Decks, Patios, Porches and Docks - drive way
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Chander
04-27-05, 07:56 PM
My house has a concreate "two car" drive way that is to narrow (I have to be carefull not to open car doors into other car). I would like to widen it by about 18 inches. This would match with the next expansion joint on the front walk. The drive is about 25 feet long, and has a 3 foot rise. Is this something that I can do on my own, I have never realy worked with cement?
lefty
04-28-05, 01:41 AM
Chander,
Welcome to DoItYourself.com.
My suggestion is that you find a friend who has worked with and finished concrete to help you. Select the friend by looking at the quality of one or more of his projects. If that's not an option, call a concrete contractor and ask if there is somebody on his crew that will help you 'on the side'. (The contractor probably has no interest in a project this small.)
(I don't think that adding 18" is going to be enough to make it worth the effort. If you have the space, I think 3' of additional width is more realistic.)
The basics of the project are pretty simple. Remove the dirt to a level 6" below the top of your existing driveway (assuming that your existing driveway is 4" thick). Form (using 2X4's) the new side and the top if needed. Your existing driveway and the sidewalk take care of the bottom and the other side. Add a couple of inches of base, using a screed board to level it so that it's about 3-1/2" to 4" below the level of the existing driveway and the sidewalk. (At 3' X 25' X 2", that's about 1/2 yard of base.) Then fill up the box with concrete -- at 3' X 25' X 4", that's about a yard -- and use a screed board (2X4 works well) to level and tamp it. Then you'll need the person who knows how to finish it to spend the 2 hours or so it will take to finish it. Not as bad as it sounds -- most of that time is spent waiting for the concrete to set up enough to go on to the next step of the finish routine.
Welcome to DoItYourself.com.
My suggestion is that you find a friend who has worked with and finished concrete to help you. Select the friend by looking at the quality of one or more of his projects. If that's not an option, call a concrete contractor and ask if there is somebody on his crew that will help you 'on the side'. (The contractor probably has no interest in a project this small.)
(I don't think that adding 18" is going to be enough to make it worth the effort. If you have the space, I think 3' of additional width is more realistic.)
The basics of the project are pretty simple. Remove the dirt to a level 6" below the top of your existing driveway (assuming that your existing driveway is 4" thick). Form (using 2X4's) the new side and the top if needed. Your existing driveway and the sidewalk take care of the bottom and the other side. Add a couple of inches of base, using a screed board to level it so that it's about 3-1/2" to 4" below the level of the existing driveway and the sidewalk. (At 3' X 25' X 2", that's about 1/2 yard of base.) Then fill up the box with concrete -- at 3' X 25' X 4", that's about a yard -- and use a screed board (2X4 works well) to level and tamp it. Then you'll need the person who knows how to finish it to spend the 2 hours or so it will take to finish it. Not as bad as it sounds -- most of that time is spent waiting for the concrete to set up enough to go on to the next step of the finish routine.