Concrete labor costs in your area

What does it cost in your area to have a concrete crew come in and form, pour and finish concrete for a slab for a shop? I'd pay for the concrete, and rebar. Just a per square foot price for the labor?

Steve

Reply to
Steve B
Loading thread data ...

Funny timing. I just got quoted today for a 17' x 25' x 6" seven bag mix pad with rebar in front of my main shipping door. They are also going to grade the area of the parking lot to the street 100'x100' and place 30 ton of stone. The pad will have a steel grated trench drain in front of the door tied into a basin. The parking lot in that area is 2' higher than the shop floor and we have had water in the shop. They will also take care of the 18" foundation of an old out building in the way. All this for $5,300! I thought it would be twice that.

That doesn't answer your question...I'm just thrilled with the job getting done.

Reply to
Tom Gardner

Give or take, $3.50 / SF for labor, steel, and concrete. I don't keep a separate labor only number. This would be for minimum steel, little dirt work. ______________________________ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) snipped-for-privacy@7cox.net

Reply to
DanG

So you want to work as a purchasing agent for the contractor and pocket the "savings"?

Good luck with that. Who will warrant the work if the job is done improperly? Should there be an issue down the road the contractor will blame your concrete and the concrete supplier will blame your contractor and you'll all end up with lawyers and you'll still have a shitty slab, with a building on it.

Which contractor will be willing to accept such an arrangement? The good companies will be busy pouring for clients who give them the whole job, the crappy ones with bad reputations who are "judgment proof" and scrambling for work will be your most likely source.

If you want to save money, go the other way. The phrase "sweat equity" accurately contains the word "sweat".

A "slab" is a "foundation", probably not the building phase where construction savings should be maximized. -----

- gpsman

Reply to
gpsman

The crew can probably get the concrete cheaper than you can. Are you planning to order in a RediMix truck, or mix your own?

If you are doing a slab, you probably dont' have the capacity to do a full mix so you will have several small batches. This will lead to inconsistency in each batch and issues in the quality of your slab. If you are ordering a truck, the crew can probably negotiate a cheaper price than you can. The concrete company will probably already have a wholesale price with them. You are going to get the high(er) price because you are not a steady customer.

With that said, the cost for a crew is going to vary widely depending on what you want. Are you looking at a slab on grade floor, or a footing, or ?

Footings for my 48x40 shop cost me $500 turnkey. 6" finished floor for the same was around $1000 labor and around $1500 concrete. Letting them order the concrete instead of me, saved me $10/yd. Saved me about $250.

This was a 4 years ago. Concrete has gone up about $30/yd since then. Labor has probably gone up some too. I had some concrete work done 2 years ago. I can't say exactly what the labor for the concrete was, but it was $2500 to move a 30' grain bin and pour the pad for it. Breaking it strikely on a per hour labor rate I would say pouring the slab cost me about $750 labor.

Reply to
jw

That's really funny. I've been getting ready to get some bids for the front of my shop. It will be just like yours except for the drain. Right down to the old foundation in the way and sloping the grade. :)

Reply to
Dave Lyon

Besides, most large concrete layers get a discount that the OP probably can't get.

Reply to
Dave Lyon

"gpsman" wrote

I want to hire a concrete crew to lay a slab for my shop. I want to get it for a reasonable cost.

Were you born negative, or did this come to you later in life?

There is such a building boom in my county (second fastest growing in the United States) that it is difficult to get ANYONE to come and even bid work, let alone do the work.

The

My source is local networking. Friends and family I have in the area. Dan G hit it on the head with the $3.50 sf cost, but I wanted to hear what others had to say. I DO know enough about it to look at a slab and tell if it's done right.

I don't "sweat" any more. I will be having angioplasty and stent work within two weeks, and have had a five way (ala David Letterman) bypass and aortic valve replaced. I do, however, shop things, and have the money to hire the work done. BUT, I don't just call and pay whatever the guy says.

Like I said, I'll hire good people, watch the work, get a good slab, and won't pay a lot of extra profit.

Same things with guys pouring driveways and flatwork. You can hire a contractor and pay what they want, or you can get a crew, buy the concrete, put on some barbecue and ice some beer, and save a lot.

Concrete ain't rocket surgery no matter what the contractors tell you.

Reply to
Steve B

When Responding to:

Be aware that most ready-mix companies have a caveat in their delivery contract (which you sign when you receive the material) that it is mixed to your specifications already, and adding _any_ water for ease of placement voids their compressive strength warrantees.

My dad was of the generation where politically-correct language wasn't an issue. He said to me over and over again (about concrete), "4-inch slump - not a bit less - and whip your N****rs!!!"

That translates roughly to, "You cannot _pour_ a good slab or foundation, it must be _placed_."

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

Then get several bids.

I started working on construction sites when I was 7, as a (pretty shitty) hod carrier. That's when it was first pointed out to me how much can go wrong with a simple job, sometimes a couple years later.

Then you're going to have your work cut out for you finding a contractor.

Congratulations, you're the only one on the planet with that skill.

Sometimes that's the only option. I took advantage of it when I was the best in my business in my locale. Here's my number. Like it; fine. Don't like it; that's fine too. Find somebody else, if you can. But don't call me back, I lost money giving you your bid.

Sounds like you have enough knowledge and experience to not be jacking me off with your original f****ng question...

Oops, I spoke too soon. There's a lot more to it than meets the inexperienced eye. Check your nearest concrete road/bridge/driveway/ (newer) sidewalk-parking lot/ for confirmation of that. Any idiot can form a good looking slab. Will it last? These days, not much longer than it takes your check to clear.

A great many "contractors" are going to school on the money of the ignorant. I've seen many $5-20M homes built like shit, and most new homes in the $200-1M range could have been built better by a class of

6th graders, for a lot less money. -----

- gpsman

Reply to
gpsman

Tell me about it. The flatwork on my 12 yr old house seriously sucks. It's rarely exposed to temps below 25F, yet is spalling off the top and splintering off the sides. I've owned homes in far worse climates where the exterior concrete looks brand new after 20 years even being exposed to ice melt every winter.

Reply to
Rick Blaine

He's right. This is not where you want to go "cheap". And concrete problems are always "blame the other guy".

The state redid the road in front of my house. the tore out my apron and put in a new one. after the first snow, the concrete just spawled like you've never seen. You could take out layers with a plastic snow shovel. DOT blames contractor. Contractor waives an "acceptance form" saying it was approved by DOT. Neither of them really care. It is ME who's stuck with the bad apron, not them.

Reply to
Pat

You sound like you know a thing or two. I am going to redo my sloping concrete driveway and backyard slab (patio). I would like to do it in a way that it stays flat for as long as possible, to make my material handling a little easier. Could you tell me, what is the right way of doing that, what matters most, concrete thickness, gravel, etc?

Thanks

i
Reply to
Ignoramus31975

Today I find out our big forklift threw a rod, see my glote post. With a new forklift, a pad and a level lot...loading trucks won't be such a PIA! ANOTHER problem permanently solved, only a few thousand more to go.

Good luck with your job!

Reply to
Tom Gardner

OR, they could call YOU and get it done right.

Right?

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

There's no reason why a standard 2x4 form won't work for a residential driveway. Don't be like the klutz who poured the back patio in one of my houses 8" thick. It took me days to jackhammer that out when I went to build a deck and I ended up building around part of it.

Everything matters. You need to start with a good compressed base made with the right material to allow drainage, prevent frost heave and not settle. You need to have a proper mix. That means the right agregate material and the right amount of cement. You need the pour done at the right temp and before the mix goes off. Finially, you need enough "cream" with the finishing so you don't get spalling.

Even then, I probably missed a few things...

Reply to
Rick Blaine

"Concrete ain't rocket surgery no matter what the contractors tell you." You know I get this attitude all the time from people that watch to much HGTV. When I'm at their house measuring for an estimate and Ive already had a long day I tell them "so, since you watch the medical channel do you think you can give your child a root canal in the garage?" I don't think so... Every TRADE has its secrets that can only be learned by EXPERIENCE. Let me tell you I have been doing this type of work since I was 10 years old going to help my Dad. I am going to be 40 this year and I have yet to do a CONCRETE job that did not have at least 1 new variable factor that comes up at the time of the pour, its always something and is usually out of my control. There easily dozens of different factors that can turn an install into a removal. Experience is what allows guys like me to over come these factors again and again and produce professional results. Yea its not rocket science but guess what if its not done right you will have a big heavy reminder that will be there for a long long time....unless you want to pay someone like us a licensed contractor to come and take it out and do it right for double the cost in the first place. I don't mean to be disrespectful and I will be the first one to vote for saving some money but some things are just not as simple as they seem. Do you think your boss could have a nice BBQ and invite a couple of guys over to do your job? After all I'm sure it ain't rocket science? ready to do it right? >>>>>>> visit us at

formatting link

Reply to
Italian Mason

"Italian Mason" wrote

I totally agree with you.

Now, in your professional opinion, is $26k a reasonable bid for a 1500 sf foundation with footers, rebar, and wire mesh? That's what I got from the first bidder.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

Reply to
Ralph Henrichs

"Ralph Henrichs" wrote

I grew up in Las Vegas. Many of the old timers said, "That guy was a real "pro" when referring to someone. I asked one of the old timers what "pro" meant. He said it was someone who did a good job no matter how they felt. I always remembered that, and used it many times in my life.

Now, the only difference is that a "pro" gets twice as much as anyone else, and half the time, the work is substandard.

There is very little required to get a contractor's license in most states in a lot of fields. So, "licensed contractor" don't mean squat much any more. I've had crappy work done by contractors, and superior work done by handymen working out of a twenty year old van or truck.

Pros come in all sizes and shapes. I guess the best thing is to get referred to one, or hire one and watch him work on some small projects to see how they do before letting them at the big stuff. Small towns help, too, because everyone knows who the good guys are, and who the idiots are.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.