How big of a slab could I do by myself?

[paulsharvey]

So, IMO, 2.5 CY is too much to single pour even with a conventional mixer, and place and finish. You could easily divide it into 2 pours, pretty manageable, at 1.25 cy per pour, even if your hoe and wheel barrow mixing. Visqueen on the dirt/gravel will help prevent too fast (or uneven) curing. The fact that it has a roof means no direct sunlight; you probably should have plenty of time to finish, and it very well might be 10pm before your off the slab if you get the pour done by 2 pm, if temps are in the 50s/60s

 

[4570Man]

There’s no way I’d attempt a pour that size with bags by yourself. Even with a rental mixer which is the only way I’d even consider mixing 140 bags it would still be too slow. Mixing 140 bags in a wheelbarrow would be an absolutely brutal job that most people couldn’t finish on one go. Even loading 10,000 pounds of bags in a mixer is still a lot of work. You could call a truck and carry the concrete from the road in the tractor bucket. I’d still want a second person to drive the tractor. A 12x17 pad is still pretty big for an inexperienced person to try especially inside walls which makes it a lot harder. If you just want a hard spot to park on it might be ok but I wouldn’t go into it expecting quality results.

 

[Yander]

Are you sure they couldn't access it even with a pump? Those guys put concrete in some difficult places. I would measure and call them and see what they can do.

 

[paulsharvey]

Oh, you could surely pump it, but thats gonna be atleast $1k over the price of the concrete. For a 2.5yard pour, yiu could do a 6x17, an expansion joint, and do the other half another day.

I did a 24x16 shed pour with nothing but bags and wheel barrow, no mixer. Broke it into 4 pours, each 12x8 (1 cy); each a single pallet, solo. It's not fun, but it's 100% doable. I did 1 pour each weekend. At the time I didn't realize there is a guy with a 1 CY redimix trailer that will deliver for around $240/yard; or I would have called him. It's really worth searching I'd there is a similar business near you. It's 1.5x the cost per yard of a real truck, but no short load fees, easier to get a 3/4t truck and a 1 yard trailer into an area. Heck, even if you use 3 1cy loads, that's maybe 6 hours total, vs more like 3 solid days of mixing and pouring

Even having "passive" help is a lot of help, even if they just fill buckets with water, or pick up the empty bags.

 

[MossRoad]

I'd say you could do it if you had help. I'd get two strong people and use your tractor bucket to haul it from the mixer truck. Bags would be awfully hard.

When we did our garage addition, it was 24' x 24' x 5.5" thick.

I knew there was no way in heck my wife, 1 daughter, her fiancé and I could do that by ourselves. So I broke it into 3 pours of 24' x 8' and we did one each weekend. The cement truck could not get to the back of the garage due to a septic tank, so I used my little PT425 (weighs about 1500#) with 1/3 CY bucket to haul it around to the back. I figured out just how much I could put in the bucket without tipping it forward on its nose. It did not take that long.

The key was to have everything in place and ready to go, all prep done, the day before the truck comes. Once it's there, there's no turning back.

Also, the beauty of it was that I had to drive the tractor, and the 3 of them did the spreading, screeding, etc... wife was not too pleased. But she learned she can do it. Daughter and future son-in-law actually enjoyed it. I did most of the finishing.

Anyhow, the first pour was OK, but I noticed some small air pockets when I removed the form. So I bought a cheap concrete vibrator, and that made all the difference. The 2nd pour looked really good and by the last pour they just told me to shut up and drive. It looked really nice!

Anyhow, it cost less than half of what the concrete contractor was quoting. It took 3 weekends VS one afternoon. And I ended up with some nice concrete working tools.

Now this was just for a storage room. Just broom finished, not all that smooth. No one will ever critique it. But at 5.5" thick, it's not going anywhere. Used lots of rebar on chairs. Only two joints in it 24' long. No cracks in 3 years.

 

[dodge man]

Rent a buggy, that would shuttle the concrete from the truck to the pour.

 

[CalG]

Bench mark!

I had a slab poured under the car park this early spring, after parking on 3/4" stone for the past five years. 22 foot square... or so.

The young man who was the "contractor" and I did the prep with me running the tractor loader. The site was not level !

On the day of the pour, he had two additional "helpers". One was seasoned, the other ...not so much.
The truck arrived at 9 am. We were cleaning up at dusk.

A full day for four!

 

[bigtiller]

If you are under 40, a BFI under 20%, a strong back and a healthy set of lungs, you stand a good chance of success doing by your self. ​

The higher the numbers, the more help and work time you need.

 

[cj7]

Interesting topic. I dont have much experiece doing a large pour. But last year did a 10 x20 with ready mix. It was around the back of house and I hired 2 guys with a small pump trailer. My buddy and I did the final screed and bull float. The pump guys were well worth it. They even helped out more than just pumping the concrete. Was about 500 bucks.

 

[Runner]

I poured and finished the floor of my 18 x 24 pole barn by myself in 6, 6 x 12 pours. Used 1 cu yd concrete buggies from rental yard, floated and finished with trowel. Due to the proximity of the rental yard, the timing worked out so I could place the concrete, float, then clean out and return the buggy. By the time I got back from returning the buggy (half hour or so) the concrete was ready to trowel.

Just did one pour per day, strip forms, set up again, repeat process every other day until it was done. Took a while, but worked out good. Paid a few bucks extra for the 4,000 psi mix and so far (after 8 years) no cracks.

I was 58 at the time and I had to hustle to get each section done, but it was not too bad.