a wheelbarrow or anything in between."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Yes I was talking about the giant boom pump truck.
Of course, the cost per turn-key sq ft of concrete is directly proportional to the cost of the delivered redi-mix concrete. Right now I'm paying $5.15 a sq ft for monolithically poured slab/footings and that includes excavation, forms, gravel, plastic, anchor bolts and some 1" rigid foam insulation. Keep in mind that is a contractor's price which means that they expect me to be a repeat customer and give them a larger pour's each time.
Nuke, you are looking to hire a "line pump", or trailer pump, as opposed to a boom pump.
But really, if you are not working with "mud" or a regular basis, you might as well get a contractor to form and pour for you.
He will get a much better material price than you, which will allow him to price your job better than you can do it yourself.( hopefully)
He will also be able to find the best pricing for a pump, because he rents regularly.
Make money buy seeking out the best contractor's price, and doing what you are an "expert" at on your project.
You're in Georgia, why not use Georgia buggies??? ;o) http://www.rentrain.com/actionrentalkpt/product.php?id=939Around here, trucks carry 11 yards unless they are the 'mini' version (rare) which holds 4 yards and can more easily drive across your lawn (hint hint)
Jeff
Edited 6/3/2007 10:39 pm ET by Jeff_Clarke
in your part of the country... you should be able to find a hispanic crew that could get you done in 2 days... one to grade & form the other to place & finish...
you didn't say the size or type work... but... most of these type crews you pay for material and then pay them for labor...
Size matters.... labor will be about the same if it's 10x10 or 20x20... you are still use'n up 2 days of the guys time....
material cost... just guess it at 1.50 a sf... might be high if no rebar ect... might be low if you need rebar & foam...
if it's level gound... in your area... $400 on the low side... $1000 on the high side
acid stain... it's under $50 a gallon and a $15 garden spayer... gallon is good for around 400sf depending on the color and how dark you want it...
p
Spoke to a couple of neighbors yesterday, one who is about to have some additional concrete poured on his lot. Seems this isn't the first time. He is having a slab poured measuring 15'x20'. Material and labor $1200 (split 50/50). This is sidewalk grade, but 4" thick.
Spoke to another labor who is a contractor and he pays ~$3/SqFt. In both cases this is moving material (concrete) from the truck to the drop via wheelbarrow. If I want to rent a pump truck, the last time I priced it was $1200/day.
I was thinking of a 20'x24' slab with some 2'x2.5' footings, rebar, etc. all to structural code to support a one-story elevation (addition) down the line. Hey, apparently the neighbor having the concrete poured is getting the work done by another (3rd) neighbor that has been doing the brickwork for this builder and five other builders around town.
This individual has a new Tundra, Escalade, and Saleen Mustang. Life must be doing him well.
Rememeber the concrete driver is not your friend, he wants to pour wet so he can leave earlly. Drivers are laborer with driver license, that all.
.
A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do...
"Rememeber the concrete driver is not your friend, he wants to pour wet so he can leave earlly. Drivers are laborer with driver license, that all."
Painting with a pretty broad brush BB.
MikeInsert initially amusing but ultimately annoying catch phrase here.
OK, let see, 23 years pouring concrete. from detriot to columbus to corpus chisti from pensacola to nawlin. over 1000 drivers I know by name, hell I know their kids and wifes. I cant think of one thats worth a nickel. They are laborers with a drivers license. and by the time you relise they screw you, its on the ground and they are gone. They are like used car saleman, they going to screw you, period.Remember if they did their job right, it could put me out of business. I dont see that coming..A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do...
You noticed.
BB never has anything nice to say about ANY of his compatriots in the concrete trades. Finishers, drivers........ all lowlife to him.
And he'll always chirp that line. Sad fellow.
let say as a carpenter your plans say 16 oc , 5/8 plywood or corners around windows and doors, but everybody in town, decide that they know better that the engineer and does anything from 19 oc to 36 oc. use 3/8 cdx and the hell with the windows and doors. What would you say.It the same with concrete, there is hardly one crew out there that does a job the correct way and when it goes to hell, they ask me what wrong. With the computer systems in today plants, it rare for the concrete company to messss up a mix. It happen but usually a maintance item, gate sticking. So the only people that can ruin your job are the finishers and drivers. They see each other daily, they are usually friend, brother in laws, neighbors.So they screw up your job, you have a crack slab, hey I got my money , never be back anyway.And you sitting there. out the money for concrete, out the money for pumping truck and you mad at me because I told you, the finisher going screw you .Oh not my guy, yes he is, you just not watching close enough..A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do...
You make it sound like all concrete trades are rip-off artists.
We get paid 30 to 60 days later as a rule, very little COD.
If the job has a problem, it's idenitified long before we get paid.
I have a problem understanding how you can go to work each day with such a low
opinion of those around you?
Sad, that you think you're so much better
than everyone else.
Don't sh_t where you eat BB, you'll gag on it someday.
Edited 6/5/2007 2:31 pm ET by ericicf
they are.A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do...
bump.
I always tell my kids that when you use terms like never or always, you're generally wrong. I also know that if I knew 1000 people by name that were COMPLETE wastes of skin I probably wouldn't bother to get to know their wives or children.
Mike
Insert initially amusing but ultimately annoying catch phrase here.
Edited 6/5/2007 8:05 pm ET by Junkman001
ten four!
20'x24' with 2'x2.5' footings. Concrete material would be ~200 CuFt for footings. Depending on where the slab resides inside the footing's imprint or not, 107-160 CuFt for the slab. Say, 13-15 yards. Plus rebar, wire mesh, etc., etc., etc.
DIVIDE by 27.A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do...
You being funny?
I know that a cubic yard is 3'x3'x3'. Maybe some of those masons you've been hanging around couldn't multiple, or divide. :)
Nuke:
Concrete is placed, never poured.
Kowboy
but in reality, concrete is poured and never placed..A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do...
And sometimes it is mis-placed and has to be jackhammerd out.
Project that I just finished, they were pouring concrete with a 4" slump. Test results were nice and high."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
> I know people price the concrete by the yard (cubic yard), but I do
> not know how much those trucks hold, the common cash-counter minimum
> purchase requirements, and so on.
A typical truck holds 18 yards. If you want something between 3 and 18 yards, the companies will usually treat you well and deliver pretty much when you want it. The less you want, the pickier they are about the details. For very small deliveries (say, 1 yard) what they usually do is piggyback your load onto a larger one. The larger one gets delivered first, and there may not be enough left for you. In that case, you get re-scheduled.
Back in 1973, my BIL found a deal where he could rent a trailer with a freshly mixed 1/3 yard of concrete and haul it home. It was a pretty good price, but nobody told him what concrete weighs. Wrecked the bumper hitch on his Toyota and made downhills pretty interesting.
A typical truck holds 18 yardsI have never seen an 18 yard truck, the biggest we have is 9 yards. anything over 6 is illegal on state highways..A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do...
Around here (southern NH), the standard is 11 yard front-dumps.
We also seem to have some good drivers - a couple years ago we were pouring a couple shed floors at my dad's place and the driver was very helpful and accommodating.
When I had my garage foundation done, I was pretty surprised how well the driver could manage to keep the end of the 24'+ trough centered over the 8" wall that was being poured-- as he had to swing the trough sideways at the same time he was backing up the truck.
Generally, they'll give you whatever slump you want. On my garage floor, my finisher asked for a 4 or 5 (don't remember which), and the driver was happy to dial it in. (they can do everything except clean up right from the cab). The second truck with the last 3 yards was a little soupy - they had missed it a bit at the plant when they loaded the truck.
Don
Edited 6/4/2007 12:49 pm ET by DonNH
grpphoto,
I have never seen an 18 yd. concrete truck. 40 yrs . of pouring done in several states and the largest I have ever seen delivered out of one truck was 12 yds. That was a front dump Rite-Way , pouring 1/4 mile from the batch plant, no public property to cross. We can get 10 yd. loads here, trucks are mostly front dumps with an extra set of retractable highway wheels for the weight limits.
"Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
Edited 6/4/2007 12:56 pm by dovetail97128
In my bouncing about the country, I do recall seeing a couple of monster mixers that had to be about 19 yards. Lots of axles.
But the vast majority have been the traditional 9 yarders. Also recall seeing those 12 yd fronters a few times.
Pete,
The all wheel drive front dumps are real common around here. Once you pour with those you never want to go back to the rear dump. Seem to have gotten popular first with the more rural batch plants as a way to service the difficult terrain. Bigger loads, all wheel drive and no spill out when climbing steep hills . 10 yds. is max for highway use though and in some areas 8 because of weight limits.
"Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
Well, it's been 30 years since I was told the capacity, so I'm probably wrong. I just built the forms back then.George Patterson
One thing I learned the hard way - wear rubber boots if you want to prevent 3rd degree alkali burns on your feet.