Deere Dude
Elite Member
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2011
- Messages
- 4,014
- Tractor
- John Deere 3720
I admire anyone who wants to tackle a job like that. Being next to the house I would just hire it done. They will be in and out in a couple hours and will look good, and that you get from finishing.. That has been settling for 40 years and it won't settle anymore. Don't worry about heaving from the cold. It will heave all at the same rate, unless it is hooked to the house on one edge.
Practice yourself on sidewalks or something smaller so if it gets messed up, it won't matter quite so much. Or better yet, get someone who will come out and work with you and let you get involved in the screeding and the finishing. That is the best way. Use them as a teaching tool, then you will be able to tackle other relatively small projects yourself.
My first concrete job was doing 1/2 my garage and had two guys, one a contractor friend and another guy help me and show me the hands on tricks. After that I me and my wife tackled the garage approach, then other garages and a few basements and sidewalks and so on. The thing is, I can screed and finish the concrete, but is never the same as when a pro does it. It never is perfectly flat. I just don't have the eye for that. It may have some minimal high spots or low spots or maybe some trowel marks left in that I missed or other little things. But unless I had someone else there the first time in the garage, I would have been so screwed.
I have to add this little story. My neighbor told me this. About 20 years ago, a house about a quarter mile away had a driveway put it. It as a trailer house was there and still is, but the driveway is about 10-12' wide and about 150' long. I noticed when I moved here it looked like crap, but, oh well. What happened some lazy guy and an energetic wife took this project on. He laid around in the house all day and didn't lift a finger. She ordered about a dozen pallets of ready-crete and commenced to mix them, one 5 gallon bucket full at a time. She started by the garage and worked to the road, and he still never lifted a finger. She ordered another big pile of ready-crete and she finally got it done. It took quite a long time as you can imagine, but the driveway is still there and being used.
Practice yourself on sidewalks or something smaller so if it gets messed up, it won't matter quite so much. Or better yet, get someone who will come out and work with you and let you get involved in the screeding and the finishing. That is the best way. Use them as a teaching tool, then you will be able to tackle other relatively small projects yourself.
My first concrete job was doing 1/2 my garage and had two guys, one a contractor friend and another guy help me and show me the hands on tricks. After that I me and my wife tackled the garage approach, then other garages and a few basements and sidewalks and so on. The thing is, I can screed and finish the concrete, but is never the same as when a pro does it. It never is perfectly flat. I just don't have the eye for that. It may have some minimal high spots or low spots or maybe some trowel marks left in that I missed or other little things. But unless I had someone else there the first time in the garage, I would have been so screwed.
I have to add this little story. My neighbor told me this. About 20 years ago, a house about a quarter mile away had a driveway put it. It as a trailer house was there and still is, but the driveway is about 10-12' wide and about 150' long. I noticed when I moved here it looked like crap, but, oh well. What happened some lazy guy and an energetic wife took this project on. He laid around in the house all day and didn't lift a finger. She ordered about a dozen pallets of ready-crete and commenced to mix them, one 5 gallon bucket full at a time. She started by the garage and worked to the road, and he still never lifted a finger. She ordered another big pile of ready-crete and she finally got it done. It took quite a long time as you can imagine, but the driveway is still there and being used.
)
