Retaining walls and patio

[Xfaxman]

If I were in the business I would be in a wheelchair from a broken back.

 

[EddieWalker]

What's the plan for landscaping? I might of forgotten, but did you install sprinklers before building the walls?

As a Contractor, I used to have signs on the doors of my truck to help attract business, but the only people that called from seeing my truck where guys looking for work. The neighbors who where interested would just come over and talk to me face to face. But every time I saw the City Inspector truck drive past the street, I expected him to stop and see what I was doing. It never happened, but it always made me nervous. Eventually I just took off the signs and threw them away.

 

[Muhammad]

The project that never ends. Now entering the concrete stage. Floating steps. Had to run some sprinkler lines before placing forms for concrete.

I haven't done much concrete work but this place is filled with "never done before" stuff.

After the concrete, a bunch of landscaping, and either a lawn or artificial turf. It really never ends.

 

[deezler]

This is your brother's house, right? Hope he's paying you well!

 

[Muhammad]

This is your brother's house, right? Hope he's paying you well!

I have a bathroom renovation coming up soon at my house.

 

[goeduck]

Sprinkler lines not deep enough...... OH WAIT... California..... Good to go

 

[pmsmechanic]

Sprinkler lines not deep enough...... OH WAIT... California..... Good to go

You make me laugh. Sprinkler lines around here are buried about 12" deep. I fall you just blow them all out with air.

 

[MossRoad]

You make me laugh. Sprinkler lines around here are buried about 12" deep. I fall you just blow them all out with air.

Ours are self-draining. No fall issues.

 

[Muhammad]

Sprinkler lines not deep enough...... OH WAIT... California..... Good to go

Yeah just lay them on the ground.

 

[Muhammad]

I have new respect for the amount of work that goes into concrete forms and getting everything level and straight.

The photos here show the walkway which is 28 separate rectangles with 6" gap between each. The forms for a regular walkway would be far, far easier.

Decided to hire a finishing crew for the concrete since this has now turned into a 6 yard pour, 480sq ft, 44 sections. The stairs aren't formed yet but should be early next week.

As is typical, I pulled the sprinkler lines because I didn't want to bury them under concrete without testing. I'll run them again in the gap between the sections later on.

For those curious this is the rough budget on this work, which consists of 300sq ft of walkway sections and 200 sq ft of stair sections with cantilever style floating forms.

Skid steer and plate compactor rental: $400

Lumber and screws: $250

Day labor: $450

7 yards of concrete, delivered: $1350

Pump truck: $350

Finishing crew: $800

Up to around $3600 for these parts that were quoted at $8,000-$11,800. Dollar saved is a dollar earned!

 

[Muhammad]

Forms are all set for the concrete pour tomorrow.

These are not normal stairs. They are floating sections that have a cantilever overhang to give them the appearance of floating. Also they are spaced out by the width of the 2x6 form since that's the look my brother wanted. There are other ways to do cantilever stairs without the gap but this is how we did it.

There are a number of challenges with this lot and we faced a couple of options for addressing them. Mainly, keeping the stair riser the same height meant adjustment of the step length when the stairs were at too steep of an angle. Since the angle changed, this seemed to make the most sense. There are a few shorter steps at the bottom and then two longer steps in the middle, but otherwise generally kept the same size.

The pour should be right around 6 yards but I ordered 7 yards. We're going with 3000psi pea gravel with fiber reinforcement. This is much to the dismay of the big rock fans but I found that virtually every contractor around here uses pea gravel for steps as it pumps easier and is easier to work.

 

[EddieWalker]

Interesting idea going with the overhang on every step. Are you relying on the fiber for strength, or will you be adding wire mesh to each stair once you start filling up the form?

 

[Muhammad]

Interesting idea going with the overhang on every step. Are you relying on the fiber for strength, or will you be adding wire mesh to each stair once you start filling up the form?

The pour is still going to be 3 inches thick at the thinnest point on the overhang.

 

[Muhammad]

It's 87 degrees and sunny today. Perfect conditions for pouring concrete, right?

 

[MossRoad]

Sounds about right. Wear some blue jeans and black t-shirts.

 

[the old grind]

It got up to 46 here today but sleet and snow are still falling. Great Lakes area, ~ the 44th parallel. I'll set those posts in concrete some other day.

btw, Don't let the pour(s) dry out too quickly in the heat. Keep 'crete wet/cool for a while after finishung, a few days should do.

 

[Muhammad]

Uneventful pour... which is a good thing I guess. Ordered 7 yards, used about 6.5. 480 sq ft.

$1,187 for concrete, $385 for pumping, $800 for finishers.

 

[Muhammad]

I tried to find form oil but couldn't so I made some with a 30/70 mix of motor oil and diesel. Let's see if it helps the forms pop off tomorrow.

 

[MossRoad]

Less than $2500 you did good

 

[MossRoad]

When I did our garage addition last year I used 50/50 vegetable oil and mineral oil. Worked very well.