THSCC Forums

Does anyone have any rec. in the Durham area?
Do any permits need to be pulled for this?
Street access stays the same, just need more space close to the house, couldn't need more than a couple of Yards.
Thanks,
Keith

Does your driveway connect to a NCDOT or City road?

Whichever it touches might have something to say about it. I know the NCDOT does.

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02 Focus SVT
STF 9

It's in a subdivision, so I would guess that it is a city road.
How can I know for sure?

I widened my driveway a couple years ago. I called the Town of Cary and they told me that no permit was needed.

I doubt the city or state would care as long as you're not changing the width at the public road.

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In need of car.

No changes at the road.

Anyone have recommendations for contractors?

I know Chuck and Donna had a slab poured not that long ago. That said, they might just have a suggestion for what contractor *not* to use.

There is a big ol' Ready Mix plant on Hwy 55 in Durham, if that is close enough to your home, you could just call them directly. Of course, that means doing the prep work yourself.

Rumor is, you can save a bunch on concrete if you are willing to take it on short notice. It's better to empty the truck in a driveway than be stuck with extra cement at the end of the day.

I recently poured a pad in my backyard myself. It turned out pretty good, and was cheap and easy. It's just labor intensive. I can give you some tips if you want to try the diy route.

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2001 Honda S2000 - SOLD
2012 Boss 302
2003 BMW 330i

Thought about DIY as that's how I do everything. But I was kinda looking forward to hiring this one out.
But if the DIY savings are significant I guess I could do it.

Good tip, Scott, on the short-notice-ready-mix. I did not know that.

For reference I poured a 6' x 12' pad. costs were as follows.
4+ bags of cement (5 bags) = ~50$
1/2 yard of sand = 12$
1/2 yard of gravel = 12$
Misc wood for framing = ~20$

Concrete finishing tools = ? Was able to borrow a trough (sp?), float, and other tools needed. I only had to buy a 5$ edge tool. I already had a shovel. I was also able to borrow a small Harbor Freight cement mixer from a friend.

All in all, probably right around 100$

I would imagine for a driveway you may want to add some sort or re-inforcement though. Where is Ryan, he would know.

special thanks go to Stephen for letting me borrow his truck to get the supplies... thanks bro! Also, Jonbo our business manager for helping me mix, pour, and float.

I'm actually gonna pour a second ~6'x12' pad in 2-3 weeks if you want to come and see what is involved. The second pad will probably cost me about $50 as I already have the wood, tools, and a little concrete mix leftover from the first pad.

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2001 Honda S2000 - SOLD
2012 Boss 302
2003 BMW 330i

I poured a parking pad off our existing drive a few years ago. Have some help available if you do it yourself, you don't want the concrete getting "away" from you. The truck mixer wants to be in and out pretty quickly.

While not "standard" pratice in NC, I'd just start with a base of "crush and run". Tamp well. It's about the cheapest stuff you can buy and makes a great base for the concrete. Remember concrete has high compression strength but not a lot of tensile strength.
Other rules of thumb I followed:
- I used a 4" base of crush and run and 4" of concrete
- Order 3000 psi strength concrete with Fibermesh
and don't let them add additional water (which weakens the concrete)
- Use a joint strip where you meet the existing concrete or any other hard surface.
- Cut "control" joints every 10 feet or so. Your concrete will crack somewhere so a control joint sorta tells it where you want it to crack.
- Have all the tools - screed boards, floats, shovels. trowels. Broom to finish.
- Keep the concrete wet for at least a week (cover with plastic). The slower it hydrates, the stronger it is.

When I was pricing "turnkey" jobs I did find that landscape contractors were less expensive than concrete/paving companies for small jobs. Some landscape contractors are looking for work this time of year, but check references. Most I talked to just wanted to slap 2500 psi concrete on top of my dirt with 2x4s used for forms (3.5" of concrete). JMHO, but that's pretty marginal and bad concrete is a huge mess to replace. Even with my over engineering, I saved at least a third over the turn key pricing.

Frank

Great info guys!
I understand the 4" of concrete, but do I really need a 4" gravel base?
That's alot of digging to be level with the existing drive.
As for the Joint Strip, what material is that?cut
And to cut the control joint, can I use 7 1/4" circ saw with the correct blade?... I'm assuming I do this after it cures.

Good Idea on the landscapers, I'll get a few estimates... to see if it is worth the hassle to DIY... I do hate paying people for something I can do myself.

Michael, let me know when you pour that pad, If I'm in town, I wouldn't mind lending a hand.

Yeah, forgot to add the joint strips. The ones I purchased came in were 5'x4" and about 1/2-1" thick. They were $1.97 and I found them on the concrete isle in Lowes.

For the joint control I think Frank is referring to a tool you kind of push through the concrete once it is almost set up. It's probably $5-$10. Also found on the concrete isle.

I'll let you know when I pour. So far I'm planning for Nov 4th or 5th.
Steve, can I borrow the truck again?

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2001 Honda S2000 - SOLD
2012 Boss 302
2003 BMW 330i

I have been internetless this week. Plus leaving the house at 4:30 has been sucking. Its gonna calm down soon

Frank mentioned this as well, GET FIBERMESH. Its easier in the long run for reinforcement. WWF (Welded Wire Fabric) is a pain to mess with.

As for do you NEED a 4" base of "crush n run"? What kinda soil is there now? If its pretty decently firm/solid. NO If its mucky crappy dirt. YES!

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02 Focus SVT
STF 9

Like I said, mine is over engineered. It all comes down to how much weight you want to support. A real design would include a soil test, drainage profile, etc. Think about drainage as you plan the slope . I can tell you I've seem plenty of builder driveways with cracks in them so I was conservative. I also had a crazy neighbor with a tractor who made short work of the excavation ....

I really like having a "shear plane" (the crush and run) under the concrete. I'd do 2-3 " of crush and run and 3.5" (2x4 forms) of concrete if 8" is too deep. Its the compressive vs. tensile strength thing. Heck I thought about rebar too but settled for Fibermesh.

You're both correct about the control joints. I bought the Lowe's tool but wound up using my circular saw. A good straight 2x4 is a good guide for your saw (or tool) so you get a nice line. For some reason, when the professionals do it they skimp on control joints. Remember - your concrete *will* crack so its your choice. Have it crack beneath your nice straight control joint, or have a squiggly diagonal crack across your pad. The correct calculation for control joints involves the thickness of the concrete and the size of the pad but every ten feet for driveway widths is fine.

If you sub it out, I'd still try to spec at least the concrete. They might spec "slump" instead of psi. Either is OK. You will pay more for stronger concrete (more cement in the mix). Its also much harder to work so make sure they don't add water on site!

Have fun,


Frank