Concrete Expansion joints. my total cost
Fatdaddy
pie gravel. Thanks for the folks who have answered my questions.
I have got about 4 quotes (labor) 50,60,72,75 cents a sq yard.
I have 3756 sq ft will use about 73 yards of 4000psi mix.
My cost for mix is 3750.00
Iam going with the 60cents sq ft. I went and saw some of his work, went
to a 800K house were he did a circle drive and a pool.
No one talked about the expansion joints. One guy was going to grove it,
another put WOOD?? another was grove and last recommended
the metal key kind. This seamed the way to good. It should last longer
and have 3 in entrance and exit to street.
Check out my site and there is pic of my house on HOME THEATER page
last pic.
http://www.geocities.com/fat_daddy38343/
Any body got any thoughts experience on this.
David
David Alexander
"Fatdaddy" <ra...@usit.net> wrote in message
news:3AC8C5E6...@usit.net...
David,
First of all, double-check your figures. You gave a price for labor in
square yards instead of square feet as concrete contractors compute it. For
$.60 per square FOOT, your labor is going to run about $2250.00. The cost
of the concrete also seems very low. In most areas of the country, $60 per
cubic yard is going to be the minimum for 4000 psi concrete.
Also, the number of cubic yards is apparently based on a 6" thickness of
concrete. If that's what you want, no problem. However, 4-5" is more than
adequate for passenger cars except at the entrances where 8" gradually
tapering to 4-5 is better to withstand the initial shock of a load. A rebar
across the entrance is also a good idea if it's suspended halfway into the
thickness of the concrete.
For jointing, no one who knows about concrete pavements is going to
recommend wood joints. What they do is separate your drive into individual
sections that are not tied together in any way, leaving the door open for
differential settlement and corner cracking. Metal keyways are fine for
interior work if they are used close enough together, but they are not
recommended for outdoor work. Because they are not easily sealable, water
can enter the top portion of the joint and freeze, thereby causing the edge
of the concrete to break off (spall).
The best joints are tooled or sawed to a depth of 1/4 of the thickness of
the concrete. This deep a joint will insure that the concrete will break in
the joint line rather than randomly cracking. Aggregate interlock insures
load transfer from one section of concrete to the next. Make sure that the
contractor keeps joints close together as recommended by Portland Cement
Association and American Concrete Institute. For a 4-5" thickness, joints
should be no more than 10' apart. For a 6" thickness, 12-14' apart. If the
contractor argues about it, refer him to ACI specs.
During the first few days, the concrete needs to be in moderate temperatures
and must be maintained in a wet condition. Some residential contractors use
curing compound, but most don't as it's an additional cost. Typically, the
concrete is allowed to dry as fast or as slow as nature allows at the time.
Lack of curing is one of the major causes of concrete strength loss.
Sprinklers and soaker hoses can work well, but will have to run continuously
for several days.
Wire mesh reinforcement is commonly used on residential driveways, but I
lost my faith in wire many years ago. I've never seen wire mesh installed
properly. Typically, it is embedded in the lower part of the concrete (if
at all) where it does no good at all. If jointing is properly done and the
concrete is poured over a compacted subgrade, no reinforcement is necessary
({PCA). If you don't feel safe without any, specify fiber reinforcement.
I suggest that several lengths of PVC pipe (1") be placed in the ground
under the driveway concrete so you can run wire or water lines under the
drive at a later time. I did that on my own drive and have used all of them
in the last ten years.
Since it appears that you're buying the concrete and hiring a finisher to
place and finish it, remember that the amount of concrete you buy depends
upon how good a job he does in depth preparation. Low spots will eat up a
lot of concrete.
If you have any questions, I'll be glad to help.
Best wishes,
David Alexander
Eric B. Stauffer
ludicrous. I had 'tooled in' joints in my drive (indiana) The nicest
looking are sawn-in. Very, very neat but quite labor intensive.
"Fatdaddy" <ra...@usit.net> wrote in message
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Fatdaddy
How about a SEALER?? One fellow told me that be there after they wash
and start my sealing (with roller) then. I was told this would
really preserve it. SAME guy said buy it from the concrete place.
Is the same stuff sold at Lowes?
Any thoughts on sealing?
Thanks for other replies
David