Please don't take this too hard, just MY opinion and I might be miss judging you... but I had decades in the construction business including my Dads company doing their own concrete work. No subs for you . Over the years I have seen some messes made by others/homegamers. If those forms are any representation of your concrete poring and finishing knowledge sorry, bad idea. I do not think they will hold. If even just one area fails mid pore you have a mess to fix and no time to do it. Maybe they would squeak by if the forms are backfilled well with dirt... By the way, the concrete places here give only thirty min to unload, then they can start charging extra for truck tie up. Unless your help is good and experienced and pre approves the forming, hire it out.

Maybe go ahead and gravel and compact it to proper grade and then lay pavers?

I'm going to rephrase my earlier post. There's no way I'd let the guy who laid out that path do my concrete work.

I am guessing the dimensions based on what I see, so correct me if I am wrong:

Front near the gate:
6' x 8' and roughly 4" to 5" deep.

Walkway from front area to back:
between 32" and 3' wide by roughly 12' long and 4.5"-5" deep

If that is close, you are talking about only needing 2.3 yards of concrete, and some concrete places require a 3-5 yard minimum (at least around here). Getting it down will not be the issue - finishing it will be unless your buddies are skilled at the trade.

As another person said, blocking off that one bed between the concrete and the house could be a disaster holding far too much moisture.

For that sized walkway/ patio, I would recommend gravel, crushed run, tamped with nice patio pavers. You would need about 65 square feet of pavers, a diamond blade for your circular saw, 2/3 yard of gravel, 1 cubic yard of paver base, a tamper, and a bucket of locking sand.

Consider putting conduit under the concrete in places to facilitate running wiring and/or water pipe runs.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
I'm going to rephrase my earlier post. There's no way I'd let the guy who laid out that path do my concrete work.

Classic.

Well it was dark after all. But I agree - what looks like minor waves in form will look like drunken wavy random crap once poured.

Pavers would look better, and can be put down in a slow and controlled manner.
When we needed something like that done, we hired it done. The pros included things like drainage slopes which I wouldn’t have thought of.
I’ve done concrete for a spa base, but that was much smaller than what you are planning.

I worked pool construction in high school and college. I’ve wheeled over a 1,000 yards. At the power plant, we poured 900 yards in the fuel yard so the loafers wouldn’t sink in the rainy season. That’s was straight out of the chute.

With two or three guys wheeling, your job isn’t too big.

I’ve seen the business end of a concrete truck plenty. However I wasn’t given ample opportunities to practice my finishing skills. Hence, hire it out. I had a former neighbor (vet student and poor) and his dad pour a side driveway and side area. They went the DYI route. The pour was OK, but the finish work was awful (D- at best and I’m being generous). It simply looked hideous on an otherwise $400k home. It was just awful.

When I did the patio and sidewalks for my current home, I hired a guy to finish. I set the forms etc and the guy double checked my work to ensure we wouldn’t have problems afterward.

From the pics, your forms need some help as well as prepping the pour area. Check slope, depth, anticipate where expansion joints will go etc. Do have to bury drainage for the yard or downspouts? Yes, add Schedule 80 3/4” if you want to add lights later. Also throw in a section of Schedule 40 3/4 for future sprinkler or drip. Super easy and cheap to add it now.

In short, pay a skilled concrete guy to finish what you’ve started. You’ve done a lot of the hard work by clearing the area. That will save a few bucks. And I believe you’re well under a single load. If you go solo, keep in mind the concrete company will have a minimum load delivery to meet without charging a “short load” fee.

In short, pay up.

Holy mackeral. The layout of path isn’t finished yet. I’m just messing with random designs.

I just want to know if this space is ok to do in one pour.

I fully realize what is needed for this project and I’m pretty sure I’m fully capable of handling this, especially since both of my helpers on pour day are strong old dudes with experience doing this sort of thing.

I still have to settle on a path, (uniform 4 ft across), I still have to complete the forms and reenforce them. I still have to fill some dirt in because I dug a bit deep. I have to compact the soil, add 4 inches of gravel, mesh, etc.

I have all the concrete finishing tools necessary for this project. My neighbor is a retired contractor and gave me everything he owns, which has helped me keep costs down as I do a full redesign of my home. I’m finished with all the inside stuff, I gutted and remodeled everything myself, I’m pretty capable.

Thank you all for your concern. I’ll be ok and it’ll look great.

Well, one thing I can say about SigForum, when you ask a question, you will generally gets lots of varied answers. This thread might be the most unanimous "don't do it" thread I have ever seen on here.

quote:

Originally posted by RAMIUS:
Holy mackeral. The layout of path isn’t finished yet. I’m just messing with random designs.

I just want to know if this space is ok to do in one pour.

To this ~ one pour is perfectly doable.

Okay. Until I went to college at age 45, I drove a concrete truck for 20 years. I made my side money by doing driveways, patios, and sidewalks. With 2 helpers I could do your job without rushing. Information for you: at 4" deep you get 81 square feet per yard. You get 6 minutes per yard unloading time. At the time, $1 per minute after the 6 minutes per yard. Most drivers will give you slack on the time up to the point where they don't have the choice when dispatch needs them back quick. With a small load in the summer you won't get an early load, most likely get it in the afternoon. Regular customers with big pours get priority. Ask for retarder to give you a little extra time to work it before it takes off on you.

I’ll again suggest that you hire at least a guy to finish. If he’s good, he’ll be able to make the best of any shortcomings inherent in the forms, slopes, and preparation.

Or not.

OK cool, you got this, but in all fairness...

quote:

Originally posted by RAMIUS:
I’ve never done concrete before

...is a big red flag to us in the know. We are just looking out for a Sig brother.

Love the yard by the way!

Sure you can do it with one pour, especially with a concrete pump. Should you do it in one pour, I wouldn't. Hire someone to spread the concrete. You're being penny smart and pound foolish by doing it youself.

quote:

Originally posted by cparktd:
OK cool, you got this, but in all fairness...

quote:

Originally posted by RAMIUS:
I’ve never done concrete before

...is a big red flag to us in the know. We are just looking out for a Sig brother.

Love the yard by the way!

Thanks!

I’m gonna concrete the hell out of this pathway/trash area. It’s gonna be the best concrete ever.

It will be the talk of the neighborhood! (In a good way)

OK, now we know better where you are coming from, you have help, tools and some construction experience. This is all good.
A note in your explanation where I would suggest a minor change - you talked of the ground being “a little deep and needing to fill it in”
As I understand when pouring slabs they should be on stone on top of “undisturbed soil”. IE don’t fill in low spots. They will be soft and will later compact, allowing movement of the slab - or part of it. They typically break at those points.
The option is more stone or more concrete. Given the choice I would put down your standard thickness of stone (preferably compacted) and then extra concrete.
In brief - thicker is better when using concrete.
A richer mix is also better. I tend to over build, so my concrete mixes have been 4,000 psi.

Want it to last forever? Rebar and a 6-8” slab.

All in one pour? - piece of cake.

quote:

Originally posted by Chris42:

In brief - thicker is better when using concrete.
A richer mix is also better. I tend to over build, so my concrete mixes have been 4,000 psi.

Want it to last forever? Rebar and a 6-8” slab.

FFS man! 6" with rebar and 4000 PSI mix is so overkill it is not even funny. 6" with 4000 PSI mix is essentially a heavy commercial driveway, or footing for a commercial building. 8" with 4000 PSI mix is what they use to make industrial road aprons and bomb shelters.

I'm pretty sure he said the slab was for garbage cans, not a Cat 797F.

quote:

FFS man! 6" with rebar and 4000 PSI mix is so overkill it is not even funny. 6" with 4000 PSI mix is essentially a heavy commercial driveway,

That's what I have in my shop floor to hold all of those big vault doors.

Since everyone is talking about concrete, how much extra cost does it add if they have to pump it through a hose to a backyard? (As an example, maybe 16 to 18 yards over 150'-175')

[/QUOTE]

Thanks!

I’m gonna concrete the hell out of this pathway/trash area. It’s gonna be the best concrete ever.

It will be the talk of the neighborhood! (In a good way) [/QUOTE]

You'll need to post photos when it's done so we can critique your work and give more opinions.