I’m getting a sidewalk poured around my mom’s new house, to the back yard deck. There will be a ramp going up to the deck. deck is 11 inches above grade.
It’s about 40 feet of sidewalk. 4 ft wide.
Concrete Contractor doesn’t want to dig it out all the way. He plans to dig out in the front where the new sidewalk will join the old one, that leads to the front door. Then it’ll gradually rise up from the ground. There will be a drop off on the edge. Not copasetic for seniors using walkers.
He says machinery is needed dig it all out and that would have to wait until summer. they’d also have to remove part of my privacy fence to get the machine into the backyard. Extra $800 in cost
I’ve heard day laborers can be picked up at Home Depot’s parking lot, very early in the morning. I don’t understand why he doesn’t hire a couple of them and hand out shovels.
I really need this sidewalk. I could have a half yard of topsoil delivered. Fill in around the edges of the sidewalk and make it level with the ground. Yeah, I’ll be the laborer. Good times.
Should I let this Concrete Contractor do the job? Or should I look for someone else?
I’m having a heck of a time finding a concrete contractor.
The first guy gave me an estimate and is now blowing me off. Too busy doing his big commercial jobs. pouring parking lots and stuff. my 40 ft sidewalk ain’t worth his precious time. Hell, 3 grand and that’s not worth his time?
So now, I have contractor number 2. He’s got a A+ rating from the BBB and has been a member since 2010.
I’m tempted to do it myself. But, I’m not a young stud anymore. Can’t do this much work by myself. Filling wheelbarrows with concrete and rolling them to the form is tough work. That’s a 100 lbs in that wheelbarrow.
Hire it out, that is back breaking work for a young man. You have to know how to float it out and level it. Unless you have experience it’s hard. Why don’t you go to home depot and ask around for a small time contractor or experienced handy person. The big guys don’t give a crap about 3K. Good luck.
I’m not quite sure I understand. How could you rise up 11 inches without there being a drop off? But it is what it is. If you don’t like his plan, hire someone else.
However, it should be noted that you may pay more to have a bunch of guys spend half a day digging by hand than have two guys running a skid steer or bobcat for half an hour.
It’s pretty common for landscaping/construction/digging companies not to make plans until some set date in spring when they can guarantee the ground won’t be frozen. They pay those guys whether they’re working or not so they don’t want to risk having 5 guys not doing anything and still getting paid.
Those are known as ‘illegal workers’ that get paid under the table in cash. You can’t be mad that the contractor doesn’t want to hire them.
You are, however, welcome to hire them yourself and take on the risks involved with it. Anything from someone getting hurt on your property and you having to pay for it to the job not being done properly and having your concrete fail in a few years. If you go that route, make sure the contractor is okay with only having part of the job. He may not guarantee the work if he doesn’t do the entire job. It’s like bringing your own parts to a mechanic.
Spreading half a yard of top soil is going to take, what, an hour? You’ll spend more time planting something or watering grass seed/sod to make it look nice. However, I’d be willing to bet the contractor would be happy to it for you as part of the job.
Hard to say. Get a few more quotes and find one that will do what you’re looking for at a price your comfortable with. They might even all have the same idea as to what needs to be done.
IME, just plan on it ruining any are it’s going to driver over (and probably leaving skid marks on any concrete). When they’re done toss some grass seed down and it’ll be back to normal in a few weeks.
Some contractors will put down plywood in the area from the trailer to the site, so at least they don’t tear up everything.
One other thing, not that it really matters in your case, but when I had my fence installed, I specifically asked for the posts to be far enough apart to get a bobcat into the backyard. It worked out very nicely when I had a patio put in a few years later and all they had to do was take one panel off.
I’m not sure I understand this completely. Will the ramp up to the deck be concrete? Or are you planning on running the concrete up to the deck at grade and then building a ramp out of (presumably treated) lumber (assuming your deck is built of treated lumber)?
If you are doing the former, you should reconsider. If you are building a ramp separately, good for you. Building an 11" ramp of concrete is needlessly complex, though it may be slightly cheaper.
Just a ballpark estimate but you’re looking to get 6 yards of possibly frozen dirt removed by hand. If you think hauling in concrete is hard work try removing that dirt first. You will more than doubling the labor requirement if your contractor is only charging you 26% more since he’s using a bobcat to do the digging I’d say you’re right on. You could probably get it dug out for $100 but it wouldn’t surprise me if the cost got at high as $400 if the ground was frozen and ten you’re going to need to dispose of the dirt too so maybe $300-600 to do it “yourself” so $800 seems like a reasonable markup to me.
I got a lead on a subcontractor for concrete. I think he’ll give better service.
There’s a lot of small subcontractors that don’t advertise. They are well known within the trades and get work by referral. It’s hard to find them unless someone in the trades gives you a phone number.
The companies I’m finding on the BBB are big and focus on large commercial work. A 40 ft sidewalk doesn’t interest them. I called two places that didn’t bother calling back.
btw, the ground in Arkansas isn’t frozen this time of the year. It’s early Spring and 62 degrees today.
Maybe that’s just when his schedule is free and he’ll have time to do it.
I think you should find someone else, you clearly either don’t trust or don’t like this person. Whether you’re right or wrong, you’ve second guessed everything he’s said.
You don’t like that he wants to wait until summer, you don’t like the way he wants to install it, you don’t like that he won’t hire random people off the street, you want it dug out but don’t want him to use a machine to do it.
I don’t know how cold it gets in Arkansas in the winter but just because the air temperature is 62 degrees doesn’t mean the ground temperature is. It takes awhile for the frost to leave the ground so the ground can stay frozen for quite awhile.
Then (or at least with the other people), tell them exactly what you want and have them quote you on it. “I want a level path from here to there with a short ramp at the end to get on to the deck”. It needs to be at grade so my mom won’t fall if she walks off the edge*, how much are you thinking".
Left to their own devices, everyone is going to have a different plan and not necessarily the same as yours.
Telling them, exactly, what you want is the only way to get exactly what you want, within the limits of what they can or will do. It’s also the only way to get an apples to apples comparison.
And, once you’ve told them what you want, let them quote you. If you don’t like what they’re doing, go on to the next person. No point in getting upset because Contractor A changed what you wanted to do or Contractor B is going to use heavy equipment and not planning to fix the lawn.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like you can’t talk to these people and listen to their suggestions but, for example, if the person you’re talking to right now is showing no interest in doing what you want, it’s time to move on.
*Actually, it’ll need to be a little above grade and pitched or it’s going to get covered in mud every time it rains.
There’s a good chance that you will end up with flower beds or white gravel on either side of that sidewalk anyway. Otherwise it’s a heck of a lot of edging to do every time you mow the lawn. It’s sounds like you could save some money now, as well as some long-term hassle, by just making the raised sidewalk and then filling in the sides with mulch or gravel.
One other reason for digging down (the safety issue is paramount) is that you want to have a solid foundation under the walk. It should be 4-6 inches of compacted stone. If they pour it right on dirt, you are going to have cracking or shifting issues after not very long.
In Feb. 2017 I had a secondary main drain line put in (don’t ask). The plumber called his ‘trench crew’ and 4-6 guys using shovels dug a trench in my heavy clay soil 160’ long, 18" wide and sloping from about 2’ to 7’ below grade. That’s a lot more dirt than needs to be dug for a 40’ x 4’ sidewalk that would be no more than 1’ deep.
You should be able to get a contractor who will install a level sidewalk and dig it by hand. Just keep looking until you find one.
Good times.