I need help I want to surprise my wife by making a concrete patio. Ive never done this can someone help?
Question:10 by 13 ft
Answers:
www.concretenetwork.com
Remove sod
Use a plate compactor to pack crushed gravel base
Make forms
Have concrete truck pour (much cheaper and easier than mixing bags yourself!) Concrete company can most likely change the color for an additional price. Worth every cent!
They may ask 'what slump' you want. The higher the number, the wetter it is and gives you more time to work with it. A '2' is pretty stiff, whereas I used a '5' slump. My patio is 18x 20 with a 14' three-quarter circle placed at one corner. It was a lot of work, but I read a lot of DIY articles first so I knew what I was getting into. Make sure you have adult help with this.
Wow...sounds like quite a project. My best \suggestion would be to go to Home Depot or Lowe's and ask for instructions. They often offer classes or will give you instrucions for home improvement projects. Good Luck.
Decide on the shape. A simple square/rectangle. It is best to use 2x6's build the frame, make it level with 1/8" to the foot drop away from the house. fill with 2" of 3/4" gravel, on top of the gravel goes the concrete. Check out a good book from the library on how to scree, shake, and slow dry.
Your not considering, like, doing this with bags of concrete are you? Do yourself a huge HUGE favor and have a flatwork guy do this job. After the prep work is done he'll have the (perfectly mixed) concrete delivered, poured and neatly finished in an hour. Flatwork just doesn't cost that much and you CAN NOT do a job like this a bag at a time anyway. Beyond that, by the time you rent your tamper, buy the other tools and form materials and etc that you'll need, it will probably cost more that farming the job out.
If you've never done a patio before, hire a contractor.
Preparing the ground, putting down the sand, forming the shape, mixing the cement, pouring the cement, smoothing the cement, cleaning up the cement debris is something better left to people who have experience and love their work.
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