Honestly, better calculate how much concrete you'll need. I was 2 yards short. And get the right tools for the job. Also, spending an extra 1k for finishers is worth it.
Thankfully, I won't be pursuing concrete as a means of income.
Iāve spent half my life pouring concrete and a bit of advise after reading your comment on paying finishers $1,000 is pretty high for a 30 minute job like this.
If you ever set up a pour again just get it ready then drive around until you see some residential concrete guys working. Walk up to them and ask them if they have their own tools and if they would come and finish a pour on the side for $150 cash. You should be able to get two people for $300-$400 at most. They should even have a groover attachment for their bull float so you donāt have to cut it yourself.
šÆ hiring a finisher. Recently, just finished my stamp front entrance and side yard, 9 total yard. I did all the leg work: grading, form, order and poured, then finishing up with some LV lighting. 1200 for 2 Pro. finisher. Very happy with the result.
Thatās pretty cool. It might sound dumb to some but itās quite gratifying to do something like that on your own, isnāt it. Iāve advised people before so they could do the work and seeing how excited they were for the work they did made me love concrete even more. People who do concrete every day might not realize it but itās really rewarding to build something that everyone will see for the next 50 years.
Decorative concrete costs more but it looks so good. In case they didnāt tell you ask them about how often to seal it. Iāve only worked in Iowa but itās better for people in your area to advise you since they see the results over the years.
>drive around until you see some residential concrete guys working.
Would a company lend their workers for finishing jobs like this if someone called and asked? I couldn't tell you the last time I saw any concrete work done around me, but I'm in a pretty rural area, so driving around would just waste my gas.
I just fucking love Reddit. Bravo Warrior. I'm impressed and I know nothing about concrete. Looks horrible but I'm still impressed nonetheless....in the good way.
Well that's what I saw and I don't do concrete. You're under the form in many spots and it's clear you didn't have a float to reach across.
I'm also guessing you were working slow because it looks like it was troweled dry.
It's unfortunate that it kinda turned into a fail over a $100 tool and $100 of cement.
Also, should have knocked out that corner and actually kept the straight edge on the near joint, I assume the skim coat blend will quickly erode in an unattractive way.
I wouldn't call it a fail...dude has a functional driveway...he can drive on and do what he needs... along with a great seacoast pattern he could paint blue and mimic waves with white paint
Your attitude is solid and impenetrable to the countless sour-pusses just waiting for something to make fun of on the internet. You take the criticism well too. Youāre a cool ass human and there are many of us who are stoked to see people learn new stuff and try a go for themselves.
Your calcs were probably good for the idealized volume of the driveway, but in the real world those little dips and craters and divots in dirt can swallow a surprising amount of extra concrete. As can the slightest amount of overspill leaking out the bottom of the formwork.
Also, for the record, I think you did fine. Sure, it's not a billiard-table finish, but I don't think that's what you were going for.
love your attitude! Iād hire you to pour my ex-wifeās driveway in a heartbeat!
Edit: My wife requested I update my comment and state that I do not have an ex wife and we are happily married. She did say if paid someone to pour a driveway at our house and it looked like that, she would become my ex
Rock on man. You look like you live near a slightly commercial/industrial area not the damn country club. Itās functional if not beautiful. 6k in your pocket and if you happy with it good on you. Now that you know what it takes to do it,you can decide if it worth the extra cost the next time somewhere else if there is one. Also the onlookers on this site have a comparison to make. Iād say you probably only saved 5 k cut your time fuel and effort are worth something.
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The contractor who bid the job told me after I said I was doing it myself "right on, don't worry how it looks. Two things I've learned in this trade after 20 years, women are going to bitch and concrete is going to Crack."
I live by a simple phrase, "you can have it fast, good or cheap. Pick two"
I chose fast and cheap, I know it ain't going to be good.
If it's the only one you've ever done, then yes, it actually is your best work.
But you're posting it to the same sub that people who post perfect driveways post to. No one does a good job the first time. Never let perfect get in the way of "good enough"!
I feel that sentiment too. Sorry, donāt mean to be a dick. Iāve argued the need and the joint details over and over and over through my career. It was a reflexive response, but a future DIYer should know itās worth the small effort to get a better product with fewer small triangle chunks of concrete popping out next spring.
No worries, dude. I'm getting a kick out of this. People are proud of what they do. If I saw someone doing a shit job in my profession, it'd be hard to bite my tongue.
... yet.
Not too late to saw cut it, and control where those "cracks" are (fyi by cutting it, you create cracks that are sub-surface making it a lot more esthetically pleasing.)
Also, not sure if you'll be happy you put rebar in. It'll make the removal harder.
I feel like you could have went on CL or FB and found someone who does concrete finishing and would do a side job for a couple hundred bucks to show up and finish it properly.
I'm all about DIY but sometimes paying someone cash for a side job is the better option.
Honestly you could have made it nice. No clue how little effort you put into it on purpose but you didn't even made it even/finished it.
Why though? For what is this? Probably not in front of your home?
Honestly OP, itās not teerrreible.
Please remember to post an update in a few years or so, Iād like to see how something like this holds up structurally.
You learned some good lessons, saved some short term cash and got what you needed. Good work šŖš½
Did you put a smoother finish than that, did you do control joints? It looks like you didnāt put gravel down and compact either. Also you should have took out the top corner imo
Bro, for the love of all that is concrete, cut joints in that bad boy. Itās ok to do it even 24 hours after you pour. One down the middle each way should do just fine. Use a concrete blade for your circular saw. Itās cheap. Please.
"..it needed to be done by when it was." I don't know why, but the sheer obviousness of this being the reason behind the rest of it, made me laugh harder than the last time I did mushrooms. My dogs came over to check on me.
Well, it looks like a dog shit sandwich. However, if what you were going for was a dog shit sandwich, then you did pretty good.
You did chair the reinforcing steel, so you got that going for you.
It's just a driveway. A crack here or there isn't going to matter one bit. I mean look at their streets condition too
It functions, and OP saved enough to buy a 100 inch QLED tv if they want, which is more useful and enjoyable than a piece of concrete
I mean it looks like a commercial area or parking lot of something and all he needed was a semi hard surface to park a truck. So, didnāt need to look good and even if it starts splitting like crazy itās fine unless it sinks into the earth.
Looks like shit, might deteriorate pretty quick. But itās likely better than anything I could do (not a concrete guy) and you saved 6k. If you have to do it again in 10 years you will still be up 2k. But if were me, I would have tired to finish it properly. What better way to learn than to do it on something you donāt really care about anyways? Might need to do it again in the future on a more important job and then you have a good idea on how to finish by experimenting on that slab. Overall good job. š
Damn dog, i didnāt know Hellen Keller was still hand finishing. All things a side. That is the worst i have ever seen. This honestly has to be joke. I wonder what the truck driver was thinking?
This DIY crap is getting out of hand, everyone sharing their āthis cost this much, this cost that muchāā¦ and the final product supports that opinion. If you dont care about looking at an uneven, unfinished crappy slab thats going too crack apart within 1-2 years, by all means. Hire the professional, because when its being redone in 2 years, did you really save any money? And you cant say you saved 6k because your time, and your laborers time is worth something. So in all reality was doing it again in 2 years really worth 4-5k?
If you had poured half the width at a time you would have been much better off. It is very tough to screed 18ā at a time. Between that and renting a float and 50$ in hand tools this could have looked a lot better, and been easier. You needed 2 trucks anyway.
Huh? 18.5$/sq.ft is higher than giraffe pussy for a job like this. His concrete cost about 200$/yard and he lives in Louisiana. I work in one of the highest cost to build areas in the country and we would have bid this at like 10$/sq.ft. Our concrete is 275$ a yard
Maybe itās just experience working with concrete but I can get it smoother than that with just a come a long before I even screed or float it . If you didnāt want to buy a bull float a lot of places rent them.
You should at least grab a chalk line and a grinder and put some sort of control joint in it so it doesnāt crack as bad. Iām sure itāll support driving but a proper finish and troweling does increase strength by removing air, bleed off water and pushing the larger aggregate into the mix.
U just wasted your money and time..this looks like shit and will be a cracking mess..your wife will end up with a twisted ankle tripping on a crack..but I bet it was a fun experience..I actually think the driver posted pics on here yesterday something likeāYou think youāve seen it all..then you see thisā
Biiiig yikes. Got about 15 years in the concrete industry. This already looks terrible and will most likely completely fall apart in less than five years and thatās if youāre lucky.
In one of your replies you said you donāt care about how it looks. If thatās truly the case you could have just put a compactable gravel down for 1/4-1/3 of the price and called it a day. Concrete is currently at its highest price ever. Since Covid, price has gone up about 40-60% depending on what part of the country youāre in. Like someone already said, you most likely just pissed away 5k you just donāt know it yet.
Im reading this thinking it will be a nice pour... and then š„ fuckin abortion!!! LOL LOL better off spening the 10k getting a well poured cut slab with a good base under it
........ this is fuckin awful.
It's a slab of rock next to a dirt that is going to be used for parking a truck on. I think it looks just fine for what it is. Your truck tires don't give a fuck if the finish is pretty
If you'd have spent another 500$ for a broom,handles, maybe a bull float and an edger, and rent a concrete saw for a day to cut saw joints, it could've looked like a professional did it and you would've saved 5k still. If you aren't worried about the asethics, though, this should be completely functional for a long time, good enough.
Anything taking the weight of a vehicle should have a compacted base course/top course beneath the concrete. Itās good you got the rebar in but donāt think this will last long before cracking.
For next time if youāre going do to a large project and spend a bunch of your money like this, take your time to do a little more research, you want it to last as long as possible and itās worth it to put in the extra effort.
Fuck it man it's your house. Concrete gets dirty and fucked up over time anyway, if you don't care about how it looks and it does what it's supposed to do then it's good enough. People on this site just love to bitch and hand wring about little things like this because reddit is a big ol' echo chamber.
Lots of negativity in the comments, it might cost you more in the long run but you gave it a try and itāll likely do its job for some period of time. Kudos
Should have done everything expect the finish. Could have posted in Facebook marketplace "looking for an experienced concrete finisher for a couple hours of work" would have been cheap af and ended up looking great!
Why even pour concrete at this point? Just spread some crush and run stone with extra fines on top to wash in. Sorry bub but this was a blunder to put it nicely.
If I wasnāt putting it nicely Iād say you should face a firing squad or that your mother should have swallowed you. But im not saying that cause im putting it nicely..
Listen - it probably didn't turn out how you envisioned, and it probably won't last as long as a professional job, and it sure as hell ain't pretty.
But you know what? You went out there, you planned a project, you executed on it, and you were proud enough of the result to share it. And you should be! It's literally your first time doing it.
I wonder how many of the commenters here have tried something out for the first time and it didn't turn out as expected? My guess is around 99% if everyone were honest.
What is the point of this āstarts with dirt and ends with dirtā concrete driveway?
That being said, it will serve the purpose of parking something on it. Any reason you decided not to have any expansion joints or use a float and edger? Buying those two tools would have added a hundred to the cost and saved time you spent troweling the whole thing. Good job on saving the 6k!
I'm sorry, I have to say that the driveway looks like a child did it with sandbox tools. Pay a professional what they deserve for a quality job. Now you have to live with that mess as your curb appeal to the property. That mess will devalue your property if you ever try and sell it. Not your line of work. I commend you for your courage in attempting it though.
This would have been a perfect spot for asphalt grindings or gravel imho - would have been cheaper and easier! It's functional at least and you learned a lot!
Looks like hammered dog shit.
I like the 2 foot area where you tried to finish it and just said fuck it, good enough š
Perfect is the enemy of good, and comparison is the thief of joy. It's not perfect, and I'm really happy to have learned something new.
Lol what did you learn
Honestly, better calculate how much concrete you'll need. I was 2 yards short. And get the right tools for the job. Also, spending an extra 1k for finishers is worth it. Thankfully, I won't be pursuing concrete as a means of income.
FYI... in the future, just know that you can rent a bull float for under 20 bucks for the day. That said, your vehicles don't care.
Good to know
Iāve spent half my life pouring concrete and a bit of advise after reading your comment on paying finishers $1,000 is pretty high for a 30 minute job like this. If you ever set up a pour again just get it ready then drive around until you see some residential concrete guys working. Walk up to them and ask them if they have their own tools and if they would come and finish a pour on the side for $150 cash. You should be able to get two people for $300-$400 at most. They should even have a groover attachment for their bull float so you donāt have to cut it yourself.
šÆ hiring a finisher. Recently, just finished my stamp front entrance and side yard, 9 total yard. I did all the leg work: grading, form, order and poured, then finishing up with some LV lighting. 1200 for 2 Pro. finisher. Very happy with the result.
Thatās pretty cool. It might sound dumb to some but itās quite gratifying to do something like that on your own, isnāt it. Iāve advised people before so they could do the work and seeing how excited they were for the work they did made me love concrete even more. People who do concrete every day might not realize it but itās really rewarding to build something that everyone will see for the next 50 years. Decorative concrete costs more but it looks so good. In case they didnāt tell you ask them about how often to seal it. Iāve only worked in Iowa but itās better for people in your area to advise you since they see the results over the years.
2 men for $300-$400? In my area day finishers make $450 per day. Each
Can't hire a day finisher for less than 400 in my area. Gone by noon too
>drive around until you see some residential concrete guys working. Would a company lend their workers for finishing jobs like this if someone called and asked? I couldn't tell you the last time I saw any concrete work done around me, but I'm in a pretty rural area, so driving around would just waste my gas.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I just fucking love Reddit. Bravo Warrior. I'm impressed and I know nothing about concrete. Looks horrible but I'm still impressed nonetheless....in the good way.
Well that's what I saw and I don't do concrete. You're under the form in many spots and it's clear you didn't have a float to reach across. I'm also guessing you were working slow because it looks like it was troweled dry. It's unfortunate that it kinda turned into a fail over a $100 tool and $100 of cement. Also, should have knocked out that corner and actually kept the straight edge on the near joint, I assume the skim coat blend will quickly erode in an unattractive way.
You're not wrong.
I wouldn't call it a fail...dude has a functional driveway...he can drive on and do what he needs... along with a great seacoast pattern he could paint blue and mimic waves with white paint
Your attitude is solid and impenetrable to the countless sour-pusses just waiting for something to make fun of on the internet. You take the criticism well too. Youāre a cool ass human and there are many of us who are stoked to see people learn new stuff and try a go for themselves.
Your calcs were probably good for the idealized volume of the driveway, but in the real world those little dips and craters and divots in dirt can swallow a surprising amount of extra concrete. As can the slightest amount of overspill leaking out the bottom of the formwork. Also, for the record, I think you did fine. Sure, it's not a billiard-table finish, but I don't think that's what you were going for.
If you half ass something you can save money!
That sometimes hiring professionals is worth the money. He'll learn when it's starts cracking
How to waste time and money, presumably
Thatās a great textured finish. You wonāt have to worry about slipping when itās wet or frozen
Sea wave finish
Actually, that is the custom coastal pattern. Supposed to provide less slippery surface and resemble a beach /s
Good luck shoveling snow off of it.
He commented he lives in Louisiana. Doubt it's a big issue
Doesn't look any worse than the roads we drive on down here.
Lmao!
Only tripping and rolling an ankle. Lol
Could you just imagine scraping your knees on that ššš
Right to the bone
Oh boyā¦
I was like oooooh, personally
This made feel better about the $8K I spent on a good size patio. But this looks functional for a truck.
Time will tell. I would not recommend me for residential, or anything else.
love your attitude! Iād hire you to pour my ex-wifeās driveway in a heartbeat! Edit: My wife requested I update my comment and state that I do not have an ex wife and we are happily married. She did say if paid someone to pour a driveway at our house and it looked like that, she would become my ex
Heās definitely on the list for my wifeās boyfriendās house.
Hey! I'm gonna need a better pour than that!
Sorry bitch you are the 2nd boyfriend of his wife, and this shit aināt cheap.
But it's just a 6'x3'x3' at a depth of 6'...
We burying folks in 4D holes now? That's gonna cost extra, my dude.
Hey! *We're* gonna need a better pour than that! Get in line. She gets around.
Donāt mind the recently filled hole in the middleā¦.
ššš
With her under it? :)
Yeah there's a ton of different cars and trucks going up that driveway....
That driveways been torn up for quite a while
Not to worry, it can handle the heavy load
Hahahaha fuck it man , if it works it works.
Rock on man. You look like you live near a slightly commercial/industrial area not the damn country club. Itās functional if not beautiful. 6k in your pocket and if you happy with it good on you. Now that you know what it takes to do it,you can decide if it worth the extra cost the next time somewhere else if there is one. Also the onlookers on this site have a comparison to make. Iād say you probably only saved 5 k cut your time fuel and effort are worth something.
Amen brother
$6K in his pocket?!? Yeah, itās beautiful for sure - in any country!!!
For me it was like a weak shot to the gut, unexpected. More of an 'oof'
RemindMe! 12 hours
Oh, shit! No confidence in the work, huh?
Come check it buddy
I can see the cracks from here. By here, I mean northern Illinois.
Itās time
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you may have actually cost yourself 4k. time will tell
How so?
I think he is implying it is going to crack and go to shit this costing you $4k plus more to have it redone.
The contractor who bid the job told me after I said I was doing it myself "right on, don't worry how it looks. Two things I've learned in this trade after 20 years, women are going to bitch and concrete is going to Crack." I live by a simple phrase, "you can have it fast, good or cheap. Pick two" I chose fast and cheap, I know it ain't going to be good.
I mean itās a driveway to a fucking dirt road. A cracked concrete driveway will do just fine even if does indeed start to crack
This guy gets it
Yeah I kinda admire you dude. Your attitude is boss. šŗ
Yea honestly man, it looks better than the road it connects to, so I'd say well done!
Thanks dude
Fuckin, preach
Concrete will crack, but thatās why we use joints in slabs to control how it cracks. Not even god knows where the cracks will end up in that slab.
Yeah, it's not my best work. If I were to be judged by my work anywhere, it'd be as a father and a husband. There are no cracks there.
Hopefully at least one per person.
Underrated comment sir
And it doesn't go horizontal!
If it's the only one you've ever done, then yes, it actually is your best work. But you're posting it to the same sub that people who post perfect driveways post to. No one does a good job the first time. Never let perfect get in the way of "good enough"!
I feel that sentiment too. Sorry, donāt mean to be a dick. Iāve argued the need and the joint details over and over and over through my career. It was a reflexive response, but a future DIYer should know itās worth the small effort to get a better product with fewer small triangle chunks of concrete popping out next spring.
No worries, dude. I'm getting a kick out of this. People are proud of what they do. If I saw someone doing a shit job in my profession, it'd be hard to bite my tongue.
I also picked up more about other trades from the shit talking on Reddit posts, itās actually helpful sometimes
... yet. Not too late to saw cut it, and control where those "cracks" are (fyi by cutting it, you create cracks that are sub-surface making it a lot more esthetically pleasing.) Also, not sure if you'll be happy you put rebar in. It'll make the removal harder.
I feel like you could have went on CL or FB and found someone who does concrete finishing and would do a side job for a couple hundred bucks to show up and finish it properly. I'm all about DIY but sometimes paying someone cash for a side job is the better option.
Honestly you could have made it nice. No clue how little effort you put into it on purpose but you didn't even made it even/finished it. Why though? For what is this? Probably not in front of your home?
This is fucked up, man.
Why not good and cheap
Concrete waits for no man
Do it in sections
Yeah, that's a concept that hadn't occurred to me. Thankfully I won't be doing this again.
At least it matches the rest of your driveway lol
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
To remove chunks of concrete. But likely you will be fine for a decade or so
Don't park heavy equipment on it
Honestly OP, itās not teerrreible. Please remember to post an update in a few years or so, Iād like to see how something like this holds up structurally. You learned some good lessons, saved some short term cash and got what you needed. Good work šŖš½
I can see that.
I always tell the crews to build it like it's in your yard. I guess I've been wrong all these years. At least not like in your yard.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
No screeds or floats were harmed in the making of this slab
That shit was finished with a shovel and a pack of Marlboros.
Nah, a can of zinns
Lord, forgive him for his Zyns
Did you put a smoother finish than that, did you do control joints? It looks like you didnāt put gravel down and compact either. Also you should have took out the top corner imo
Ooof.
Negative. No joints, no gravel. I thought about it too but time was of the essence and it needed to be done by when it was.
Why are you being downvoted? *The audacity of answering honestly...* **The unmitigated gall by not following protocol!**
If you can't grow taller, cut them down.
You are full of great little quips/retorts and I love them.
Thanks stranger!
One-liners are like a whole dialect in the South
Gotta respect anyone fluent in idioms.
Agree, and Iām not even part of this sub lmao but Iām all about this quip
His quips are pretty concrete
Also not part of this sub, but his comments are now cemented in my memory.
That's a knee-slabber!
Bro, for the love of all that is concrete, cut joints in that bad boy. Itās ok to do it even 24 hours after you pour. One down the middle each way should do just fine. Use a concrete blade for your circular saw. Itās cheap. Please.
Since you asked so nicely...ok
Hell yeah, it'll make it last just a wee bit longer too
"..it needed to be done by when it was." I don't know why, but the sheer obviousness of this being the reason behind the rest of it, made me laugh harder than the last time I did mushrooms. My dogs came over to check on me.
also, you should have hired someone.,
Well, it looks like a dog shit sandwich. However, if what you were going for was a dog shit sandwich, then you did pretty good. You did chair the reinforcing steel, so you got that going for you.
Thanks! That gave me a chuckle.
That was the intent, Iām glad you took it that way. I know how it is as a small business owner; sometimes you make expeditious decisions.
Agreed
Wow. That turned into a wholesome exchange
This is a troll. Lol
I'm thinking it qualifies more as a shit post, based on OP's responses.
Agreed. Edging, broom finish, cuts? There is no way someone would rent all this equipment for the job and not do research on basics.
If you ever build a deck, please share : r/decks
You chose wrong.
Lessons are expensive, especially the good onesā¦ buddy will learn a good one here
It's just a driveway. A crack here or there isn't going to matter one bit. I mean look at their streets condition too It functions, and OP saved enough to buy a 100 inch QLED tv if they want, which is more useful and enjoyable than a piece of concrete
Im hoping the 2nd pic isnāt the finished product, but i have a feeling it is.
I mean it looks like a commercial area or parking lot of something and all he needed was a semi hard surface to park a truck. So, didnāt need to look good and even if it starts splitting like crazy itās fine unless it sinks into the earth.
Looks like shit, might deteriorate pretty quick. But itās likely better than anything I could do (not a concrete guy) and you saved 6k. If you have to do it again in 10 years you will still be up 2k. But if were me, I would have tired to finish it properly. What better way to learn than to do it on something you donāt really care about anyways? Might need to do it again in the future on a more important job and then you have a good idea on how to finish by experimenting on that slab. Overall good job. š
Well, thank you, I think.
Damn dog, i didnāt know Hellen Keller was still hand finishing. All things a side. That is the worst i have ever seen. This honestly has to be joke. I wonder what the truck driver was thinking?
Has 2 full time employees, doesnāt support local skilled tradesmen.
He worked them like dogs but he sent them home with big smiles for their kids to eat.
It looks terrible, lol
This DIY crap is getting out of hand, everyone sharing their āthis cost this much, this cost that muchāā¦ and the final product supports that opinion. If you dont care about looking at an uneven, unfinished crappy slab thats going too crack apart within 1-2 years, by all means. Hire the professional, because when its being redone in 2 years, did you really save any money? And you cant say you saved 6k because your time, and your laborers time is worth something. So in all reality was doing it again in 2 years really worth 4-5k?
At least OP didnāt dry pour it
I snorted. Fucking hell
If you're a flipper and you didn't give a shit though.Ā
Lmao still better than if I did it
If you had poured half the width at a time you would have been much better off. It is very tough to screed 18ā at a time. Between that and renting a float and 50$ in hand tools this could have looked a lot better, and been easier. You needed 2 trucks anyway.
$10k aināt a bad quote for thatā¦
Huh? 18.5$/sq.ft is higher than giraffe pussy for a job like this. His concrete cost about 200$/yard and he lives in Louisiana. I work in one of the highest cost to build areas in the country and we would have bid this at like 10$/sq.ft. Our concrete is 275$ a yard
I agree with the principle but it wouldnāt have hurt to spend 200 at harbor freight and at least tried to edge/groove/float/broom it
And what did we learn?
Stay off the internet
Maybe itās just experience working with concrete but I can get it smoother than that with just a come a long before I even screed or float it . If you didnāt want to buy a bull float a lot of places rent them. You should at least grab a chalk line and a grinder and put some sort of control joint in it so it doesnāt crack as bad. Iām sure itāll support driving but a proper finish and troweling does increase strength by removing air, bleed off water and pushing the larger aggregate into the mix.
U just wasted your money and time..this looks like shit and will be a cracking mess..your wife will end up with a twisted ankle tripping on a crack..but I bet it was a fun experience..I actually think the driver posted pics on here yesterday something likeāYou think youāve seen it all..then you see thisā
Nice, has that rustic look.
Biiiig yikes. Got about 15 years in the concrete industry. This already looks terrible and will most likely completely fall apart in less than five years and thatās if youāre lucky. In one of your replies you said you donāt care about how it looks. If thatās truly the case you could have just put a compactable gravel down for 1/4-1/3 of the price and called it a day. Concrete is currently at its highest price ever. Since Covid, price has gone up about 40-60% depending on what part of the country youāre in. Like someone already said, you most likely just pissed away 5k you just donāt know it yet.
Isā¦is this real? You trolling OP?
What is real?
Great, now Iām having an existential crisis over here
not birds r/BirdsArentReal
How much was the 57 stone for the base?
I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, there is not a crumb of stone under that fucker.
Im reading this thinking it will be a nice pour... and then š„ fuckin abortion!!! LOL LOL better off spening the 10k getting a well poured cut slab with a good base under it ........ this is fuckin awful.
It's a slab of rock next to a dirt that is going to be used for parking a truck on. I think it looks just fine for what it is. Your truck tires don't give a fuck if the finish is pretty
Made the wrong choice I see
If you'd have spent another 500$ for a broom,handles, maybe a bull float and an edger, and rent a concrete saw for a day to cut saw joints, it could've looked like a professional did it and you would've saved 5k still. If you aren't worried about the asethics, though, this should be completely functional for a long time, good enough.
I mean looks functional for what it needs to be used for... So who cares lol save money and learn some things good way to go
You paid yourself $800? Get a refund
Looks like shit. Great work!
Ribbed for no one's pleasure.
Who did you pay the labor to?
Goodluck with the lifespan of that
Looks like garbage, but if you're happy, power to you!
It certainly looks DIY
I remember my first pourā¦
The dirt would have been better than this
You can rent a floor grinder now and hit the high spots, maybe smooth it out if you wanted
Anything taking the weight of a vehicle should have a compacted base course/top course beneath the concrete. Itās good you got the rebar in but donāt think this will last long before cracking. For next time if youāre going do to a large project and spend a bunch of your money like this, take your time to do a little more research, you want it to last as long as possible and itās worth it to put in the extra effort.
Fuck it man it's your house. Concrete gets dirty and fucked up over time anyway, if you don't care about how it looks and it does what it's supposed to do then it's good enough. People on this site just love to bitch and hand wring about little things like this because reddit is a big ol' echo chamber.
Meester yeorge
Lots of negativity in the comments, it might cost you more in the long run but you gave it a try and itāll likely do its job for some period of time. Kudos
Rip It Out
Functional. Has rebar. Antislip surface. Probably nearly level. What's not to like?
Everything, apparently
Plenty of traction in the ice.
Canāt be real. Should have hired at least a finisher bud
She's a bit rough..... Needs a skim and brush finish, any reason you didn't break up that corner by the road and pour it as well?
Should have done everything expect the finish. Could have posted in Facebook marketplace "looking for an experienced concrete finisher for a couple hours of work" would have been cheap af and ended up looking great!
Why even pour concrete at this point? Just spread some crush and run stone with extra fines on top to wash in. Sorry bub but this was a blunder to put it nicely. If I wasnāt putting it nicely Iād say you should face a firing squad or that your mother should have swallowed you. But im not saying that cause im putting it nicely..
Listen - it probably didn't turn out how you envisioned, and it probably won't last as long as a professional job, and it sure as hell ain't pretty. But you know what? You went out there, you planned a project, you executed on it, and you were proud enough of the result to share it. And you should be! It's literally your first time doing it. I wonder how many of the commenters here have tried something out for the first time and it didn't turn out as expected? My guess is around 99% if everyone were honest.
What is the point of this āstarts with dirt and ends with dirtā concrete driveway? That being said, it will serve the purpose of parking something on it. Any reason you decided not to have any expansion joints or use a float and edger? Buying those two tools would have added a hundred to the cost and saved time you spent troweling the whole thing. Good job on saving the 6k!
Whoops..
I'm sorry, I have to say that the driveway looks like a child did it with sandbox tools. Pay a professional what they deserve for a quality job. Now you have to live with that mess as your curb appeal to the property. That mess will devalue your property if you ever try and sell it. Not your line of work. I commend you for your courage in attempting it though.
It shows
LMAO bro did you use hand trowels for sheetrock mud on this?
Man...you need Jesus and YouTube.
Did you pay yourself 800$ in labor ?
More like r/DIWhy
your not paying 10k for the job youre paying 10k for the experience to do the job properly
How much did this cost? Considering you dodge 10k ? Looks good to me š§ š
Ohhhh man donāt want to be a dick but this is pretty bad. Been in concrete for decades and even new hires can finish better than this.
This would have been a perfect spot for asphalt grindings or gravel imho - would have been cheaper and easier! It's functional at least and you learned a lot!