Building a porch

fatjay · May 2, 2017

mud jacking sounds like it. They would drill holes and pump stuff down which would force the slab up with high pressure pumps. I'm not looking to cut corners, there's just a couple ways to do it right, and I"m looking for the cheaper of those ways. Plus, i prefer a brick and mortar approach to wood personally. I like the feel of it. I can put a fire pit on it and not have to worry about causing damage. The goal is to put the pavers over top if it's possible, I just wanted to make sure I didn't overlook anything. I'm fairly sure the slabs shifted early on in their life 50 years ago, though.

I've seen some places say mix mortar with sand, vs strait sand. Strait sand should still feel sturdy when packed right?

zzvyb6 · May 2, 2017

My concrete guy charges $3.00 per square foot. He hauls away the old concrete and sells it back to a cement plant for use as gravel and cooking cement. He just adding 300 ft to my driveway and a 15 by 50 apron to my shed (8 bag mix). Includes the forming, but I did the base prep using existing driveway 21-AA limestone rubble.

He's retired from the business but can't keeps his boots out of it. I'm curious what the rest of you get charged and for what: removal of old, forming, rebar, slitting and cleanup. The concrete plant is 1 mile up the road. He says they do 1,000 yards a week, year round from there.

Snobdds · May 2, 2017

zzvyb6 said:
My concrete guy charges $3.00 per square foot. He hauls away the old concrete and sells it back to a cement plant for use as gravel and cooking cement. He just adding 300 ft to my driveway and a 15 by 50 apron to my shed (8 bag mix). Includes the forming, but I did the base prep using existing driveway 21-AA limestone rubble.

He's retired from the business but can't keeps his boots out of it. I'm curious what the rest of you get charged and for what: removal of old, forming, rebar, slitting and cleanup. The concrete plant is 1 mile up the road. He says they do 1,000 yards a week, year round from there.

That is so cheap. How does he make any money. My dad is a GC, and 7 to 10 per square foot is common. Larger jobs are closer to 7 and smaller jobs closer to 10 and that's just pad and sidewalk work.

I still think pavers will loose the economy of the project once time and labor is factored in.

fatjay · May 2, 2017

Time and labor is my own, so I don't count it. Just a weekend project. I've gotten 7-10 per square foot as well, at 4" thick. This is 18" for a reason, it's on a grade. So if I bust up the concrete, I'll have to back fill with dirt at minimum, otherwise it's 16x20x4.5, even at $7/sq ft that's $10k for a new slab 16'x20'x18" deep

Snobdds · May 3, 2017

I'm getting $3,360 for your slab at $7.00. Decrease your slab thickness to 6 inches and your in the 1100 range, but add in fill to that number.

Can you tell I'm pushing you towards concrete...lol.

Deere Dude · May 3, 2017

What about taking a portion of the fence down and have them pour right over the top to the desired pitch you need? That would be very easy to do.

EddieWalker · May 3, 2017

Sounds like you don't want to go with concrete over the old stuff. I don't care for the look of a concrete porch either, but there isn't anything that beats it cost wise. Removing a fence doesn't sound too hard, but getting a cement truck into a back yard can sometimes create more damage then it's worth.

Pavers are nice, but expensive. If not done correctly, can be a never ending project.

You mentioned Trex, which is nice, but week and expensive.

Why not go over it with treated 2x6's to create a wooden deck? It should be easy to either span the cracks, or shim up the deck boards so it comes out flat.

If you have the room for pavers, you should have plenty of room for treated lumber.