Pouring new basement floor ... how to get concrete?

[Lakee911]

Well, after I do the deck, I'll be on to my next project ... busting up the concrete floor in the basement, putting in new drains and a sump and then pouring the new floor. The existing floor is cracked and heaving and only about 1" thick in some places! It's bad.

I have a basement window that is about 10ft from the road. Is this too far to have concrete delivered without a pumper truck? Ideally if they could chute it right down into the window then I could spread it and finish it myself.

Would it be better to haul out the concrete or build some sort of 12"H x 42"D platform against the wall and bury the broken concrete in that? I could put my washer and dryer and stuff on that. I would have to use a couple courses of concrete block to get it up to height. I'm not sure if I need a footer under them though. I could drive rebar into the ground to hold them from shoving outwards and then the floor slab would contain it too. Do you think it would settle much if the building had been excavated 85 years ago?

Thanks,
Jason

[Dunbar Plumbing]

Rent a concrete chute extension to get it through the basement window, request a front loader concrete truck.


Sling the concrete tearout out the same window the new concrete comes through. Problem solved and don't stare at my avatar, it causes jaundice.

[Lakee911]

What do you mean sling the tearout out the same window?

[Dunbar Plumbing]

What do you mean sling the tearout out the same window?

Yes. That's the way we did it anytime there was a job in the basement and you're trying to avoid steps.

[Lakee911]

Sling it with what? My arms?

[spryde]

Yep. Been there, done that. Not going to do it again.

On the other hand, you shall look like Ah-nold when you are done.

SP

[Dunbar Plumbing]

Sling it with what? My arms?

Yes.......of course. Remember I'm the only disabled fart here so no excuses for anyone not to be able to endure vigorous physical labor.



(prepares candybar for daily nutrition)

[hj]

Our concrete trucks come with additional chutes, and they would have to buy a front discharge truck if I really needed one. Throwing concrete up and through a window, then having to pick it up and move it before throwing another piece sounds like real work.

[BigLou]

Jason,
sorry but your best bet is to take it out of there. you can't find some neighborhood teenage boys who want to make a $20 bill ? Unless you have a lot of experience forming and pouring concrete especially a monolithic pour your asking for disaster.

I second the request a front loader concrete truck. If they don't have one tell them to buy one or call another concrete company. Most contractor rental yards will rent you an extra section of chute to prop up on some saw horses.
If you feel particularly brave you can ask them to add some plasticiser, Which will make the concrete flow like water with out affecting the strength

I would bribe some of my buddies with beer and food to come over and help me. pouring a floor is an awful lot of work for one guy. Around here you get 5 min per yard to unload the truck beyond that they get $100/hour sitting time.

Lou

[ked]

How big is the floor? What will the concrete truck be driving on? A pumper may be warranted.

[hj]

I would bribe some of my buddies with beer and food to come over and help me. pouring a floor is an awful lot of work for one guy. Around here you get 5 min per yard to unload the truck beyond that they get $100/hour sitting time.

Or you can do like one guy did here years ago. He framed the patio, ordered the concrete, and then went to the store. He told his wife to have the truck dump the concrete inside the form. A few hours later he called the readymix yard and told them, "You dumped my concrete about 4 hours ago. When is it going to smooth itself out?"

[Lakee911]

I've heard that story before, HJ! I don't know if it was from you or some place else, but it's funny.

I think that I'm going to haul it out. I'm probably going to put it in 5Gal buckets and hand them out the window to someone who can load it in a wheel barrow and then dump it out back.

I could probably round up a whole slew of people to help bust up, dig and carry out the rubble. Few bucks and beer and dinner and stuff...maybe it'll work out.

I have a guy up the street who does concrete. I might approach him to help me pour the slab. I'd like to do it myself so I can learn, and save a buck or four. I doubt he'd be willing to help though.

I think getting some additional chutes would work. I might take a pic of the area and post it so you can see what it's like. I'm so close to the side street, the truck should be able to stay on the street.

Why is the front loading truck so much better?

How much gravel should I put down under the floor. Head height is a concern and since the entire floor isn't coming out, I would need to excavate underneith (it's clay) to get gravel under in there w/o taking up the already low ceiling height. I was thinking of perhaps a 3-4" thick floor and 3-4" gravel? I'd put visqueen down before pouring.

I've got maybe 275sq ft of floor ... so that's 3.5 - 4 cu. yds.

Any of ya'll live near Columbus, OH and have concrete experience? I'm looking to do this in June or July.

Thanks!

[Lakee911]

How big is the floor? What will the concrete truck be driving on? A pumper may be warranted.

Gots an idear of how much these rent for???

[BigLou]

Jason,

If you want to learn I can think about a whole list of things you are better off learning then the concrete trade .

Why do you want to put gravel under the floor? do you have water problems ?punching through a clay layer can be a good way to make ones you don't have. if the slab is thick enough >4" and has minimal reinforcement it should be fine even over clay.

How close is close to the side street ? They don't have as much chute as most people think they do. The front loader is better because he has more chute and is dumping from a higher level its also easier to position the front of the truck then it is the back.

Is 4 yards enough to avoid a short load charge ? you may want to set up the delivery to include pouring the tubes for your deck. They are going to want 4 yards of the truck fast so make sure to budget for extra sitting time.

Most rental yards rent small conveyors this may be just what you need to extract the rubble. You could also probably just pour right over the existing rat slab if its more or less level. Its not like this is a structural slab.

Do you have any supporting colums to deal with ?

Lou

[Lakee911]

Hey Lou,
I love to learn and be able to do everything that I can. I'll be building a garage at some point and I want to learn how to pour that slab myself, so I might as well learn sooner rather than later.

I do have some water problems. It's minimal, but I'm going to be adding some drain tile and a sump, so I need to make sure that the water can get to the sump. I'm not sure if there is any gravel under the slab now, but I don't think so.

I'm about 10feet from the street. Unfortunately, the window is under an overhang (24" or less), The good thing is, though, I've got about 36 from the bottom of the window to the bottom of the overhang. I'll have to do some math to make sure the chute can get under there w/o hitting the house.

I did the math and if I poured for my deck, and it would only be slightly less than one yard of concrete ... hardly worth it. I'll just pay for a small load. Or, I'll do more floor.

Well, I'm already low on head height and I'm not doing the entire floor so matching up to the old one will be important. I don't think that it would be a good option. It's in bad shape and I'd just rather get it out of there.

I have one column in the middle of the pour. I installed it myself a year or two ago and it has about 18" of concrete underneith it under the floor. I'm not concerned about disturbing it.


Thanks,
Jason