Today's project

[Dawgs]

I had to cut down a dead locust tree today.  So I went out and rented a bucket lift to get to the top limbs.  The tree was down in about 2 and a half hours.

Now for the bus related part!!!

While I had the bucket lift, I raised the header on my barn to 14 feet.  Now I can get the bus tucked in and out of the weather!  I am going to get bids tomorrow to have a six inch slab poured so that she's got a nice floor to sleep on.

[Oonrahnjay]

Now THAT'S a good day's work!

[oltrunt]

That is going to make a great birth for your bus.  Be sure to dig down deep enough to place a 6" layer of coarse sand below the slab as well as plenty of re-bar in the 'creet.  To get full strength from the concrete, keep the surface wet for 14 days after you pour and wait until the temps are above freezing to do the work.  I lowered my garage floor 4" to accommodate my bus as raising the header in a brick faced flat topped building is a non starter.  I followed my own advice and an well pleased with the results--not a crack in sight.  Jack

[Jim Eh.]

If you are going to pour a concrete floor why not put a slight trench down the center to give you room to do servicerepairs underneath?

[sledhead]

now is the time to put a pit in if you can get away with it

dave

[TomC]

I watched a concrete pour at one of my customers trucking company. The poured the concrete at about 12" with NO rebar. It's been about a year and a half and the parking lot still looks good. Just seemed strange that no rebar was used. Could save a lot of money without rebar. Hoover Dam has no rebar either. Good Luck, TomC

[bobofthenorth]

Could save a lot of money without rebar. Hoover Dam has no rebar either. Good Luck, TomC

While that statement is technically correct the cooling pipes within the structure undoubtedly fulfil a lot of the function normally associated with rebar in concrete.  Concrete has great compressive strength but very little strength in elongation which is why reinforcing steel is essential.  Some people will tell you that fibre additives can fill that role but I don't believe them.  The bottom line is if you are pouring a pad the cost of steel is insignificant in the big picture but the cost of not using it can be very significant.

[sledhead]

when I pored mine we used 4' x 8' mesh and pex floor heat lines but if you do not need heat the mesh was easy to work with and not a lot of money

dave

[PP]

Rebar or not, don't pour if the temps are going to drop below freezing. We got in a hurry fall before last to finish up some fire pits and it froze at night. Not a hard freeze either, but this last summer the last pits we did all crumbled into bits. We used rebar in the cement because we knew campers would be hard on them. But what a waste of time and money. FWIW
Will

[Dawgs]

Not to worry, the concrete won't be poured unless the overnight temps will be forecast for at least 38f.  That way I will have a little cushion in case it gets cooler.  Been there done that!!  I hate wasting money. 

The previous owner of this property poured concrete in another area and only used the fiber re-enforced stuff.  I still need to jack hammer that out.  He also didn't prepare the bed properly and it is all broke, cracked, and sunk down in the middle.

Wire mesh will be used and rebar at the entrance and in the area of the tires/jack pad.

I thought about a pit, but the insurance and state guys won't let that happen.

[bobofthenorth]

My opinions plus 5 bucks will buy you coffee but I haven't got much use for mesh either.  Rebar is a little more work but the added cost is insignificant and you'll never regret doing it.

[brmax]

Some 16 yards ago i used mesh and #3 re bar on 2' with concrete spec 4000 psi. with 6" pour or 2x6 form, I believe the 4k is standard driveway spec in most codes.
If you own a concrete company thicker is better, but jeesh the stuff is high. I need some more?
PS expansion joints are the key

[pabusnut]

I recently poured over 5000 cu yds of 5000 psi concrete 12-16" for "cargo" aircraft.  The only steel in it was the 1" dowels at the joints.  What makes the difference is the preparation of the surface under the concrete.  In my case, I had all the heavy equipment to remove the existing soil, and compact the subgrade, prior to adding base course in 3 in lifts, and compacting with vibratory rollers while checking the material for the optimum moisture content to achieve the greatest strength from the base course.

In my opinion, it is worth the money to pay someone who does structural design if you are going to put down enough concrete to park a bus on, because the design can be optimized based on materials and labor.  If your labor is "free" then maybe tying rebar is more cost effective than buying more concrete.

Steve Toomey

[Oonrahnjay]

I recently poured over 5000 cu yds of 5000 psi concrete 12-16" for "cargo" aircraft. 

Good work! 

In my opinion, it is worth the money to pay someone who does structural design if you are going to put down enough concrete to park a bus on, because the design can be optimized based on materials and labor.  If your labor is "free" then maybe tying rebar is more cost effective than buying more concrete.

Steve Toomey

Yeah, that's one of those balance and optimization things that can drive you crazy.  Being retired, I have some time to put into project -- being retired, the body isn't as much up to it as it used to be.

[Dawgs]

I can hear Tobey Keith singing in the background "I'm not as good as I once was, just a cold hard fact"......I resemble that!!

I'll be using 5000 psi concrete with a good base.