Concrete Delivery Questions

I'm going to apologize in advance for the long post, but I'm hoping somebody here has a good suggestion that will solve my dilemma.

I'd like to pour a concrete slab in my back yard. The necessary volume is approximately 4 cubic yards (1/2 a truck load). My problem is how to get it from the street to the back yard? I live in the circular end of a cul-de-sac and have buried utilities all over my front yard ( the electric transformer, cable box, telephone box where all my neighbor's services come from) and along the property line with each neighbor there are either storm sewer or sanitary sewer pipes. There isn't enough room for a concrete truck to avoid driving along/over the storm sewer and sanitary sewer lines due to the pie shape of the lot. Sanitary sewer line is about 3 ft below grade and storm sewer line is a little bit deeper. I am concerned the weight of the truck (??? lbs) + concrete (15,000 lbs) will damage the lines and cost me big $. Pumping from the street may be possible, but requires an additional truck (pumper = $) and requires additional concrete to prime the pump and fill the lines. This would probably increase the required amount of concrete by 50% to 100% and then the additional amount will need to be disposed of. I can't afford an army of workers with wheel barrows to transport the concrete through the yard and due to the amount of concrete required, buying 80 lb bags and mixing myself is not reasonable (Quikcrete website estimates 170 bags).

What other options am I missing?

It was one of the worst jobs I ever did but for a friend's garage a bunch of us ran back and forth with wheelbarrows. We would have been paid in beer and pizza but it hurt too much to pick them up

You can rent a powered wheelbarrow.

I would also talk to the concrete company. They can probably tell you if it will be a problem. Power and phone should be 2+ feet deep and the sewer being 3+ it's probably not a problem.

+1 on asking the concrete company. This is a life-altering experience for you, but it's just another delivery for them. Let THEM tell YOU you have a problem, and until they do, you don't.

But you get extra bonus points for knowing what's under your lawn! So many people have not the remotest clue.

Put it in the blade of a skid loader. I've moved a lot that way.

Don't forget they can add about 30 feet of shute which will get you closer. Then you wheelbarrow the rest. A few cases of beer and maybe a burger lunch and your good to go.

The delivery guys are seriously under the gun when when it comes to delivery time, and half a load is small potatoes to them. Ask them for suggestions before hand or you're going to have a problem when they get there.

The power wheelbarrow is the way to go. That's how they poured the slab for the shop at my last house. The concrete guy was concerned that the truck would break my driveway slab.

Do yourself a BIG favor and call the utility locator service, down here it's called PUPS. They will come out and mark the utilities for free, they can also help answer any weight etc questions. The deal: if you call them, they mark/advise and something goes wrong, you are in the clear. If you don't, well, if you hit a 600v underground line and kill power to half the town they will bill you for the repairs!

concrete pump truck?

probably one of the more expensive solutions to your dilemma.

oh. you already said it in the oringal post.

I had to rent a concrete pump when I built my house. At the time, I think it was $400 per day, which didn't seem too bad for what it does. I only needed it for a day.

so.. doing for work for Margie?

Pumper truck.

The pumper truck does seem like the best idea, unless you have a bunch of friends with wheelbarrows who are willing to help.

BTW, a fully loaded cement truck can weight up to 70,000 lbs (per quick search), so probably a not a good idea to drive it across the yard. Empty they are close to 30,000 lbs. I would call the concrete company, they can tell you if they will drive on your driveway or yard, then go from there with your plans.

I paid a concrete guy to do a 3 yard back patio, and a few years later a new garage slab, driveway and a couple walkways.

They had an army of documented resident aliens w/ wheel barrows who worked like beaten donleys hauling the stuff from front to back as fast as they could go. It was painful to watch, though I did 100% of the rest of the sh1tty jobs on that house.

So, borrow a few wheelbarrows and get help from out in front of Home Depot. I believe $10/hr is the going rate. A case of Tecate afterward is not in poor taste.

In reply to motomoron:

Maybe I shoulda done that . I offered $20/ hr to local able teens, unemployed friends/ relatives, guaranteed 4 hrs pay... no takers... concrete work sucks. I farmed it out.

btw, I dug the 13' X 21' hole out w/ mini- excavator, formed it, rebar it... all they had to do was show up and move mud

A long time ago I dug a foundation for a 20x20 slab, formed it and all that stuff then tried to find help to pour/finish the slab. No takers. Not many people like concrete work. So I stood in the middle of the slab in a pair of rubber boots and shuffled that crap myself. Got to say it was NOT a lot of fun.

odd.. last time I did concrete work.. I did it for 12/hr. Right now, I would be a taker at 20/hr.. as long as it was a day I had off

Find out how much difference there is between renting a Bobcat verses a pumper truck. There's your answer.

I second the "ask the concrete company" suggestion. All in a day's work.

but the real question is...

how come when you buy concrete it's delivered in a "cement truck"?

the big trucks with the spinny things on the back... nobody ever calls them concrete trucks...

If you work in the industry, you do My wife's company sells concrete (or ready-mix as she calls it) amongst other things, and to her they're concrete trucks. Cement is an ingredient.

Concrete is cement + aggregate.

There are smaller pumpers that use a hose across the ground. It not the crane type.

It was slightly odd that to get concrete delivered and to get it pumped involved contracting two different companies, but they all appear to work together, and the result was reasonable and quick. I want to say it was $5-600 total for the concrete and pumping. I don't recall the yardage, but it was about 35 feet, a foot plus some wide, and two feet deep. (Okay, simple math guesstimates that at 3-4 yards).

The concrete truck backed into the end of our driveway with the pump truck closer to the new pour, and the last 10-40' were done with flexible hoses, like spitfirebill says. I'm guessing they could go further than that if needed, but we had pretty good access.

What would have been a very full morning for me and every friend I could cajole or coerce was instead about an hour or so from when they showed up to when they drove off, and all I had to do was poke at it with a board to get the air out...

It will be the most hectic, confusing and exhaustive day of your life. I’ve done the wheelbarrow thing a dozen times with GOOD strong help and it is murder. A bobcat might help, but your lawn will be ruined. It might not be a big deal to ask for the pumper truck. Especially if you can work on THIER schedule. I curse every time I have to use a creeper on my shops driveway (first concrete pour ever). I’ve gotten better every time, but nowhere near a real concrete guy. With jobs tight right now a small concrete guy would jump at this, and do superior job. He has the tools, and the experience. Even if you get a concrete guy have a bunch of good friends on hand to help out. Then all he has to do is screed it out nice for you.