NC-car-guy Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 (edited) Been rehabbing an old pole barn to make a garage. I'm now working on leveling the floor for concrete. Almost everything used to repair this building is salvage material, some well over 100 years old.. you can see some new tin in there. With me working solo, took 6 months to get it back to this stage. Roughly 20x25x10. The extra 4x4s will come out now that the roof is up. Made a custom hanging with a Buick horn button for the front. Got tired and built a bench to rest on... Sorry no Buick tailgate? Edited August 13, 2016 by wndsofchng06 (see edit history) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted August 13, 2016 Share Posted August 13, 2016 Just need some beer holders on those "arm rests", right at the oil fill holes. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpecialEducation Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 On 8/13/2016 at 2:10 PM, wndsofchng06 said: Sorry no Buick tailgate? Well, if nothing else, F*rds are good for sittin'... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted August 19, 2016 Author Share Posted August 19, 2016 So by my calculations, over the past 12 days (working mostly after my day job) I've moved about 125 cubic feet of soil and gravel by hand. Considering the heat, not sure it was worth the money saved, but I sure got a good workout! I'll post more photos once the concrete is in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 I feel for you son! Over the last three 95° high humidity days I have spread 32 tons ( two tandem dump truck loads) of river rock with a wheelbarrow, shovel, garden rake and landscape rake. Freaking deadly. By the third day I was peeing straight orange Gatorade. You're probably like me and can't hire anybody to do it like you want it done. Good thing we're young men, eh? Keep up the good work, look forward to the concrete pictures. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithbrother Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 Well, Mr. FITTY FO, let's see pictures of what you did with the river rock, in Indiana river rock can't be picked up/spread with a shovel/rake, TO DANG BIG, so YOUR river rock is smaller????? You are a work horse, GOOD FOR YOU, Dale in Indy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted August 19, 2016 Author Share Posted August 19, 2016 5 hours ago, MrEarl said: I feel for you son! Over the last three 95° high humidity days I have spread 32 tons ( two tandem dump truck loads) of river rock with a wheelbarrow, shovel, garden rake and landscape rake. Freaking deadly. By the third day I was peeing straight orange Gatorade. You're probably like me and can't hire anybody to do it like you want it done. Good thing we're young men, eh? Keep up the good work, look forward to the concrete pictures. That's right! No matter how much I've paid, every time I've hired a contractor I'm dissatisfied. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted August 22, 2016 Share Posted August 22, 2016 I bought a small tractor with a front end loader to spread the rock/ crushed concrete. Did about 60 tons a couple of weeks ago and going to get another 50+- this week. Still a lot of work. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 On 8/19/2016 at 10:29 AM, smithbrother said: Well, Mr. FITTY FO, let's see pictures of what you did with the river rock, in Indiana river rock can't be picked up/spread with a shovel/rake, TO DANG BIG, so YOUR river rock is smaller????? You are a work horse, GOOD FOR YOU, Dale in Indy too busy working to take pictures. but since you asked, I'll try and take and post up some. Maybe I'll even start my own garage build thread. and re being a work horse ( which is one of the nicer names of the equine family I have been called) I feel lucky and blessed to still be able to do the laborious work I do, and pray that I can keep it up. I love it. On 8/22/2016 at 10:36 AM, Larry Schramm said: I bought a small tractor with a front end loader to spread the rock/ crushed concrete. Did about 60 tons a couple of weeks ago and going to get another 50+- this week. Still a lot of work. and maybe Larry will take and post some pictures of his rock install. ;-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Sorry about hijacking your thread Matt, please continue. How is the concrete pour coming. How thick are you planning to pour it? Broom or slick finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted August 24, 2016 Author Share Posted August 24, 2016 Scheduled for the second week in September. 5" slab, fiber mix, 4000psi. Still wavering on finish. Broom finish is less slippery, smooth finish is more forgiving on casters... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 2 hours ago, wndsofchng06 said: Scheduled for the second week in September. 5" slab, fiber mix, 4000psi. Still wavering on finish. Broom finish is less slippery, smooth finish is more forgiving on casters... I think I'd stay away from the fiber concrete in a garage floor you will be crawling and rolling around on, the fibers WILL stick up. (think fiberglass insulation). If your base is solid and compacted well, 5 inches of 4000 psi will handle anything you will ever pull in there. Also, although you didn't mention it, don't waste your money on reinforcing wire, it typically ends up in the bottom 1/2" of concrete and even if done right it will still crack, all the wire does is hold the cracks together. Your best bet for preventing random cracking is well placed contraction joints sawed 1.5 inches deep after 12 hours but before 36 hours. Go with 10' no more than 14 ft squares. Since it is under cover you should be good as far as curing, just keep it hosed down daily for a couple weeks. If sun does hit portions of it and not others you will likely have hairline shrinkage cracking but the sawed contractions joints will stop them as they meet the joint. Nothing structurally to worry about. And don't let the finishers add too much water that will seriously compromise the strength of the 4000 # mix you are paying extra for, concrete should be placed, not "poured". If you have the bucks have the slab troweled to a smooth finish, for sake of your knees and elbows as well as ease of clean up. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted August 24, 2016 Author Share Posted August 24, 2016 1 minute ago, MrEarl said: I think I'd stay away from the fiber concrete in a garage floor you will be crawling and rolling around on, the fibers WILL stick up. (think fiberglass insulation). If your base is solid and compacted well, 5 inches of 4000 psi will handle anything you will ever pull in there. Also, although you didn't mention it, don't waste your money on reinforcing wire, it typically ends up in the bottom 1/2" of concrete and even if done right it will still crack, all the wire does is hold the cracks together. Your best bet for preventing random cracking is well placed contraction joints sawed 1.5 inches deep after 12 hours but before 36 hours. Go with 10' no more than 14 ft squares. Since it is under cover you should be good as far as curing, just keep it hosed down daily for a couple weeks. If sun does hit portions of it and not others you will likely have hairline shrinkage cracking but the sawed contractions joints will stop them as they meet the joint. Nothing structurally to worry about. And don't let the finishers add too much water that will seriously compromise the strength of the 4000 # mix you are paying extra for, concrete should be placed, not "poured". If you have the bucks have the slab troweled to a smooth finish, for sake of your knees and elbows as well as ease of clean up. no fiber AND no wire??? really? But it goes against everything I've ever been told!!! HA HA HA I knew it was too thin for rebar.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 1 minute ago, wndsofchng06 said: I knew it was too thin for rebar.. Not really, but again, 5 inches of 4000 # mix will handle any Buicks you will ever pull in there. BUT let me qualify that... your BASE has got to be GOOD. Is it fill or did you cut into the original ground. If fill, what with. If in serious doubt about your base and you can't handle seeing cracks in the future, then yea go with #4 rebar 12 OC. (maybe even 18 if using 4000 psi). You can buy the chairs to sit the bar on or I have used old 2 inch brick. Rebar ain't cheap and is a PIA to set up and for the finishers to pour over. Personally I'd put my effort into ensuring the base is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted August 24, 2016 Author Share Posted August 24, 2016 3 minutes ago, MrEarl said: Not really, but again, 5 inches of 4000 # mix will handle any Buicks you will ever pull in there. BUT let me qualify that... your BASE has got to be GOOD. Is it fill or did you cut into the original ground. If fill, what with. If in serious doubt about your base and you can't handle seeing cracks in the future, then yea go with #4 rebar 12 OC. (maybe even 18 if using 4000 psi). You can buy the chairs to sit the bar on or I have used old 2 inch brick. Rebar ain't cheap and is a PIA to set up and for the finishers to pour over. Personally I'd put my effort into ensuring the base is good. I dug into existing ground.... I am getting the company to requote minus the fiber. Originally i was ordering a 4" slab, but found out that they use 1x4 framing, so that means I'm only getting 3.5" .... 5" forces them to use taller framing. (stupid lumber dimensions) The "2x4" studs in the wall of my house and barn are like 2.25x4.5 many with bark still on... HA HA HA 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vidsal Posted August 24, 2016 Share Posted August 24, 2016 Nice project and best wishes for the pour. When we did our big garage, we did an addition to the house at the same time. For some reason we thought cracks might be a big problem in the addition with a stained concrete floor so we asked about options and fiber was offered. The fiber ended up in little clumps in a lot of places including the surface and didn't seem to do anything. A bit ended up in the big garage where we didn't order fiber. What I think made the difference was what we had under the concrete. I added 2 inches of insulating foam under the addition for the radiant heat. That caused cracking i believe although it was highlighted by the staining. I'm not worried about it now. No cracks appeared in the big garage where only compacted dirt existed under the slab. I would be cautious of the fiber assuming a decent mix of concrete with proper compaction and forms from the start. Both have a smooth finish except some outside portals or porches. The slope is important at the big doors to keep water flowing out. I would have done a steeper one at the entrance looking back now. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 (edited) On 8/23/2016 at 10:42 PM, MrEarl said: and maybe Larry will take and post some pictures of his rock install. ;-) Here ya go. Another 25 yards yesterday. Look carefully and you should be able to see 50 yards in this picture. Edited August 25, 2016 by Larry Schramm (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted September 22, 2016 Author Share Posted September 22, 2016 Apparently contractors don't like to work for less than 10k anymore. My first concrete contractor canceled to go on a big job out of town. The 2nd one, who was supposed to do the job tomorrow, text me last night to tell me he's going to need to up the price by $500 and push me out two more weeks (i assume he got bigger jobs). Now I've got a third one, supposed to come next Tuesday... I swear I should do it myself. Anyhow, rant over, in the meantime I threw a little trim on the building... The interior door handle is Buick....:-) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted September 25, 2016 Share Posted September 25, 2016 On 9/22/2016 at 0:09 PM, wndsofchng06 said: Apparently contractors don't like to work for less than 10k anymore. My first concrete contractor canceled to go on a big job out of town. The 2nd one, who was supposed to do the job tomorrow, text me last night to tell me he's going to need to up the price by $500 and push me out two more weeks (i assume he got bigger jobs). Now I've got a third one, supposed to come next Tuesday... I swear I should do it myself. That is why I bought a tractor to do the repair to the parking lot and move all of the crushed concrete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AC Fuhrman Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 On 9/22/2016 at 0:09 PM, wndsofchng06 said: Apparently contractors don't like to work for less than 10k anymore. My first concrete contractor canceled to go on a big job out of town. The 2nd one, who was supposed to do the job tomorrow, text me last night to tell me he's going to need to up the price by $500 and push me out two more weeks (i assume he got bigger jobs). Now I've got a third one, supposed to come next Tuesday... I swear I should do it myself. Anyhow, rant over, in the meantime I threw a little trim on the building... The interior door handle is Buick....:-) Now I haven't done this myself but have heard of others so......you find a concrete hauler with another project in your area - I understand they sometimes have left over product in trucks that has to me emptied out anyway - so you can hire/arrange with them to bring it to your location. Now you have to coordinate times and spread it out how you want it etc, but for smaller jobs, shed pads, sidewalks, patios. I've heard it works. You might have to separate to into a couple sections, in the event of different deliveries. Ask around the worst anyone will say is NO. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmsue Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 I had fiber added to one of my shop floors years ago. A few weeks after the pour I took my torch and burned all the little hairs sticking up through the slab. Only took a few minutes and had peace of mind that the slab was a bit stronger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted September 30, 2016 Author Share Posted September 30, 2016 (edited) Concrete!!! FINALLY!!! Damn if I'd park a truck that close to the power line..... Edited September 30, 2016 by wndsofchng06 (see edit history) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted October 1, 2016 Author Share Posted October 1, 2016 And i learn my lesson about paying people yet again. I got them started, then had to leave for work. When i got home last night it was dark... this AM i can see the trowel finish looks like my 8 year old nephew icing his own birthday cake.... and I can clearly see high and low spots!!!! Good thing its just an old pole barn. Guess i won't be doing any body alignment in here. ???? when they come back to cut control joints we will be having a chat.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Be sure an chat after they cut the control joints. They should be there today cutting joints, since it is in the shade another day won't hurt, just keep it sprinkled down til then . and check the depth, at minimum 25% the depth of the concrete and in no more than 12'- 14' squares 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosage Chavis Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Garage is looking good Matt! Keep the pictures coming. I am trying to soak up as much as I can between you, Mr. Mud and Mr. Lamar. Speaking of Mr. Lamar...when are going to post a thread of your vintage garage's progress. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted October 5, 2016 Author Share Posted October 5, 2016 Still no control joints... and this is what they call a "smooth" finish.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 they didn't even let the bleed water get off it before they did what troweling they did to it. That makes me sick that they took advantage of the fact you couldn't be there to over see it. I doubt you had anything in writing related to specs for smoothness etc but that is simply not acceptable for any finish of concrete. Did they even put a power trowel on it, that looks like a wood float finish, not even broomed. I hate to ask but have you paid them. If not and there was no contract, first ensure they paid for the concrete (you don't want the concrete company coming after you) then hold payment until they remedy it. There is a possibility it can be ground smooth but that is difficult to do right, Have you laid a 10 ft straight edge over it to see if there are high and low spots. 1/8 " is good but should be absolutely no more than 1/4" in a 10 ft run. You can rent a small concrete saw with blade and I suggest you go ahead and do that as the weather is turning cold and that concrete is going to start contracting. Again man, so sorry to see what they left you with. But hey it's got to be better than dirt and gravel. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosage Chavis Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 I agree. Totally unacceptable. I hope they will straighten this out for you quickly. Good luck Matt. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILIKECARS53 Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 i always thought the control joints were done when the concrete is still wet, firm but still wet, not after it has already set up and hardened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 In sidewalks, driveways and other exterior flat work control joints are typically tooled in with a jointer and are about 1/2" wide but on interior slabs they are most often cut in with a concrete saw and give a smooth surface Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted October 16, 2016 Author Share Posted October 16, 2016 Doors finally.... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 Cool!!! and like that screen door too. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted October 18, 2016 Author Share Posted October 18, 2016 So I paid for the concrete separately. But yes, I paid these guys just before I went back to the office. I've found other buyers, on craigslist who have used this contractor and had similar experiences. We have all filed BBB complaints. One guy has a 5 day old driveway that he paid 10k for and it's already cracked. He has contacted the local news consumer watch segment. To have been in business for 35 years, I guess he must be getting bad in his later career.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted October 20, 2016 Author Share Posted October 20, 2016 Cut my first control joint.... 1.25"deep in 5"slab. I had a nice straight line but it was hard to follow with the saw..... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 I've seen worse, a lot,lot worse. cut by "pros" at that. Good job Matt 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted October 21, 2016 Author Share Posted October 21, 2016 Thanks Mr. Earl. It is admittedly hard to run the electric saw and water hose at the same time! (don't tell my boss that the company safety man does this stuff in his free time) HA HA HA 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 Tha's what ground fault breakers are for, right? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smithbrother Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 You can lay a 1 X 4 on the floor, pile weights on each end, that will help with cutting straight line, I wouldn't TRUST a ground fault, PERSONALLY, water and electric current don't respect each other. The blade is going to pick up the water, and throw it where is isn't 'GOOD', IMO The 1 X 4 will also give you control of depth. Coming along, Dale in Indy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted October 21, 2016 Author Share Posted October 21, 2016 1 hour ago, smithbrother said: You can lay a 1 X 4 on the floor, pile weights on each end, that will help with cutting straight line, I wouldn't TRUST a ground fault, PERSONALLY, water and electric current don't respect each other. The blade is going to pick up the water, and throw it where is isn't 'GOOD', IMO The 1 X 4 will also give you control of depth. Coming along, Dale in Indy The 1x4 is a great idea I just set the depth of my saw but the 1x4 would still help me keep a straighter line Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NC-car-guy Posted October 23, 2016 Author Share Posted October 23, 2016 Finished my control joints... next weekend makes one month curing, so I'm going to use sealer/densifier on it... then the first project rolls in..... unfortunately not a Buick yet, gotta replace the engine in my truck (480k miles) so I can haul more Buick stuff! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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