How to screed cement for large area?

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Out here when I pay a finisher for the day he brings his own tool. Just a thought.
 
More like if they didn't than no one would hire them. We have an over abundance of people here so one needs to stand above the rest.
 
NO i meant yo0u paid a finisher. I Can't afford to pay for one right now :(

I asked around and a guy quote me $600 to help me build the form, wheelbarrow it to the back yard, screed and finish the cement.
 
A pump would cost you around 300, here anyway and then a finisher for about 200. Just fire your buddy and do the forms yourself. Problem solved. We can walk you through forms.
 
Yes please walk me thru building a form. Just get bunch of 2x4, crew em in to form a box ? If they arent long enough then use bracket to join them together? Reinforce with stakes, then use a paint brush to work cooking oil onto the wood for easy removal?
 
Cubic yard = 27 cubic feet, wheelbarrow = 4 cubic feet, 27/4 = 6.75 trips per yard,
6.75 trips x 7 yards = 47.25 trips. 5 minutes out and back per trip x 47.25 trips = 236 minutes/60 = 3.94 hours.
Of course 2 contractor wheelbarrows and two guys would cut the time in half.

Splitting a full load with your neighbor might be hard to get in.

A contractors wheelbarrow is 6 cubic foot but that’s full to the top and I think 4 is a reasonable number without making a mess.

I don’t know the time per trip at your house and guessed at the 5 minutes. the first push a guy will go a lot faster than the 47 th push. With two guys dumping and two guys working the mud that know what they are doing I think would be very busy for a couple hours.
 
On the forms we use a wooden stake every 4-5 feet. Level the forms to how you want the water to flow off. On a level if the bubble is touching the line you have about 2% fall, you need about half that, so about 1/16 from touching the line should be fine. We don't use any oil or anything else to help removal and have not had any problems. No need to bracket the boards together just use a stake halfway between the two. Here is a few pics of mine that I just poured.

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A few pics of my pour and a finished pic. Good thing about getting a pumper is that it is like having an extra guy, he will run the pump and pour your concrete while you two screed.
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Another thing I normally do when I can is plan on having a little extra and a place to use it. Form up an area where you might want a little pad for a garbage can or just outside a door and leave one end of the form loose. Sometimes you run short also depending on how close you are trying to figure it. It’s nice to have one end that it won’t hurt if you adjust the length. I have also seen guys pour 2x2 or 3x3 pads on the ground and then move them later to where they need a small pad.

When most people figure it out they use 4” as the height and then use 2x4 as the forms. The 2x4 is not a full 4 inches and that adds up over the area. If you get 7 yards where we figured you need 6.5 and add in the loss on the half inch depth of the form you might have quite a bit left over. Form the length long and then the 35’ you could bump out to 37’ if you need it on the fly.
 
Wow Thanks for the valuable inputs.

I originally just have myself and another hired help but now I think at least another person is needed. Great idea to form another area just in case I have extra. I totally forgot about that.

How much to rent a pump? Is that a DIY wooden bull float I see in the pic?
 
No that’s a real bull float I think. If you have never used one it is made to go both directions and when you give the handle a twist the angle of the leading edge changes. If you just make one out of a piece of wood it wants to plow in. much harder to use.

I would look into a pump or plan on having a bunch of strong helpers and at least three guys moving the mud by hand. The longer you take the harder it is.
 
I found this DIY but you cant change the angle with it. OK so it's going to be me and 2 hired helpers + my wife. Not sure if she can really help except stands there and takes selfie :)

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That will work as you can lower it to push and raise it to pull as long as it’s not too many feet long.

Those selfies are what we want you to post as the pour progresses.
 
I think a 3 ft long x 3/4ft wide wooden board from HD would suffice, I hope.

Here's a few samples of her selfie. Girl is so vain Id tell ya :)

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Based on the recent information you should have no problem getting six or more helpers.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Repair
 

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