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How to Determine How Much Concrete You Will Need For The
by Konkratar Seifener
http://www.realconcrete.com
Calculating how much concrete it takes to build your
patio is really easy.
First, decide how big a patio you want. Since almost
everybody needs to see something before they actually
understand if that is what they want, you need to layout
the size of the patio that you want to add on your lawn.
The best way to layout the patio you want to add is to use
some white spray paint. All you need to do is to paint a
line that will represent the outside of your patio. You
don't have to be perfect, just put enough paint on the
grass where you can see the outline of your new patio.
Over the next couple of days, look at the outline to see
if that is the size patio you want. What do you like about
it? What don't you like? What would you like to change?
Now is the time to make any changes that you want because
it does not cost you anything to do it. Make the changes in
a different color paint.
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 its time to calculate the volume of the concrete that
you will need to build your patio. Multiply the area in
Sq. Feet (500 Sq Feet) x the thickness in feet (0.333 feet)
and you get 166.66 Cubic 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.
The concrete that you should use for your patio will be
4000# limestone with pea gravel.The pea gravel finishes
very nice and can be used to create the washed gravel
appearance that most people like.
If you are going to do the patio yourself, you will need
to tell the concrete ready mix company what you are going
to be doing and when so they can give you the right mix
of concrete. They will make the concrete to match the
weather conditions and what you are going to be using it
for.
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.
Your contractor will use a crew of 4-6 people to do this
project. Don't assume that you can do it with fewer people
who have little or no experience with concrete or you could
have a $500 lump of concrete that you will have to break up
and haul off and that would really suck!
A fair price for a patio this size varies from region to
region, so you just need to call a couple of different
contractors for a price. Don't choose the lowest price
because the lowest price is often someone who is going to
try to make up the difference in lower quality or cutting
corners in some way. Choose the price in the middle and
make sure to check references before you sign any contract.
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