.....
.................
Since we needed to do some yard work and didn't want the cement truck crossing that area anymore I needed to get some concrete work done. I made the forms for a patio/entrance area by the doors into the living quarters and my shop. From the doors to the left for about 9 feet it slopes at roughly 1/4 inch per foot for drainage. From that point on it is level going north south but slopes towards the near corner where the hose is. This way any water will run off the entire slab.
Eventually we will lay a stone slab patio in front of the sunroom that will tie into this pad.
.................
I also formed and poured a 6 foot by 40 foot slab across the front of the building. At some point I would like to extend it out another 6 feet, but for now this will help to keep mud and gravel out of the shop and make the front more useable.
.................
I also poured a small entrance slab by the back entrance to the store which is close to the new house. I'll later pour a sidewalk connecting the parking area, store and house to each other.
If you look closely at the picture above you can see a white substance on the concrete. This is a sealer you can get and spray on with a weed sprayer. The sealer will help the concrete cure slowly as it traps the water in the concrete. This eliminates having to cover the concrete with plastic or having to water it often. It is real cheap, so I recommend using it. I found out on one pour that I covered with plastic that the plastic changed the color where it had laid on the concrete. This spray on is a lot better way to go. After a while the white color goes away, so that isn't a problem.
.................
Whenever I pour, with a cement truck, I have this form handy to use any extra concrete so it doesn't go to waste. I then use these for stepping stones for walkways. After pouring the above, which was 6 yards of concrete, I filled this form and still had a wheelbarrow left over. I was complaining about wasting the wheelbarrow load and the truck driver kidded me about being a "whole wheelbarrow" off in 6 yards of cement.
Personally I like to color my concrete for most of the work that will show. They have different colors and you mix them at different percentages for the color you want. The color I used here mixes at 1 lb. per bag of cement. In this case I'm using 6 bags of cement to 1 yard, so I have them mix in 6 lb. per yard. I buy it from the lumber yard and weigh it out and take it to the batch plant and they put it in as they mix it. The color I used adds about $10 to a yard of cement which I feel is a good deal considering how many years I'll look at it and I think it blends in better than the usual gray.
Since we were pouring 6 yards I got three other guys to help me with the pour. 2 of them finish concrete for a living so they did most of the finish work and the other guy just helped to get the concrete into place and then left. I'm ok at finish work, but they are better.
..........................................................................Next Page
.................