A small crack can very quickly turn into a much larger one, especially on sloped driveways. If your concrete patio or driveway is not level and has cracks, a much larger repair must be done at a higher cost to you.
In addition, using pavers is also more labor intensive, adding to the overall cost. Many professionals offer this service to repair, resurface and refinish damaged or stained concrete floors. Building a raised patio is easy and can add more usable living space and lasting value to your landscape. Place the drain pipe at the back of the trench and vent to daylight at the lowest point. In our area, hiring a concrete contractor to pour a 16 x 20-ft. Your concrete slab will last longer, with less cracking and movement, if it’s built on solid, well-drained soil.
When constructing anything from a shelf to a house, making sure the level is okay with a tool such as a laser level is of utmost …
How I build a concrete porch deck pans Mike Haduck – Elevated Concrete And Masonry
The moisture-barrier membrane must extend all the way across the stem wall — a detail that requires a liquid waterproofing applied by hand under the sill plate.
Pouring a concrete driveway on ground that is not level throughout the slope will result in cracking after a short period. If it is severe, a larger area of concrete must be removed to properly fix the crack. Starting at the lowest point dig a base trench 24 in. To begin building the retaining wall that will make up your raised patio, start by preparing the base. Place the required amount of wall rock in the base trench and rake smooth. Make minor adjustments by using a dead blow hammer or by placing up to 0.5 in. I asked him to remove the mound of cement from my garden, he told me, “cement is biodegradable”. In this article, we’ll walk you through the slab-pouring process so you get it right the first time. Then drive four stakes to roughly indicate the corners of the new slab. To absorb the shock and make nailing easier, hold a sledgehammer behind stakes and form boards as you nail. If the worker were to raise his hood or shield, his eyes would be protectedfrom eye injury hazards that may be created by these other work activities.
Miami fell 30 stories, killing two construction workers and injuring five. Leveling the forms is easier if you leave one end of the form board slightly high when you nail it to the stake.
A numerical model for the behaviour of masonry under elevated
Slope the fill down along the edges to create a thickened edge of concrete. The key to crack-resistant concrete is a firm base that drains well. With the forms in place, you can estimate how much fill you need. Do this in three or four spots and average the results. Then use this depth to calculate the cubic yards of fill needed. Otherwise you can leave it uncovered. Divide the slab down the middle with a 2×4 nailed to 1×3 stakes. Concrete needs reinforcement for added strength and crack resistance. Use a metal-cutting blade or disc in a reciprocating saw, circular saw or grinder to cut the rebar. Splice the pieces together by overlapping them at least 6 in. Wire the perimeter rebar to rebar stakes for support. Mark the position of the door openings on the concrete forms. Triple-check your concrete forms to make sure they’re square, level, straight and well braced. To figure the volume of concrete needed, multiply the length by the width by the depth (in feet) to arrive at the number of cubic feet.
Divide the total by 27 and add 5 percent to calculate the number of yards of concrete you’ll need. The air entrainment traps microscopic bubbles that help concrete withstand freezing temperatures. Have a helper add or remove concrete in front of the screed as you pull it. Move over and repeat, overlapping the previously floated surface by about one-third. Use wheelbarrows where necessary. Place the concrete close to its final spot and roughly level it with a rake. Lift the rebar to position it in the middle of the slab as you go. Tip the top of the screed board back slightly as you drag it toward you in a back-and-forth sawing motion. You want enough concrete to fill all voids, but not so much that it’s difficult to pull the board. It’s better to make several passes with the screed board, moving a little concrete each time, than to try to pull a lot of concrete at once.
The goal is to remove marks left by screeding and fill in low spots to create a flat, level surface. Keep the leading edge of the float just slightly above the surface by raising or lowering the float handle. Three or four passes with the bull float is usually sufficient. After you smooth the slab with the bull float, water will “bleed” out of the concrete and sit on the surface. You’ll have to wait until the concrete can support your weight to start grooving the slab. The kneeling board distributes your weight, allowing you to get an earlier start. Use the float to remove the marks left by edging and smooth out humps and dips left by the bull float. The goal is to bring a slurry of cement to the surface to aid in troweling. Troweling is one of the trickier steps in concrete finishing. For a really smooth finish, repeat the troweling step two or three times, letting the concrete harden a bit between each pass. On each successive pass, lift the leading edge of the trowel a little more. Since the concrete surface will be soft and easy to chip or scratch, wait for a day or two before building on the slab.
Wear long pants and long sleeves to protect your skin. Wear gloves (rubber gloves are the safest bet). If your clothes get saturated with wet cement, remove them, thoroughly rinse your skin and change into clean clothes before going back to work. Very few stem-wall crawlspaces are being built, she reports, because with masonry labor, that is also more costly. This extra layer of thermal protection means building owners can benefit from a cladding system that helps meet and exceed today’s demanding energy codes.
Drainage channels in the front and back of each panel allow any water that infiltrates the wall to escape. Leveling the forms is easier if you leave one end of the form board slightly high when you nail it to the stake. Slope the fill down along the edges to create a thickened edge of concrete. The key to crack-resistant concrete is a firm base that drains well. With the forms in place, you can estimate how much fill you need. Do this in three or four spots and average the results. Then use this depth to calculate the cubic yards of fill needed. Otherwise you can leave it uncovered. Divide the slab down the middle with a 2×4 nailed to 1×3 stakes. Concrete needs reinforcement for added strength and crack resistance. Use a metal-cutting blade or disc in a reciprocating saw, circular saw or grinder to cut the rebar. Splice the pieces together by overlapping them at least 6 in. Wire the perimeter rebar to rebar stakes for support. Mark the position of the door openings on the concrete forms. Triple-check your concrete forms to make sure they’re square, level, straight and well braced. To figure the volume of concrete needed, multiply the length by the width by the depth (in feet) to arrive at the number of cubic feet.
Divide the total by 27 and add 5 percent to calculate the number of yards of concrete you’ll need. The air entrainment traps microscopic bubbles that help concrete withstand freezing temperatures. Have a helper add or remove concrete in front of the screed as you pull it. Move over and repeat, overlapping the previously floated surface by about one-third. Use wheelbarrows where necessary. Place the concrete close to its final spot and roughly level it with a rake. Lift the rebar to position it in the middle of the slab as you go. Tip the top of the screed board back slightly as you drag it toward you in a back-and-forth sawing motion. You want enough concrete to fill all voids, but not so much that it’s difficult to pull the board. It’s better to make several passes with the screed board, moving a little concrete each time, than to try to pull a lot of concrete at once.
The goal is to remove marks left by screeding and fill in low spots to create a flat, level surface. Keep the leading edge of the float just slightly above the surface by raising or lowering the float handle. Three or four passes with the bull float is usually sufficient. After you smooth the slab with the bull float, water will “bleed” out of the concrete and sit on the surface. You’ll have to wait until the concrete can support your weight to start grooving the slab. The kneeling board distributes your weight, allowing you to get an earlier start. Use the float to remove the marks left by edging and smooth out humps and dips left by the bull float. The goal is to bring a slurry of cement to the surface to aid in troweling. Troweling is one of the trickier steps in concrete finishing. For a really smooth finish, repeat the troweling step two or three times, letting the concrete harden a bit between each pass. On each successive pass, lift the leading edge of the trowel a little more. Since the concrete surface will be soft and easy to chip or scratch, wait for a day or two before building on the slab.
Wear long pants and long sleeves to protect your skin. Wear gloves (rubber gloves are the safest bet). If your clothes get saturated with wet cement, remove them, thoroughly rinse your skin and change into clean clothes before going back to work. Eric left in my organic flower/vegie bed. I asked him to remove the mound of cement from my garden, he told me, “cement is biodegradable”. Eric today because we’re very happy with the slab he put in our basement 2 1/2 years ago and want him to take care of our sidewalk plus 2 of our neighbors.
Overall, 188 of the 632 construction workers (30%) were employed by subcontractors with fewer than 10 employees. Twenty-nine of the construction workers who died on the job were self-employed (5%). These incidents involved 74 mobile cranes, 7 tower cranes, and 2 other cranes. In 2 of the crane collapses and 2 of the highway collisions, construction workers were also killed or injured. There were construction crane incidents involving deaths and injuries in 33 states, with 24 states involving deaths. More than half of the deaths were among construction laborers and heavy equipment operators. Most crane-related deaths involved mobile cranes. Third, crane inspectors should be certified. Fourth, in addition to other mandated inspections, cranes must be inspected thoroughly by a certified crane inspector after being assembled or modified, such as the “jumping” of a tower crane.
Sixth, crane loads should not be allowed to pass over street traffic. Presently crane loads are not allowed to pass over construction workers. Other causes include 12 highway incidents and 11 struck by objects other than crane loads or parts.
How I Build A Concrete Porch With Deck Pans, Mike Haduck
Mike Haduck shows his style of building a concrete porch, showing footer, block work, deck pans, concrete, cellar door and stucco …