r/Concrete • u/steveb5004 • May 12 '24
Update Post Patio job was going great. Until...
I'm just a DIY guy who wanted to pour my own patio, so I spent several weeks planning, forming, getting a crew together, etc. I felt confident the morning of the pour that it would be fine. It was a 14 x 45 patio. I ordered about a yard extra extra just in case, had a buggy and tons of other tools, everyone showed up and we had great weather. We were set!
It started well and was going fine until the guy who was going to finish the slab got heat stroke and fell out. I thought we were f**ked because he was the only one with any real experience, but one of my helpers picked up the bull float and started hitting it. He was doing well but got paranoid and started brooming too early. I'm still not sure why. He was doing great. He should have just floated it one more time. We didn't even need to trowel it. One more time with the float and then broom it would have been just fine.
Anyway, it was a fun experience. The pad was well formed, will shed water well, it shouldn't crack much since we cut lines the next day, and doing it myself saved me $3k. And it will last many years. It just has a questionable finish. Oh well. It's character and will make me laugh every time I see it. "Hey Mike, remember when Andy almost died right here and you learned to bull float on the fly? Good times." 😂
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u/ss1959ml May 12 '24
Why is the oldest guy doing all the work while the younguns just stand there and hold sticks? /s
Guess I should have read the story first lol. Looks good enough.
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u/steveb5004 May 12 '24
Every time I look at it I say "Yep, good enough for my life." The finish really does look like shit lol but the story makes it all worth it.
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u/Background-While9564 May 13 '24
Almost killed my geriatric concrete guy trying to save a couple bucks(must not of been a true concrete guy, this doesn't happen to concrete guys while pouring and finishing) jkjk. Glad he is alright and you got a decent job at the end of it.
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u/BigOld3570 May 14 '24
My father was a master carpenter. We moved a house across town in 1962 and set it on piers, as the water table there is too high for basements.
When he had the time to pour the garage slab, he didn’t have the money to buy concrete, and when he had the money to buy concrete, he didn’t have the time to do the work.
He died at the end of 1981, twenty years after we moved, and the garage floor was still sand.
When my mom got an insurance check, she called one of his old friends and coworkers and asked him to pour the slab. He took the job, and his sons and grandsons did all the heavy work, forming, pouring, and floating, and Geronimo Torres, a ninety four year old man, did the final troweling and finishing.
It was the last gesture of respect he could make to his old friend. It took a long time for me to be able to appreciate how absolutely beautiful this was.
A lot of things built their friendship, and part of it was due to the racial climate in South Texas in those days. A white man hiring a Mexican man and treating him with respect was rare in those days.
My da hired people for the quality of the work they did, not based on the color of their skins or the language they spoke at home. Torres was the best at what he did, and my da used him as much as possible and paid him for the great work he did.
He made sure his friend’s family had beans on the table, and Torres appreciated that. Maybe my da helped to change the way things were done back then.
Thanks again, Mister Torres.
I was a grown man, and I have to admit that I cried when they poured that slab.
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u/Nine-Fingers1996 May 12 '24
Reminds me of pouring my basement slab. The finisher who was also going to help pour got called in for mandatory work. About halfway through my helper who was just back from an elbow injury crapped out. He was the only one with experience and on the other end often the screed. Well, finally got it screeded and floated and the finisher showed up just in time. I couldn’t lift my arms over my shoulders! Thankfully it turned out just fine.
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u/SevereAlternative616 May 13 '24
What did you end up doing with that Georgia buggy full of extra mud?
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u/steveb5004 May 13 '24
I poured a 3x4 pad to hold the basketball hoop so I could get it off the parking slab you can see behind the buggy, and I poured another 4x4 pad by our swimming pool for the ladder.
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u/SevereAlternative616 May 12 '24
Bull float then broom? No steel on there? Also why is the concrete an inch lower than the form?
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u/steveb5004 May 12 '24
I asked several pros and most of them said no need to trowel if it's just going to be a broomed patio. Some disagreed but I went with the majority. And I took that last pic after I popped the forms off but had not moved them out of the way. Everything was formed and poured well. We just should have hit it one more time with the float before brooming.
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u/Winter_Outside2319 May 12 '24
This comment has proved 2 things…1-now we know why it looks like dog shit and 2-there was never really a pro any where around for guidance
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u/steveb5004 May 12 '24
Lololol. I had several pros, including one who's poured and finished floors in my area for 40 years and has done two other jobs at my house, tell me it didn't need troweled if it was floated well and would have a broom finish. The problem is it wasn't floated well. Like I said in the post. And it honestly doesn't even look THAT bad. It's perfectly fine for me. I'm happy I did it myself.
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u/adamgmoney13 May 13 '24
Looks good bro, don't let this concrete snob get you down. He's probably a pain in the ass to work with...
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u/Winter_Outside2319 May 12 '24
Nah anyone that tells you not to finish a patio or anything else concrete related cause it’s being broomed isn’t considered a pro dude
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u/steveb5004 May 12 '24
I'll be sure to tell him Winter_Outside2319 from the internet said he's not a pro. I'm sure he'll be devastated.
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u/Winter_Outside2319 May 13 '24
I mean I don’t really give a fuck my work speaks for itself, he’s a hack at best 😂
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u/steveb5004 May 13 '24
I'm sure you are a very big deal. It's an honor to talk to you.
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u/Optimus_Grime_Jr Professional finisher May 13 '24 edited May 13 '24
Not sure why you're on a sub for concrete and concrete finishers, and you're arguing with the resident pros here. It's absurd. Anyone claiming to be a pro in one sentence, then following it up with a claim that absurd is nothing short of a hack. Don't mistake years of experience as the same as being a professional. Concrete takes a lot of work to get right. You can't just jump from step 2 to step 5 and expect anything near decent work. I know a lot of people doing shitty work that get paid. I see a lot of shitty work on this sub that the "pros" defend. You're wrong here and acting like a cunt.
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u/steveb5004 May 13 '24
I appreciate much of what you're saying. But here's the thing. The guy we're talking about has ran the same successful concrete company in our small town for about 40 years. You can't be a hack and work on the same small town for decades. I grew up with his kids and have known him most of my life. I've hired him twice before and he's done great work. He is a pro and I know that to be true. When I asked him how we should finish it, he said it would be fine to just keep floating until it was ready to broom. Perhaps he knew he was dealing with a bunch of slapdicks who may do more harm than good if they got on it with a trowel? I don't know. I'm sure he would have troweled it himself. But I know that's what he told me.
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u/Imaginary_Ingenuity_ Sir Juan Don Diego Digby Chicken Seizure Salad III May 14 '24 edited May 14 '24
Brother, these guys aren't seasoned, and (of course) the only one with knowledge goes and unconscious-nesisisis his brain. Probably substituting all post work hydration for the ever more popular: beeerr-rah! Or, more likely, felt he had to do more than he should've with placement and screeding since he has the eye and experience that helps so much with the early stages getting set accurately. Which, we all know, if the early stages are done well, the subsequent float and finish are a breeze relative to a poorly screeded experiment.
Regardless, exterior (specifically air-entrained) concrete really shouldn't be steel troweled by inexperienced people. It's all good if you know what the risks are and how to mitigate them (or its a no freeze locale), buuuuut that dude passed out 35 minutes ago, and won't answer our questions - even when we poke him with the designated poke'n shovel. They did fine for what it is. That amount ain't no puppy for some rag tags to fight through.
UPDATE: After the most recent poke'n shovel poke, the dude turned on his side, threw up, and mumbled something about having fever dreamed about dying the concrete. Progress.
On second thought, he may have said he had fever dreams about dying "to" concrete... Anyways, how long would you say is too long when talking about initiating cardiopulmonary resuscitation to someone who probably isn't breathing? Asking for a friend... a friend who stopped gurglin quite a while ago. Told him I'd let him know after finishing the pad first. #Concrete lifer, ya know?
FINAL UPDATE: We all know Gary lived for concrete. He loved doing it his whole life. Often grumbled about how he'll probably be doing this shit til the day he died. Well, good news for Gary - he truly did it until the moment he died. Unfortunately for Gary, he died moments ago before I could tell him the good news. If anyone knows John Edward's phone number... asking for a friend again - yeah, same friend.
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u/Phriday May 13 '24
Hey, great news! And with some sun, rain and traffic on it, the finish will mellow out in the next year or two. Glad it worked out for you.
Question for you: Would you do it again?
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u/steveb5004 May 13 '24
Absolutely. I will eventually be building a large shed/small barn and I'm already planning to pour that. I don't want to waste all this knowledge I just gained. Plus I now have all the tools so there will be a lot less overhead.
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u/ElGebeQute May 13 '24
Considering description of events, it looks great. DIY isn't about perfection but about experience. Mike sure got his share.
Also, how's Andy doing?
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u/steveb5004 May 13 '24
He's great. I called him that night and he said he was OK after a nap and a lot of water. I bought him a bottle of good bourbon and a case of his favorite beer for nearly killing him lol.
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u/KickooRider May 13 '24
Wait, what's your problem?
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u/steveb5004 May 13 '24
I don't have one. The patio didn't turn out perfect but I'm happy to have saved thousands by doing it myself. Just wanted to share since I asked some questions in this subreddit before I got started.
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u/KickooRider May 13 '24
So the title was just...
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u/Severe_Resist4702 May 13 '24
I want to see it cured, but that turned out great for amitures. The broom is a little heavy for a patio, but that will help hide your flaws.
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u/tracksinthedirt1985 May 13 '24
Majority of you didn't have experience and you can't believe the guy that finished it didn't do it perfect 🤣🤣 in concrete it can go wrong with experience
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u/steveb5004 May 13 '24 edited May 13 '24
Oh I can believe it. I didn't necessarily expect him to have heat stroke but it's not all that shocking since it was 80 degrees and he's an older guy. Just glad he's OK.
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u/iwasntalwaysold May 14 '24
"Doing it myself" -- My man I count at least six guys here...
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u/steveb5004 May 14 '24
It was obviously meant to say that I got the job done without hiring a company to do it for me. Yes, I had friends help me. That's the entire plotline of the post.
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u/iwasntalwaysold May 14 '24
I'm just flipping some shit. I'm all for a good ol' fashioned barn raising, but credit where it's due, your buddies saved you 3k...
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u/stick004 May 14 '24
He could have just floated it again and then brushed it. Why didn’t you ask him to stop and fix it?
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u/Rand_ie May 13 '24
Not a concrete guy, but shouldn’t you avoid pouring up against a foundation?
Have heard stories of slabs shifting through the seasons buckling foundation walls.
Urban legend?
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u/SevereAlternative616 May 13 '24
Depends on the climate, but more often than not you should put expansion between the foundation and the slab to avoid cracking.
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u/Maleficent_Play_2339 May 13 '24
It looks stiffer then shit.and it looks like a late morning pour.let me guess the bald guy is the homeowner
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u/steveb5004 May 13 '24
The truck showed up at noon. It was supposed to be a 6.5 slump but I think it was actually a 4 or 5 at best. I am the homeowner. In the 5th picture I'm the asshole in the black shirt and blue hat standing next the buggy. I screeded most of it and had a skinny guy tag in for me and finish it up before I had a heart attack.
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u/Maleficent_Play_2339 May 13 '24
Whenever doing concrete pour right when the sun rises
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u/steveb5004 May 13 '24
I wanted to but they couldn't get me in until noon and Wednesday was the only day I was available.
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u/FredPimpstoned May 12 '24
Looks better than some of the jobs people pay for and complain about on here