On Sun, 30 Jun 2002, Bill Gilroy wrote:
I just poured part of new driveway, albeit in tallahassee, florida, so
fwiw:
> 1. 5 inch thick driveway
we did 4 inches in most places, and the driveway we removed was ~3-3.5"
thick most places. it only cracked because a 100 year-old live oak had
roots underneath it and the roots pulled the drive up when the tree was
blown over. I wanted to do 6" thick everywhere and 8" 'beams' through the
center--everybody I mentioned this to acted like I was completely insane,
the consensus being that 4" is plenty.
> 2. 3000 PSI concrete
I think that's what we used. it was whatever the company recommended.
> 3. fibers (not sure what type) in the concrete to
> minimize cracking.
we did end up doing this, but it seemed like it was a take-it-or-leave-it
kinda thing. I got 'em because I'm into overkill and it was just another
$50 or so. everybody seemed to think it would be fine without them.
> 4. Wire mesh or re-bar. Not sure which I need or what
> the grid should be on the re-bar.
I put some in there and again, the guy I hired to help me acted like I was
going overboard. I think this guy thought I planned to land planes on it
or something. you can use almost anything--chain-link fence, chicken
wire, whatever. they sell stuff @ home depot, et al for this if want to
get it from them. I think re-bar is supposed to be ~1 foot apart, but I'm
not sure--I used wire mesh. just make sure it's up off the ground--it
doesn't matter when you use to get it that way. I used broken-up old
driveway.
> 5. A new base of gravel. How thick should that be, what
> size gravel, how should it be compacted?
I just poured on the old compacted dirt under the old driveway. where it
wasn't compacted I used a hand stamper from home-depot. again, the dude
acted like I was nuts.
> 6. A broom finish.
I did this too. I like it.
> What else do I need to get when installing a driveway? Any tips for
> hiring a contractor to do the work? Any other tips? Any idea on the
> cost/sq. foot in Central NJ.
the idea I got from concrete companies and contractors was that a driveway
is a pretty low-stress environment. or at least almost everyone said,
"4-inch think, fiber if you want it, mesh if you feel like putting it
there." this is florida, though, where it probably isn't going to freeze
very often, or for long periods. I paid $75/yard (that's cubic yard) for
the concrete and paid a guy $50 to float it. I would have done that
myself, but floats cost more than that.
I suggest doing it yourself as well, or at least most of it. I thought it
would be a big deal but it really wasn't. set up the forms, make the hole
more-or-less level and wait for the truck. get some long 2x4s for
screeding and a friend/brother to help screed. if it's a long driveway,
buy a float and do that, too, if somebody wants a lot of money for it.
I watched the guy float it and it looked very easy (and he said it was
easy). after it's smooth, let it set up until you see a sheen on the
concrete (that's the water), let the sheen evaporate a little, then brush
it lightly with a push-broom end on the float handle.
what finally sold me on the idea that this wasn't brain surgery was when
we sawed up the old driveway to make the opening square. it had never
cracked and at its edges it was 3" thick and maybe almost 4" in the very
center, mostly closer to 3.5" thick. I suspect the guy that built it was
cheap, but like I said, it never cracked in the 15 years it'd been there.
all-in-all the worst part of the whole thing was the twin ditches the
concrete truck left in the yard. we filled them in but the grass hasn't
fully taken over yet, so we have two rows of very tall, very healthy weeds
from the street to the driveway. and when I run over the area with a lawn
mower it's like dust-bowl oklahoma.
scott
/// unsubscribe/change address requests to majordomo@autox.team.net or try
/// http://www.team.net/mailman/listinfo
/// Archives at http://www.team.net/archive/shop-talk
|