concrete slab alongside garage

[bkft]

Hi everyone. I'd like to explore the possiblity of pouring a concrete slab alongside my garage. We have a two-stall garage, and it'd be nice to have another space for the boat. While I'd love to build a third stall, I don't think we can afford it. I imagine something like that could cost as much as $15-20k? Any ideas about how expensive it might be to pour a slab if either we a)job it out to professionals or b)did this ourselves? Any input is appreciated.

Thanks!

John

[lawdog]

I have a related question, as to pouring concrete in front of our double garage on the acreage. We have gravel drive and I'd like that concrete slab for cleanliness as much as anything... I am guessing this could be a per sq foot type price that would apply to both, or not???

[RipJigger]

It just depends on how big of a slab you pour contractors usually charge flatwork by the sq ft.The price varys on your location but a good est would be $3-$5 a sq ft.A good place to ask questions is your local redi mix company the dispatchers can give you an est on how much concrete it will take if you give them the dimensions,and sometimes depending on the company they will recommend a good contractor

[LwnmwnMan2]

I had a 40 x 50' concrete slab poured 3 years ago, my cousin did it for $3.00 / sq ft, he was doing it basically at cost for me.

Everyone else was pushing the $4 / sq ft.

However, prices have probably dropped a hair, since I know alot of guys are pretty slow, with the slowdown in housing.

So, I'd be on the higher end of that $3-5 / sq ft than the lower.

Just figure out how big of an area you'd like to do, multiply that by $4.50 to be safe, and that should put you in the ballpark.....

[sparcebag]

To do it yourself; take the square footage and divide by 81 thats the amount of concrete needed @ 4 inches deep 3 &1/2 deep is normal slab 4 inches figure is its better tomuch than too little.also do a shovel scoop footing around perimiter bout 8 inches deep with # 4 rebar for strengh which then takes a little more concrete.Post for more info if you like!

[bkft]

Yeah, I've got another question sparcebag...what're you gonna charge me for doing this???

Thanks for the info so far, guys! I'm thinking of a slab that's about 10x20' with some triangular slab to connect to the driveway. So probably ends up being around 250 sqft or so. By using the $4 model, that works out to be around $1,100. Which sounds reasonable. But, is that all-inclusive? Meaning is that excavation, materials and labor?

Thanks again!

John

[RipJigger]

That should be for everything when hiring a contractor,lets say you do it your self the concrete should run you about $400 plus the rebar plus the form boards and your labor is worth something,just play with the numbers and figure out the route you want to go.

[End of the Line]

There are concrete calculators online to help with figuring out how much concret you'll need. Dont go by a 3 yr old price or even last year. 3 years ago you could get concret for $68 yard in my area, now this spring its $102-$110. The other thing check to see if you can even get concrete in your area if you do it yourself, materials are tight and some Redi-mix places here want to keep their bread and butter contracters supplied and your a one-time show!

[sparcebag]

either we a)job it out to professionals or b)did this ourselves?? I took this as you may do it your self and knowing how to figure sq. ft.to yds. of conc. could give you ballpark figure to call ready mix co.

[Bobby Bass]

Just to throw this out there but have have you thought of putting down asphalt? Less work involved, cheaper and I do believe it will not effect your taxes like a permanent concrete apron will. I added parking area with crushed limestone as a base for asphalt. I like the limestone so much I have done away with the idea of paving over the area at all.

[eyepatrol]

When estimating quantities and bidding projects out for city's we serve, we typically bid out driveways based on the square yards, although square feet can and is done too. It's a simple matter of converting units. However, most communities we design for, the concrete driveways are 6" thick and sometimes 7" thick. Sidewalks are typically 4" thick concrete. So, if it were me, I'd go with a 6" thick concrete driveway (but that's just me). Projects that we bid out last year with major contractors, the 6" thick concrete driveway pavement prices were around $40/sq. yd. Usually, prices increase 5% - 10% each year, so a conservative estimate would be a price of $45/sq. yd. This would be for the concrete only; does not include the gravel base underneath. For gravel bases underneath the concrete, it can vary from 4" to 6". If you went with 6" of a standard gravel base, the cost per square yard last year was approx. $4.90/sq. yd. Adding 10% for this year's price and the gravel would cost around $5.40/sq. yd. So, the total price to construct a driveway would be around $50.40/sq. yd (conservative estimate). For a 250sq. ft. driveway (approx. 28sq. yd), the total cost would be about $1,410. This would include the concrete, gravel and all the prep work. Keep in mind, this costs came from a $1M project, and the cost for a single driveway could be higher, or sometimes it could be lower. Sometimes it depends who ya know, and sometimes it depends on where you live. My guess - your driveway would cost between $1,500 - $2,000.

Best thing to do is to get some quotes from concrete contractors. If you go to a concrete supplier, they will give the price for the concrete from the plant, so you need to talk to a contractor to get the full cost of excavating, grading and placing the gravel base and concrete surface. One way to save a few bucks - if you have a good gravel driveway, enough thickness such that the gravel can be salvaged and reused, this will save you some money.

[bkft]

Wow. Thanks a lot Basscatcher. Great info.

[lawdog]

That was good info, the slide ruler and pocket protector must have been smokin after he got that post out!!

[eyepatrol]

It's all on the computer.....just click a button ya know.

One other thing to note - more than likely there will be some of your yard tore up when the work gets done, so you'll have to figure on some grass replacement, whether it be seeding or sod. This is something that could be done on your own though.

[LundExplorer]

I did this about 2-3 years ago, and did it myself, with some help from good neighbors and friends. The slab was 9x30. Wish I had made it 12' wide. For the concrete, rebar & ties, and tool rental (bull float) the total cost was around $900. Concrete was around $115-$120/yd delivered. Although you can tell it was done by amateurs, it looks pretty good and has held up well thru the past 2 seasons.

[iffwalleyes]

When you work with it like bass does it is second nature same for me. I do alot of work with asphalt and concrete and I would go with concrete but the reason I would do that is because I would do that myself. Asphalt to make it pay you need a decent size area to make it worth it unless they are paving right infront of your house. Concrete construction really isn't going down the cost of materials continue to rise and labor isn't really going anywhere. Figureing what you need is very simple (LengthXWidthXdepth)/27 and that is your cubic yards so you said it was 10X20 area so at 4" you would need 2.5 yards I would order 3 nothing worst that running short plus many redimix places have a minunm order size depending on the company. At 6" you would need 3.7 cy order 4 or 4.25 yards to be safe. Depending how much you you are going to put on it I would pour it 6" with no rebar if the base is good there do you have gravel base? Just a boat won't require much reinforcing steel if you do I would space it every 18" or so or else get some wire mesh. Or else you could do it 4" and reinforce that would probably work out about the same.

[Bigeye30"]

I wouldn't worry about much reinforcement on a slab that size, however I would pour it at 6" deep rather than four as your slab will be approx 60% stronger and would not require the steel. Cost of 6" with out steel is going to be about the same as cost of 4" with steel. The one thing that I did notice you mentioned is there is an existing driveway, you can always drill rebar and tie into that for added support, make sure your grade is packed good, ussually some sort of class 5 works best. Limestone is great but twice the cost. You can get recyled class 5 and have no problems for alot less money. One other thing to make sure to do is set the forms with some fall coming of the garage so your water pushes away from the house, and check it with a level when pouring the actual concrete. All jobs require different materials and time and most contractors will have to look at the actual job before giving you a set price. If you want shoot me an email and I can look at it for you (no cost) and tell you what to expect in terms of contractor bids etc. Concrete prices last year averaged around 100 a yard, but if your an independent they may charge a saturday load charge as well Hope that helps To figure out in sqaure feet for 4" divide by 81 and Six inches divide by 54 for yardage you said 10x25 or 250 squares=4.63 yards Order 5 yards if the grade is on and those are the dimensions your good to go. When ordering always round up. Its better to have to much than not enough when your pouring

[Bigeye30"]

sorry [email protected] I am in lakeville every Tuesday afternoon and evening as well as other various days of the week as I am brokered out of there.