Cement or concrete patio question

So I am planing an 8x8 addition to my patio. It will be a 4 inch for thickness. I live in the Phoenix area and have a few questions that I have heard different answers from.

Additional info: I will be reinforcing this with re-bar and will have a 1/8 inch per foot grade away from my house to deal with the few times a year it actually rains out here. My soil is a hard clay.

1)Do I need to put down a gravel base that is compacted? (I have been told due to the climate here it is not needed but every where I have looked as said it is need but I can't find exact info for my area.)

2)I plan to do the mixing myself and take the slab in steps that are manageable since I plan to do this myself. Would using a pre mix such as quickrete work for a patio or would doing gravel/sand/portland cement be better? (I have been told trying to use quickrete will not work it will just break apart. I have thought about doing ready mix but I am looking at about .79 cu yard total and don't know if it will be cost effective enough considering I have access to a mixer and all the tools I would need for the project that I do not currently own.)

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated on this so that I can make sure I am making the correct choices.

I don’t know about your area. Is the soil well compacted or has it been undisturbed? If so my guess is you can pour right over it. If you have a mixer I would say mix your own and you can get a much stronger mix IMO. There are companies that do volumetric mixing you might want to look at that also. Everything comes dry and they mix it right as you need it and just what you need. They should have that in the Phoenix area.

Glad you are open to suggestions. This is how we learn, right?

1. Call a local cement provider. See if they recommend a gravel base. My guess is not necessary.
2. Why use quick setting cement when standard mix is more than adequate and gives you longer open time to finish before it goes off?
3. Buy a used cement mixer on Craigslist. You will work smart, not hard. Clean it completely each day. Throw some spray paint on it and re-sell it for original cost.
4. Are you pouring a continuous patio or in sections? Often people pour 4x4 sections for visual appeal and fill the lines with brick. This makes the job manageable.
5. If you are doing one large patio, do you have a bull float to finish the surface? Edger tool to round the perimeter?
6. Have you considered adding a gas line for a bbq? Dig and drop the gas line before the patio ...

HAVE FUN

Like said above, likely you can pour over your dirt with no issue.

As for the Quickcrete I assume you are just talking about the brand of concrete from the box store correct? If so that will be fine. I have poured several pads with that stuff with no issue.

If you get a buddy to help mix that is easily done in one pour if you are looking for less lines.

I calced out 34 bags of 90 pound mix but don't quote me on that I haven't had my coffee yet.

I would not call a "cement" producer about a patio, but would call a concrete producer.

For a small job like yours, you can do it with ready-mix delivered, concrete mixed on site or with bagged pre-proportioned mixes of sand, coarse aggregate and cement.

Be careful about adding cement to a bagged mix since the extra cement will require more water to be workable and the slab could have shrinkage cracks (not to likely for a small slab.

Dick

.79 cu yds, that's a lot of bags:
72 - 40# bags
48 - 60# bags
36 - 80# bags

How many do you think you can mix at a time?

So I was talking about the 60 or 80lb bags you just add water too when referencing quickrete. I am able to borrow a cement mixer from a buddy for the job for as long as I need it since I have about 4-5 over pours to do over the year as money allows and time to dig and form it all.

I was planning on breaking it into sections for easy of pouring as far as other tools I have a float not a big bull float but I can always rig my float to have a handle. I already have an edger as well.

I do not plan an adding a grill to this patio however I am going to build a fire pit by it with I will have it set up to grill over an open flame when I feel the I want to grill something up like that.

With the cement mixer that I will be borrowing I will be able to do about 2-3 bags at a time hence thinking sections will be best so it doesnt start to set as I am doing the pour.

@ 4" thickness, the bag will yield 2sf - that's 32 80# bags so buy 34 - 2 guys can easily do 34b in a day,,, we wouldn't place in sections IF the area's 8' x 8' - that's perfect slab size for 4",,, 2b at a time - rent an amigo to make things easier - he'll know what to do :beer:

1 other thing - no wire or steel in a patio

stadry said:

1 other thing - no wire or steel in a patio

Click to expand...

Any reason?

ya why no wire or steel?

for wire mesh to be of any use, it must be installed at the vertical midpoint +/- 5% - that's .1" you've got to play with & nobody's tghat exact,,, the conc guru's also spec 2" of 'cover' when rebar's used,,, IF you're placing 4" & use #4 bar, you've, at best, only got 1 3.4" cover.

then again, only you & your friends will see it - the wife never will, right ? :help::hide: