Concrete cogitations - barrow wet or barrow dry

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mdf

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#295795 23-Apr-2022 20:02

I have a big (by my standards) concrete slab to pour - nearly 1.5 m3. A concrete mixer has been borrowed and the the builders mix and cement have been delivered to the front of my house. However the concrete slab is at the back of the house - this is down a steepish but straight driveway run. While it will be fine to wheelbarrow, it will undoubtedly be a lot of work.

I was planning to mix the concrete at the front, wheelbarrow the wet mix down the drive, pour in to the slab boxing, return the empty wheelbarrow up the drive. Then repeat until my legs and back give out, complain extensively, then repeat again. My initial thinking that this would be easier as there would be no double handling.

However now I'm wondering if it would be smarter to wheelbarrow the dry mix down to the back, then mix and pour direct. The loads will be at least a little lighter (the couple of kilos of water), and less time between each pour of concrete in to the slab boxing.

Is there grizzled ol' timey builder's wisdom applicable to my scenario?

Benoire

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#2905870 23-Apr-2022 20:17

Having done something similar for my father in law I would say move the dry stuff. Yes, it is double handling but the dry mix won't spill easily, isn't as unstable and won't stress your body in the same way. The driveway was about 15% grade so the pours where slow and careful but man moving the concrete in a barrow was tough and I nearly lost the load so many times due to minor undulations etc. in the surface which wouldn't have affected the dry mix as badly.

Dratsab

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#2905871 23-Apr-2022 20:18

My thoughts would be get someone to give you a hand and mix it in-situ. One person can be doing a mix while the other is transporting, so there's not going to be a lot of time between pours anyway. Change over every 5 or 6 barrow loads. Either way, with a steep(ish) driveway be prepared for sore quads for a day or three afterwards - unless you're used to eccentric exercise.

Bung

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#2905881 23-Apr-2022 21:33

Find a comfortable amount for a barrow load rather than trying to carry as much as possible. It'll probably work out quicker in the long run and you won't break the handle off your cheap warehouse barrow. (This is a note to self)

neb

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#2905884 23-Apr-2022 22:03

mdf:
down a steepish but straight driveway run

Is there any way to get gravity to do most of the work for you? I'm thinking something like get the cheapest kids water slide you can, peg up the sides, and move the concrete or mix, wet or dry, down it that way?

Bung

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#2905897 23-Apr-2022 22:54

You need quite a steep slope to keep the mix moving. Dry mix will separate with the gravel moving faster than sand. Maybe not a problem if you are mixing it later and try to keep it mixed at the bottom of the chute. Wet concrete shouldn't be sloppy so even that won't be that easy to keep moving. I tried it and went back to carrying 2 x 10l buckets down our Wgtn steps several times every morning and night during the week and mixing on Sat.

neb

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#2905901 23-Apr-2022 23:06

Bung: You need quite a steep slope to keep the mix moving.

I was thinking of using a screed or similar to help it along. So not necessarily chuck it in at the top and hope it reaches the bottom but use it as a chute to direct the material where you want it.

Another Casa de Cowboy story, when they did the driveway here they just dumped it at the top of the slope and kept pushing more and more down with rakes until it reached the level they needed. So the driveway was rather thin at the top and Organisation Todt-level at the bottom. From memory it was thirteen mini-skips full of concrete to get it all out.

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insane

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#2905912 24-Apr-2022 00:31

1.5m3 feels like a job for a concrete truck & pump. I'd pay the premium just to avoid the inevitable days of back pain that would otherwise follow.

Otherwise hire some unskilled labour ;)

johno1234

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#2905922 24-Apr-2022 07:26

Took seven replies but the correct answer eventually arrived! 😀

Jase2985

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#2906055 24-Apr-2022 13:52

insane: 1.5m3 feels like a job for a concrete truck & pump. I'd pay the premium just to avoid the inevitable days of back pain that would otherwise follow.

Otherwise hire some unskilled labour ;)

given the steep driveway i wouldn't think you would get a truck down there either. OP might be able to answer that

and have your priced up the cost of 1.5m3 of concrete recently? its about $800 where i live in Auckland (https://orderconcrete.co.nz/order)

would be less than 1/2 of that in materials

neb

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#2906183 24-Apr-2022 19:31

Jase2985:
and have your priced up the cost of 1.5m3 of concrete recently? its about $800 where i live in Auckland

I didn't comment on that earlier since the OP said he already had the materials on site, but getting concrete delivered and pumped to where you need it is eyewateringly expensive. It's worth it - in fact you don't have much choice - if you need large amounts of it like we did for the Casa rebuild, but for 1.5m3 it's definitely not worth it.

mdf

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#2906229 24-Apr-2022 21:03

@Benoire was right, definitely easier moving the dry mix by wheelbarrow then pouring straight in to the boxing. Not-so-little-miss MDF has also taken an interest in astronomy. While I do fully encourage this, this encouragement did result in getting up at 5.30 to look at a (somewhat underwhelming) planetary alignment. After that I had time for a coffee and an F1 sprint race and it was still too early to start the power tools. So a couple of hours of wheelbarrowing quietly actually worked out well.

Appreciate the other suggestions. While I would love some kind of over-elaborate chute system, it's a shared driveway and at least one of the neighbours wouldn't look kindly on a chain of kiddy pools blocking her access. And also yes, too steep for a concrete truck + pump so I still would have been wheelbarrowing concrete even if I didn't have to mix it myself.

I borrowed the concrete mixer from a buddy and got (actually somwhat under it turns out 😡) 1.5m3 of builders mix + cement delivered for $350-ish, so it wasn't too expensive an exercise. Even the boxing was mostly upcycled from previous leftofters, and the polythane and steel weren't too expensive. It has actually turned into a relatively reasonably priced project so far. Albeit one with significant short term issues for everything under my shoulders.

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Benoire

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#2906230 24-Apr-2022 21:09

mdf:

Albeit one with significant short term issues for everything under my shoulders.

Glad my experiences helped... I found that moving the wet stuff ended up with dead forearms, buggered quads and hams, sore back and spilt concrete... Had we thought about it rather than go in gung-ho I would have done what I recommended here but hey you live and learn and make the same mistakes again 😄

MikeAqua

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#2906713 26-Apr-2022 10:29

If it was me, I would move the piles and mixer to the pour site so that I can mix and pour in situ, at a leisurely pace and without having to rush barrow loads. It's a little more work and mess, but would make for a more orderly pour.

Mike