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.
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.