Bricks, Masonry, Asphalt and Concrete - concrete checklist for rookies

Pouring and finishing a 4" thick 8' x 48' driveway. This Saturday morning the concrete truck arrives. I'll have an inexperienced crew of 6 or 8 assembled. Will have a bullfloat + other standard tools on hand. Here is the checklist I'm handing out and briefing them with 30 minutes before the truck arrives. Have I left anything out?

1) Double check forms and compression joint pieces.
2) Wet gravel and forms with water.
3) As concrete is poured, two people in rubber boots walk into the concrete and:
a) Walk in the concrete to compact it and remove air spaces, especially around the edges, and
b) Use shovels and rakes to roughly level the concrete.
4) While standing in the concrete, the two booted people then roughly level the concrete using a 10’ 2x4 screed board. They work downhill, using a back and forth, sawing motion with the screed board.
5) Someone with a flat shovel scoops up (clean) concrete that has been screeded and slopped outside the forms, and tosses it into low spots that haven’t been screeded yet.
6) Two people on the outside grab the screed board at either end and perform a final screeding. They squat at either edge of the form to do this.
7) Someone taps the outside of the forms with a hammer to work air pockets out of the edge.
8) Bullfloat to level. Lightly and gently, floating over the surface without pushing down.
9) Bullfloat again.
10) Two people with edging tools edge the perimeter.
11) When the surface is stiff, but still wet, lightly pull broom across slab to texture.
12) Final edging of the perimeter.
13) Wait a few hours then cover with burlap and keep moist for three days.

You've got the basics, but left out a VERY important step. That being tooling crack control joints every 10' down the driveway. These joints are absolutely needed unless you want random cracking everywhere. If you don't tool them in while the concrete is wet, they need to be sawed in as early as possible (no later than the next day) with a concrete saw. To be effective, the joints need to be a minimum of 1 inch deep for a 4 inch thick slab.
Other things to consider:
If you've got this checklist to hand out, I'm guessing your crew is VERY inexperienced. Has any one of them done this before? To aid in finishing, you might consider telling the ready mix plant to add a dose of set retarder to the mix. Ordering a 4,000 psi performance mix (with flyash) instead of a sack mix (e.g. 6 sack mix) will help it set slower too. Make certain it is air-entrained if you live in a freeze/thaw climate. Good luck, and post back with your experiences, both good and bad, after it's done. You may help someone else contemplating the same thing.

It might help to hire an experienced finisher to help/supervise. You have the basics, but experience always helps with concrete.

Any wire mesh? Fiber mesh? Air entrained definitely if you have freezing.

If you have an error or if it gets away from you, it is a big, costly, permanent mistake.

Dick

Thanks Pecos and Concretemasonry.
I'm going to use a masonry saw to cut control joints the next day (Sunday). I've used masonry saws before. Treated with respect, and an assistant keeping a steady flow of water on the blade, they cut through concrete like butter. Are there any disadvantages to cutting joints closer together than 10'?

The concrete I ordered is 4000 psi, 4" slump with commercial fiberglass additive. I'm not using rebar or mesh. The concrete will be poured on top of 2" compacted road base which arrives tomorrow morning. After I spread and level it, I'm renting a vibratory compactor.

My crew and I are inexperienced, but we're motivated, serious and careful. I'm probably the most experienced, having helped other friends pour and finish concrete a few times. While I've never handled a bull float, I've closely watched professionals do it many times. I know you have to be careful not to over-work the surface with the float, or you'll push the aggregate too far down and end up with a weak surface that will spall in time. So, how do you know when to stop floating/troweling the surface? I plan on erring on the side of not floating enough... brooming the surface should cover the little mistakes.

I'm going to cover the finished pad with burlap and keep it wet for at least three days. It will be challenging to keep it constantly wet here in Colorado - very dry and hot this time of the year. I have enough 4 mil clear plastic to cover the pad. Would putting this over the wet burlap help, or will I just be cooking the concrete in a "greenhouse"?

Thanks in advance,
Matt

There's nothing wrong with cutting the joints closer. In fact, after re-reading your original post, the joints should be every 8 feet. Since the whole thing's only 8 feet wide, you won't need a joint running down the center lengthwise.
I'm with Dick about hiring an experienced guy though. I try to be positive since this is a DIY forum, but it's my firm belief (based upon reading horror stories on this forum for years, coupled with being a concrete professional myself) that larger concrete projects are almost never a DIY project.
Everyone I ever talk to says "it looked a lot easier when I saw you do it." That's because it becomes second nature to a pro and it IS actually easy for them.
I truly hope you and your friends do a nice job. It is very possible that you will. It's also very possible that you will be left with a partially finished, hardened monument to DIY. Either way, it is something you will be looking at for a long time.
As to the burlap/plastic. Yes, covering the wet burlap with plastic will help to keep the moisture in. If you put the plastic down under the burlap, or used it instead of burlap, it would leave ugly marks that would never disappear, so don't try that.
You're done bullfloating when the holes are filled, the humps are shaved off, and the surface is flat and free of lines (ridges) left by the ends of the bullfloat. Brooming will hide some small defects in the surface, but if done at the right time will not fill a hole. Timing is EVERYTHING with concrete.
Good luck.

Pecos

Sounds to me as if you've got everything you need now in the area of prep and advice. The guys are correct inasmuch as concrete is unforgiving. Having poured a number of DIY projects, both big and small, I would recommend you re-emphasize to your volunteer crew the importance of being on time. The truck won't wait without charging you extra.... and the concrete work will require each and every one of them.

good Luck!!

Matt, I refreshed a posting I made a while back. It's entitled "concrete DIYers beware". Good luck.

Pecos

Matt, one more thing to consider: Are you expecting to pull the mixer truck into the driveway and pour your way back out? If so, you may be in trouble. A concrete mixer truck (around here) is a little over 8 feet wide. That means he'd be hitting your formwork with his tires and pushing them out, or smashing them altogether.
Maybe you've got access beside the driveway where the truck can pull in and pour from outside the forms. That would be OK. In addition, if the mixer trucks in your area are not front discharge trucks, you'll need an extra man to move the chute while pouring.

Pecos

Get up early and check the weather forcast and find the weather radar for your area.

Those afternoon storms come over the ridge quickly in the afternoon.

Dick

The slab is done and curing under wet burlap. I have to say, I don't think the average person would be able to tell it wasn't done by professionals.

The crew arrived on-time and ready to go. Eight middle-aged men besides myself. Two were were so hung over their eyes were crossed, but I still got decent work out of them later in the morning. Before the truck arrived, everyone got a copy of my checklist, briefed on the process and assigned jobs: chuteman, three muckers to level with rakes, two screeders, and me on the bull float. Two were gophers/on standby. They replaced the original screeders half way through.

Pete, the concrete truck driver was very helpful, and gave me some pointers with the bull float (I didn't realize turning the handle changed the pitch of the blade). He even made a few passes with the float to demonstrate. I think the truck was here for about an hour. He backed onto the existing driveway (I had to sign a waiver) and had the chute to one side.

I floated the slab twice. The first pass, following the screeders, left small ridges in the concrete. By the time I made the second pass, the concrete had firmed up enough that I was able to knock down the ridges without creating any new ones. I then brushed the surface with a regular push broom perpendicular to the slope, knocking the concrete out of the broom after each pass. Two friends edged the slab, dipping their edging tools in buckets of water often.

We ate brats and drank beer for an hour, then came back, covered the new slab with burlap and watered it thoroughly. At this point one of my hung-over friends walked over to me and said "dude, I think I just regained consciousness, did we pour the concrete yet?"

I'll have to wet the burlap every two hours or so until tomorrow afternoon when we'll temporarily fold the burlap back to cut control joints with a masonry saw. We'll then cover it with the burlap again, wet it down and cover with clear plastic to hold the moisture in.

LESSONS LEARNED:
*Try to avoid doing this in summer if the daily highs are in the upper 90's and humidity is less than 25%. Not good for people or concrete.
*Have plenty of water available for the crew, and if it is a morning job, have coffee and food available. We had breakfast burritos, donuts and gallons of coffee for everyone.
* I forgot to have the 2x4 forms separated from the concrete. Oh, well, if I can't get them out tomorrow, I'll just leave them where they are. They're on the "dirt" side anyway.
* I really rounded up on my concrete calculations. I ordered 6 yards but only used 5. So the truck left with $120 of concrete I paid for. I had one side project that would have used a chunk of that concrete, but didn't have the time to excavate and form it. I also really rounded up on the order. Oh well, I'd rather blow $120 on too much concrete than end up 1/100 yard short.

My takehome point to fellow DIYers: If you don't have 100% of your prep work done, crew present, outfitted and briefed and all tools positioned when the concrete truck arrives, then you are going to have a really expensive bad day.

If you have everything lined up and organized, then a small concrete job like this can be fun and rewarding!

Congratulations on your successful pour. It is very gratifying to tackle something like this yourself and have it turn out right. Good job.
Thanks also for following up with the results. This thread may help the next guy.

Pecos