 |
How to Determine How Much Concrete You Will Need For The
by Konkratar Seifener
http://www.realconcrete.com
There's a simple way to calculate how much concrete it will
take to make your patio, plus you will be able to make
sure you are getting your money's worth, if you decide
to hire a contractor.
Before you can calculate how much concrete you need, you
need to decide the size of the patio you want. I've found
that almost everyone needs to see something before they
really understand how big it is. So the first thing you
need to do is to mark the outline of the patio that you
want to build on your lawn.
I suggest using white spray paint to mark the outline of
the patio. The line you make will give you a good idea
of how your new patio will look when it is done. Make sure
you use enough paint to see the line on the grass.
Look at the outline of the patio that you made over the
next couple of days to see if that is really what you want.
After you look at it for a while you may decide that you'd
like the patio to be a different size, shape or in a
different location. There may even be other changes that
you want to make.
Changes that you make during the layout phase of the
project don't cost you a dime. But if you wait until the
patio is formed and ready to pour, you are going to get
into some significant dollars really quickly. The cost to
make changes after the concrete is poured is even greater.
Be sure that you use a different color paint for any
changes that you make so you can differentiate between
your original design and the new one.
Once you have found a layout, shape or size that you like,
then you can start to determine what it will cost to build
it. You need to create an estimate. Don't worry, its not
that hard to do.
First you need to calculate the area of the patio. You
must measure the outside of your patio. Let's say the patio
you want ot build is 25 feet x 20 feet. The area would be
the length times the width or 500 Sq Feet. Now decide on
the thickness of the concrete that you want. Almost all
patios will be 4"thick. Before calculating the volume you
must convert the thickness of the concrete to feet by
dividing the thickness by 12. The thickness in feet is
0.33333 feet
Now calculate the volume of the concrete needed by
multiplying the area (500 Sq Ft) by the thickness
(.3333f ft). The volume is 166.666 cu feet.
All concrete is sold by the cubic yard. There are 27 cubic
feet in 1 cubic yard of concrete, so in order to get the
number of cubic yards you need just divide 166.66 by 27.
The total number of cubic yards you need is 6.17.
Concrete costs vary from $70 per cubic yard to as high as
$100 per cubic yard. (The concrete ready mix company and
any contractor you talk to will refer to concrete in terms
of yards instead of cubic yards, so don't get confused.)
Don't be to concerned if you don't have a clue what I'm
saying because all you need to do is tell the concrete
ready mix company what you are doing and they will give
you the best concrete for that application. And you only
need to worry about the mix of the concrete if you are
going to do the projec yourself.
I would not recommend that you attempt to make a pour this
large unless you have some experience with concrete or have
someone who can help you. 6 cubic yards is a lot of
concrete to place and finish, especially if you are in your
back yard and have to wheelbarrow it.
A reputable contractor will have a crew of 4-6 people to
place a project of this size, so don't think for a moment
that you can do it with your buddies and someone who has
seen concrete poured before. If you do decide to save a
little money by doing it yourself, you might just have
12,000 pounds of concrete that you need do break up and
haul away. (Each yard of concrete weighs around 3,500 lbs.)
Prices vary from region to region so you need to get a
quote from contractors in your area. Get a price from at
least 3 contractors and choose the middle price to make
sure you are getting a good job from a reputable
contractor.
Submit An Article
|
|  |
