DAMN....No garage for Shawn.
I’m finally getting my garage floor cement poured.
Since the garage was built into a hill the contractor recommended letting the stones settle for about a year to minimize cracking.
The contractor came by today and dropped off stones, leveled the floor and dug for the footer by the doors.
Unless I do a "Duke's of Hazard" type run over this gap, it looks like the Blue Blinger is going to be left out in the weather for the next few days.

OH THE HORROR !!!!!!

Shawn S




MY GARAGE HAS NEVER BEEN THIS CLEAN !!!



RACR-X1 and RACR-X2

 

Shawn, you have any extra rocks or bricks laying around? Put them in that hole, so you can drive your car over them without it sinking that much and into the garage. Even that hole doesn't look that bad by the pics, you might be able to do it slowly by backing up into it not pulling forward. That is what I would try, or even some wood would work.

 

Shawn, I saw you at PAA - there's no way you have more than a 4" vertical.

Btw, that garage will be sweet once it's finished. If you go to a lumber store and get a couple pieces of lumber to temporarily lay in the holes, you will be set.

 

It’s pretty deep and I could never drive over it even going slow.
It’s almost 18” deep in the center.

I thought the same things as what you guys said, but I can’t stick anything in there because they’re coming back later this week to build the wooden forms for the footer.
And then I definitely wont be able to do it.

Shawn S

 

Although the Dukes of Hazard approach would be a sight to see, it is more suited to redneck crusiers like primered Camaros and T-birds. I think a couple of sheets of particle board would do the trick.

 

Pull the stuff out before they get there? lol

 

Shawn, I'm a career construction inspector and can offer advice on how to handle your rocky situation.

Here is a lot more than you wanted to know about the subject.

From the pics, it looks like he left you "clean stone". That is, it has few small particles. Concrete is either poured on "clean" or "modified" stone sub-base.

Modified stone starts as the clean variety and has gradated "fines" added to take up all the spaces between the stones. This gives is superior structural properties. However, it is less porous and requires substantial tamping to achieve its structural properties.

Your clean stone has certain advantages. It's more porous and it requires little if any tamping. It is often used where water is a problem (under pools) or where it is difficult to place compaction equipment. At most, I would rent a Vibratory Plate Tamper for a day.


This link has an example and rates of a tamper:

http://www.seamanshardware.com/rental/compaction/

You'd be looking at a small vibratory unit.


This company rents construction equipment in PA.

http://www.urcptr.com/constructionequip.htm

This item is quite heavy and you'll need a friend with a pickup truck to get it. It seems to me that your contractor should be able to handle this chore. You could tamp your whole garage in less than an hour. Concrete could follow immediately.

If you want a dissertation on what concrete you should use, just ask.

 

Thanks for the advice Klamalama, but I’m trusting these guys know what they’re doing.
They’re friends of my dad’s and they specialize in excavating, paving & concrete.

From what I understand they are going to bring one of those vibrating machine by when they do the forms.
Then they’re putting a plastic tarp over the stones and then a wire mesh.
The concrete is also going to have those fiberglass strands in it to add strength and reduce the potential of cracking.

All of this is costing me almost TWO GRAND so I hope it comes out right.

See any problems with what I described ???

Shawn S

 

The plastic is an excellent vapor barrier. The wire mesh and fiberglass concrete are redundant. That is, you need either one but not both (however, it doesn't hurt to have both). I prefer the fiberglass for ease of installation. The wire mesh should be in the middle of the concrete and needs to be constantly pulled up while pouring. I can't tell you how much old concrete I've demolished with all the mesh at the bottom.

It sounds like a good plan. To insure a quality mix, I would ask for concrete from a certified Penn DOT plant. A 3000# (minimum) mix with the fibermesh (trade name) should do well. They'll likely ask for a 5" slump for good workability. Try NOT to add water to the mix as it will weaken it. It's better to order with a higher slump so the plant will compensate with more cement to maintain the specified strength. You could also use 4000# mix and be more liberal with adding water on site. Also ask for the usual air-entrainment of 5.5% (helps concrete witstand freeze/thaw cycles).

If you have some more dollars, you ought to consider an epoxy coating on the concrete. It wears like iron and is impervious to the usual garage spills. You could get it in a matching blue. Done properly it's like glass. Just think of what it would look like with Zaino.

 

Bummer to leave your cars out with thunderstorms passing overhead tonight, though I'm sure that Zaino force field just makes those water drops pop right off...

 

Thanks again Klamalama,
I’ll mention those cement specs to the contractor and see if that’s what he’s planning on.
As for the mesh installation, they’re using those little “risers” or whatever they call them to hold the wire in the middle of the mix.

Shawn S

 

is that a shed or a garage ???

 

Garage.
24' x 30'

 

Let's see how shinny it is after the weather has had its way

 

They're called chairs and are pretty worthless in your case. Ordinary chairs will poke holes in your vapor barrier. Sand chairs will work. However, the workmen will be wheelbarrowing the concrete over, and walking on, the wire mesh. This will push it to the bottom. However, if the are using rebars (#4 minimum) instead of wire mesh you'll stand a better chance. Anyway, with the fibermesh you don't need any of this and you could save a few dollars too.

 

It was just a bit colder out when it was first built.

Now you guys KNOW I have photos.

 

*

 

NO GARAGE

 

YES, we know, we were just patiently waiting for you to post them!!!:pfawk: