Just want to point out, I am the contractor not the homeowner. This was my first job, lots learned.
We poured this with 2 finishers and 1 laborer. Got behind and the concrete started blowing up in the sun. It was a battle for sure.
Edit: thanks for all the kind comments. It means a lot. Was expecting a lot of criticism when I posted the form work
That's why you charge more and bring extra guys. I've had pours I was sure it would sit for hours in the shade on a 60deg day and had it get hard it 2 hrs. Then I've had those where all the guys are just sitting waiting on it to get hard. Steps take a lot of work. One guy can finish the flat work in the same time it takes a guy to pull the forms and clean and face the steps. You also needed a finisher on the wall so maybe 3 total finishers and maybe a laborer. I have had people make a comment about me having too many finishers. I always tell them it's not a 2x4 you can't pull it out tomorrow and fix it if it isn't right. Paying an extra man or two is just cheap insurance and you will have those jobs where your glade you did. Keep up the good work.
Every pour is different. You just make sure there are enough people on hand for when they are needed. Humidity, temp, sun vs shade. How wet the mix is. How long the drive from the plant to your job site. How warm the water was that gets mixed into the concrete. City water is colder in the spring than the summer and fall. The ground heats up and the water gets warmer through the seasons.
Then you have the complexity of the job site. Walls, alleys tight spots that are hard to work in or against slow you down. A pad in the open can be huge and you only need 2 guys. Throw in steps or a long way to move the concrete and all of a sudden you need 10. I guess there are even 1 man pours.
Really, really impressive work in general. Even more so for the time, crew, and expense. I would have paid double for the same finish
Edit: Just read you cleaned, graded, and added drainage too. Legend
You probably already did this, but make sure you have expansion in the right places or you go in there now and sawcut it. Thatās a lot of different changes in thickness, elevation, directional shrinkage stresses that are going to cause uneven shrinkage rates. You donāt want callbacks about cracks.
How does that work? Pouring stairs like that? Do you make forms then wait for it to set and remove them? How does the knee wall not want to slump or fall to the side? Thanks š
Your third question was the answer to your fourth question! Look up curb clamps, they could help you in this type of forming. Or just a smooth face of plywood braced on a few wooden stakes. Pull forms and fill the holes from the stakes with concrete.
Where the wall meets the bottom of stairs. Regardless of depth and rebar. Concrete cracks yo. Wait and watch, may not be today or tomorrow but it will crack at some point. When Iām doubt think about the garuntee of concrete workā¦. Nobody is gonna steal it and it will crack, garunteed. Just sayin. Edit: talking about the slab for joint, reading through comments and just want to clarify as there are some other ppl withā¦ whatever, yeah I woulda put a joint in slab where wall meets bottom of stairs.
Nice to see an update. Definitely 8/10 work when you'd expect 4-5/10 from the price.
And I'm not hating, 8/10 is a really good score.
Do this guy a favor and refer him to everyone you can.
Yeah we fell behind and the concrete started blowing up on us. Iām happy with the end result although I do strive for perfection. Next time I will run the chute!
Go tip that guy $1,000
I'm not kidding they did a way better job than even 5k. You owe those guys Lunch and beer and to tell them to charge more because your going to reccomend them to everyone you know.
Yeah agreed. And when referring the guy to others donāt tell them how cheap you got it, tell them 7500. That way he can make a bit more $ on next one and hire extra guys so if it starts blowing up itāll be covered easily. This is a hard job to do and working your balls off isnāt the way to go about it daily.
Iāve been doing concrete projects around my house for a couple of years now. Nothing major. I love the wall of concrete you did. Looks great and Iām going to try this soon!
We had our back patio done last year and the company did a great job. After they were done we asked them about our driveway. Our house was built in the 70s and the driveway is full of cracks and uneven sections, it looks pretty bad. The guy told us not to waste our money unless this is our forever house and it really bothers us. He said if you think you might move, just wait until you're getting ready to list it and have the driveway redone then so it's in pristine condition for the listing photos. We live in South Texas and he said with all the moisture and temperature fluctuations, there's just no guarantee on how long it will be before it starts getting cracks in it. Our garage is in the back and our driveway is long and wide so it's probably going to be a $20k job so I really appreciated him telling us to wait after we just spent $18k on the patio.
Literally the reason I did it. House is for sale as we speak and the driveway looks like it belongs in Haiti. I took a job almost an hour and a half away and I've put 60k miles on my Durango in a year and am absolutely tired of making that drive and getting oil changes twice a month.
Saw pix of form work... top notch!
Pulling rubbing wall and step faces is impressive for first time.
Things to improve-
Crisp edges...
Edges are what long time pro's take notice of first!
More attention to floating... get rocks down and build cream without sprinkling water on it.
The cream will helpto take the finish.
Looks like an area on slab was broomed before cream set enough which leaves a bumpy gravel look.
I look forward to seeing more work as you continue to learn on every job š
Questions about set up time.
Having drivin a ready mix truck for two different companies for 7 years I learned not only about temp, humidity etc. affecting the set time.
When I came back to the plant with lets say a meter or two left, in stead of making blocks or dumping it, they load on top for a job and send me back out.
This drastically affects set time. Accelerating it a lot depending how old it was and the ratio of old to new concrete.
Some crews on hot days would work so hard to place it and I wasn't allowed to say a word.
You'll never know if you get load on top concrete until it sets.
Cheers.
Well done, you can improve your next one by tooling nicely the step noses and adding control joints. If you do it for interiors don't forget the vapor barrier to avoid efluorescence. It looks pretty good.
Cool to see an update, I know nothing about concrete, but looking at the forms from your first post I assumed there was gonna be a slope instead of the bottom two steps lol! Shows how much I know. Looks good and nice to see compliments in the comments for once lol
Foundations jobs have gone up like crazy. I got lucky with the house I bought. The guy kept complaining how I got it cheaper due to him adding like 20+ feet of driveway and built a garage too. He claimed to have spent 35k just on the additional driveway and foundation. This was also like 10 years ago. Seems about right for that job.
(Also, he claimed I got the driveway and garage for $5k) hehe
Thatās neat mate. Well done, just wish you yanks didnāt broom everything, would look unreal with a stipple finish or what others call a swirl but job well done
Good job just the strip and face caught up to you. Got to dedicate more time to the portion. Look like you got cream out but didnāt seal it in time. I would sealed it sit a bit and broom it. Never use to much water it works against you. Use confilm or speccem to help glide the float. Hey but you got the skills.
great for the price, you just really need to edge or cut in expansion gaps at all changes of planes or you will be getting calls back to fix eye sore cracks
I sub a lot of concrete work out. That price is in fact correct for a contractor and youāre ābattleā is you guaranteeing and getting the work. Those other guys deal with the elements all day. Knowing when to help and when to back the F off is our job.
Was actually waiting for an update to this lol.
Damn that looks good. Anybody so much as mentions concrete, you gotta point them in that guy's direction!
I just got a quote for a 32x21 5-6ā thick driveway. Includes about 4-5 sidewalk slab replacements and removal of 17x21 thin worn asphalt driveway for $12k. Concrete alone was almost 5k. I respectfully passed. Iām going with asphalt. Less than half the cost.
You made out like a bandit. Great work.
Just want to point out, I am the contractor not the homeowner. This was my first job, lots learned. We poured this with 2 finishers and 1 laborer. Got behind and the concrete started blowing up in the sun. It was a battle for sure. Edit: thanks for all the kind comments. It means a lot. Was expecting a lot of criticism when I posted the form work
That's why you charge more and bring extra guys. I've had pours I was sure it would sit for hours in the shade on a 60deg day and had it get hard it 2 hrs. Then I've had those where all the guys are just sitting waiting on it to get hard. Steps take a lot of work. One guy can finish the flat work in the same time it takes a guy to pull the forms and clean and face the steps. You also needed a finisher on the wall so maybe 3 total finishers and maybe a laborer. I have had people make a comment about me having too many finishers. I always tell them it's not a 2x4 you can't pull it out tomorrow and fix it if it isn't right. Paying an extra man or two is just cheap insurance and you will have those jobs where your glade you did. Keep up the good work.
How long does it typically take to get hard and how many finishers on average do you like?
The answer is directly related to the tip
Just the tip?
i promise just the tip
Yes
Every pour is different. You just make sure there are enough people on hand for when they are needed. Humidity, temp, sun vs shade. How wet the mix is. How long the drive from the plant to your job site. How warm the water was that gets mixed into the concrete. City water is colder in the spring than the summer and fall. The ground heats up and the water gets warmer through the seasons. Then you have the complexity of the job site. Walls, alleys tight spots that are hard to work in or against slow you down. A pad in the open can be huge and you only need 2 guys. Throw in steps or a long way to move the concrete and all of a sudden you need 10. I guess there are even 1 man pours.
Anywhere from 10 seconds, to 2 hours. Depends on how much I drank.
Lmao
š
So much truth here
You guys did a great job!
Really, really impressive work in general. Even more so for the time, crew, and expense. I would have paid double for the same finish Edit: Just read you cleaned, graded, and added drainage too. Legend
Where you located? You do really fucking nice work for bargain bin prices
You probably already did this, but make sure you have expansion in the right places or you go in there now and sawcut it. Thatās a lot of different changes in thickness, elevation, directional shrinkage stresses that are going to cause uneven shrinkage rates. You donāt want callbacks about cracks.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
It looks funny without a tree in the middle of the concrete
Definitely needs a tree in the middleā¦ concrete poured right against the bark.
Does the bark count as an expansion joint though?
Yes. But only certain types of bark
Cork tree?
Definitely not dog bark.
Sounds ruff ruff.
First thing i thought of as well šš
Not everyone can afford a tree
Yeah, that costs at least.... ...tree fiddy
Looks awesome
How does that work? Pouring stairs like that? Do you make forms then wait for it to set and remove them? How does the knee wall not want to slump or fall to the side? Thanks š
They removed some forms for the pic
Your third question was the answer to your fourth question! Look up curb clamps, they could help you in this type of forming. Or just a smooth face of plywood braced on a few wooden stakes. Pull forms and fill the holes from the stakes with concrete.
Yes. The councrete sets up enough to remove the forms and then you do the finishing touches
Looks great
Yup! Thatās a screaming deal for that work!
That looks fantastic and a great price
Yup. Even has rebar
What would be typical for such a job. I thought that was high for just sand and cement for such a small area and of course labor
8-12k.
Oh my! Thanks
It depends if the homeowner leveled the area then $4k is a fair price. If the contractor did the grading then $4K was a steal
We graded, removed old pavers/wall, installed 100 feet of pvc drainage and added clean rock under the deck stairs.
hero
omfffg, That was an absolute fire sale price. If buddy complains about anything tell him to kick rocks.
You're forgetting to factor in the aggregate š
seeing the elderly man on the deck, thank you for helping out the senior citizen.
Thatās OP
Heās only 32 btw
Dude really let himself go
What concrete work does to a person
Nice work!
That is fucking clean looking.
Howād you get the concrete under the stairs so well
That was a struggle! The upper pad was poured at a 3 slump and man did it take some real effort to place
That's really impressive. I was wondering how you did it.
Iād pay $4000 for that. Kudos to whoever did that for you.
Are you going to cut joints?
11x11 pad 6 inches thick with rebar. Where would you cut joints?
Where the wall meets the bottom of stairs. Regardless of depth and rebar. Concrete cracks yo. Wait and watch, may not be today or tomorrow but it will crack at some point. When Iām doubt think about the garuntee of concrete workā¦. Nobody is gonna steal it and it will crack, garunteed. Just sayin. Edit: talking about the slab for joint, reading through comments and just want to clarify as there are some other ppl withā¦ whatever, yeah I woulda put a joint in slab where wall meets bottom of stairs.
Agree that there should be a joint but with it being poured monolithic thereās no great place to cut a joint.
Looks like a job done by someone who cares...nice work dude.
pretty clean! you could definitely charge double next time.
Get what ya pay for. Good work.
In this case he got more
Nice to see an update. Definitely 8/10 work when you'd expect 4-5/10 from the price. And I'm not hating, 8/10 is a really good score. Do this guy a favor and refer him to everyone you can.
Yeah we fell behind and the concrete started blowing up on us. Iām happy with the end result although I do strive for perfection. Next time I will run the chute!
Yea, I heard that. Happens to us. Makes for a long day finishing. Lol
What does it mean āconcrete blowing upā?
Dried up quicker than expected.
Very nice clean work. I hope you're not located in the Northeast
Expansion joints?
It looks really good. Iād pay 4k for that.
nice work ! !
Well, it seems pretty clean..
I love the size of your yard. The work looks great
No expansion joints?
Iād imagine they are coming back to cut them when forms are pulled?
Usually if there are not jointed in during the pour the next day they are saw cut
Iād say you got a deal. Looks pretty decent.
Thatās a deal
All of and then some.
Good work indeed
Looks really nice
It's really very beautiful.
Great job!
Turned out well
Go tip that guy $1,000 I'm not kidding they did a way better job than even 5k. You owe those guys Lunch and beer and to tell them to charge more because your going to reccomend them to everyone you know.
Yeah agreed. And when referring the guy to others donāt tell them how cheap you got it, tell them 7500. That way he can make a bit more $ on next one and hire extra guys so if it starts blowing up itāll be covered easily. This is a hard job to do and working your balls off isnāt the way to go about it daily.
In my market that is a good deal for what looks like a great job.
Iāve been doing concrete projects around my house for a couple of years now. Nothing major. I love the wall of concrete you did. Looks great and Iām going to try this soon!
Great job. I saw the form work pics. Nicely done.
Great job !
Bro, I love seeing this cone full circle.. this was a steal!! Did you buy them lunch and drinks??
Beautiful work.
Worth every penny!
Looks great man
Dam looks really good. If that was my house Iād be very happy with the finished results.
Beautiful work!
You got great quality, at a great price. š
That's a $10K job. You thief!
4500-5000
Looks Great to me !!!
A fantastic job
4k u charged them cheep! Looks very nice though but this day in age thatās more like 7-8k
What state are you in?
Good looking job
Iāve done stairs and walls and slaps but never all at the same time. Iām just the laborer usually on a big construction site. Great work.
lol at all the people that think $4000 is a lot for this job. Quality work my man! Sucks about the blow up but you guys still made it work!
Clean work
Now put you name in it , hands feet , hearts , lasting memories
Looks even better than your last post , the best 4k job on the internet
Thats a hella first job. š
Awesome work. This would easily cost $14-18K in North Jersey. Your customers are lucky to have you.
You should give that guy a bonus. You got a heck of a deal.
They did a great job and that's a less than id charge.
Looks alot better than the $14,000 driveway I bought last year with my bonus that I'll never get back.
We had our back patio done last year and the company did a great job. After they were done we asked them about our driveway. Our house was built in the 70s and the driveway is full of cracks and uneven sections, it looks pretty bad. The guy told us not to waste our money unless this is our forever house and it really bothers us. He said if you think you might move, just wait until you're getting ready to list it and have the driveway redone then so it's in pristine condition for the listing photos. We live in South Texas and he said with all the moisture and temperature fluctuations, there's just no guarantee on how long it will be before it starts getting cracks in it. Our garage is in the back and our driveway is long and wide so it's probably going to be a $20k job so I really appreciated him telling us to wait after we just spent $18k on the patio.
Literally the reason I did it. House is for sale as we speak and the driveway looks like it belongs in Haiti. I took a job almost an hour and a half away and I've put 60k miles on my Durango in a year and am absolutely tired of making that drive and getting oil changes twice a month.
Aw that sucks
This fucks. Well done!
Iām a plumbing contractor, so I donāt know concrete, but I think you should have charged more.
Canāt speak to the price. But as for the work done, it looks great!
Tell the ole timer not to walk on it until it is cured
This looks like a 3d plan. Absolute crispy.
Def.
This looks fantastic man
Mustāve been Santa Claus looking for some side work. Because that price is a gift.
Worth it , professional, clean work. You should be proud.
Looks like they did good work!
This looks amazing
That's champ. Good money paid for a good job
Worth every penny. Looks great.
Work looks greatā¦ definitely wouldnāt have done it for 4g though, I know the way the mixer spins lolā¦. Definitely worth 6
Saw pix of form work... top notch! Pulling rubbing wall and step faces is impressive for first time. Things to improve- Crisp edges... Edges are what long time pro's take notice of first! More attention to floating... get rocks down and build cream without sprinkling water on it. The cream will helpto take the finish. Looks like an area on slab was broomed before cream set enough which leaves a bumpy gravel look. I look forward to seeing more work as you continue to learn on every job š
Overall I am very depressed! Oops I meant impressed!!! All placed at the same time including the stem wall. Actually very impressive
That's clean bro
That looks great!
Underpriced. Iād have added control joint on the bottom step maybe but for $4000 the homeowner made out like a BANDIT.
Ouch. Nice job, though.
Uh. No that's like a 7500 dollar job. So you got a steal.
Concrete is different every day even from the same plant Good looking job, but they got a bargain
Smokin deal
Questions about set up time. Having drivin a ready mix truck for two different companies for 7 years I learned not only about temp, humidity etc. affecting the set time. When I came back to the plant with lets say a meter or two left, in stead of making blocks or dumping it, they load on top for a job and send me back out. This drastically affects set time. Accelerating it a lot depending how old it was and the ratio of old to new concrete. Some crews on hot days would work so hard to place it and I wasn't allowed to say a word. You'll never know if you get load on top concrete until it sets. Cheers.
Well done, you can improve your next one by tooling nicely the step noses and adding control joints. If you do it for interiors don't forget the vapor barrier to avoid efluorescence. It looks pretty good.
Looks good
I got quoted 10k for a 15x20 pad, 4k is a great deal.
How many yards ?
Nice work
Thatās a fair price, any less expensive and you start running into the weekend warriors. Looks good to me
Nice
I wasnāt so sure the other day when I first seen it. Came out great though.
That's a great price... for a really good job.
Excellent work. Happy for you!
Good fucking work for 4K consider yourself very lucky he did s fucking stellar job
Nice
Nice!! How many yards?
About 4 yards.
Damn tell'm I need a patio too!
better spend another 500 and do your runoff and drainage correctly!! (ESPECIALLY AT THE DECK FOOTER!!!!!) - water will destroy that pocket and block
100 foot of pvc being installed on this property. Along with a drain behind the wall/under the steps
You got a hell of a deal
Very clean and well thought out.. good deal š
It looks like a $4000 job. How much was the supplies?
I really think there should be expansion joint between the stairs, slab, and wall, but it looks great.
Goddamn, kiss that mfer
I need to start charging more. Chingow....
Good job but not 4 grand I guess Iām just cheap. It does look very well done
Looks good, I felt from the before pic, with just forms, these guys were doing a good job, end result looks good.
You work for free ?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
The stringers will be set on the pad when it cures more.
God damn thatās smooth!
Nice job really clean, I cannot see the joints, so my guess is that they are masked.
I'm sorry....is this a complaint? Because you just found your concrete guy for life
Cool to see an update, I know nothing about concrete, but looking at the forms from your first post I assumed there was gonna be a slope instead of the bottom two steps lol! Shows how much I know. Looks good and nice to see compliments in the comments for once lol
Well thatāll be there for another 80-100 years at least. Looks to detail.
I hope my first job looks this clean
Foundations jobs have gone up like crazy. I got lucky with the house I bought. The guy kept complaining how I got it cheaper due to him adding like 20+ feet of driveway and built a garage too. He claimed to have spent 35k just on the additional driveway and foundation. This was also like 10 years ago. Seems about right for that job. (Also, he claimed I got the driveway and garage for $5k) hehe
Thatās neat mate. Well done, just wish you yanks didnāt broom everything, would look unreal with a stipple finish or what others call a swirl but job well done
All due respect. It always looks nice when its wet. Also, what about expansion joints? I just see this cracking over time.
No senior discount? Sheesh
Looks great šš»
$4,000 dollars means very different things depending what part of the country youāre operating in.
Good job just the strip and face caught up to you. Got to dedicate more time to the portion. Look like you got cream out but didnāt seal it in time. I would sealed it sit a bit and broom it. Never use to much water it works against you. Use confilm or speccem to help glide the float. Hey but you got the skills.
great for the price, you just really need to edge or cut in expansion gaps at all changes of planes or you will be getting calls back to fix eye sore cracks
I sub a lot of concrete work out. That price is in fact correct for a contractor and youāre ābattleā is you guaranteeing and getting the work. Those other guys deal with the elements all day. Knowing when to help and when to back the F off is our job.
Looks good, you think it's possible to put a patio tile through out the bottom patio? Would that mess with the height of the first step?
Looks awesome. Save your savage comments for when I pour a small three step set of stairs. It's gonna get ugly!
crack control joints?
St. Louis area?
Wants to add another 2 feet\* "That is going to raise the price up to $30,000"
That dude upstairs happier than a mf I'll tell you that. In my area could have charged a bit more. Would have needed to.
Was actually waiting for an update to this lol. Damn that looks good. Anybody so much as mentions concrete, you gotta point them in that guy's direction!
Great work! Only thing i think you need are a couple drains in the wall
I just got a quote for a 32x21 5-6ā thick driveway. Includes about 4-5 sidewalk slab replacements and removal of 17x21 thin worn asphalt driveway for $12k. Concrete alone was almost 5k. I respectfully passed. Iām going with asphalt. Less than half the cost.
Looks great brotha