How Thick Should Your Concrete be?

[@thinking1respect352]

Great information! Thanks from BC. 🇨🇦

[@georgestoumbos975]

Thank you so much!! I am about to do my fist poor tomorow and this info is exactly what i was looking for!

[@DecoCreteTV]

Good luck!!

[@GRUBB-MUDD]

Let's go... silver play button coming soon

[@DavidBailey-c4n]

Love the 101 video. Thanks doing doing it

[@bensconcretecreations]

Was that plate compactor attached to a piece of equipment? I've never seen that. Great video!

[@DecoCreteTV]

Yes, I believe it was, but that video clip was stock footage taken from the internet to help visualize the point, so we did not film that ourselves.

[@charlesviner1565]

Thanks for the video from Davenport Iowa 👍

[@Rellikman]

My perimeter drainage for a small area in my Carport is 2.5” thick but overall it’s 4” and with rebar 12mm grid on 18” centres. Is this 2.5” thickness that critical for about 2ft by 12” wide? Thanks.

[@DecoCreteTV]

4" would be ideal, and if you can get the drainage pipe lower, that would be best. If not, sometimes you just have to the best you can. That thin area will be weaker than the rest of the slab, but it won't just fall apart. I would try not to drive on the spot if possible. Thanks for watching Deco-Crete TV!!!!

[@nhbuddy]

Thanks for sharing this video! I plan on pouring a thick slab at my back door and am curious if there's a limit to how think I can pour? I want the slab to be 14"with a step at 7 inches. Now I know I should just pour this on top of the ground, so I plan to dig down 6 to 12 inches deep and that will make my slab 26 Inches think. Is this a bad plan?

[@DecoCreteTV]

You are welcome, and thanks for the comment! There's really no limit to how thick you can pour. The downsides to pouring that thick would be the cost and the extra weight from that much concrete. As long as the ground you pouring on is stable, you'll be fine. Thanks for watching Deco-Crete TV!!!

[@nhbuddy]

@@DecoCreteTV Thanks! I think I will do the 12 inches underground with just small stones and pour on top of them. Thus bringing me back to 14 inches thick. I'll probably put some wire mesh and rebar into the cement, to help strengthen it

[@nhbuddy]

@@DecoCreteTV I decided to dig it out a foot deep and fill it with 3/4" stone. then build my forms and pour on top of that. Is this a good idea? Also I am going right up against the (former bulkhead) foundation. Id that a bad idea? should I put a space between them? Thanks again!

[@DecoCreteTV]

@@nhbuddy That sounds like it should work just fine! I would recommend using expansion joint between the new concrete and the foundation. Here's a link to a video on expansion joint. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jInWiIx9nbaZp9U

[@wcb22516]

What is the meaning of the numbers .037 when calculating amount needed?

[@raydrapela634]

I wanted to know your thoughts on how thick the concrete should be for pouring and working. The amount of water added partially determines the strength of the concrete. But waste of time as you never say.

[@DecoCreteTV]

Thanks for the comment! The minimum thickness for any concrete slab is generally 4". Driveways and are usually 5" and commercial parking lots would be 6" or maybe even thicker depending on the situation. The thickness is determined by the intended use of the slab and you can always check your local building code or talk to other contractors around your area for recommendations. Thanks for watching!!

[@JJJere]

Do concrete guys actually pour inch slabs or 3.5's. Standard 2x4's a 3.5 inches and does that still count as a 4inch slab measurement to the concrete supplier? Or would that 12th of concrete just be extra?

[@DecoCreteTV]

Thanks for the comment! Even though the slab gets formed with 2x4's that are 3.5" tall, the slab still gets graded to 4". Some might pour 3.5" right up against the form so none of the concrete runs out, but the rest of the slab is still 4" thick. Thanks for watching Deco-Crete TV!!!

[@JJJere]

Thank you!!

[@diannerobinson7858]

What is the strength required for a basement load bearing walls?

[@DecoCreteTV]

Thanks for the comment! The compressive strength of concrete for basement load-bearing walls depends on your location and exposure to weather. The best thing would be to check with your local ready mix concrete plant, they should be able to answer your question. You could also look up the building code for your area to see what the spec says. Hopefully this helps! Thanks for watching Deco-Crete TV!!!

[@hsusysabina]

What size of rebar do you use? How far do you place it apart?

[@DecoCreteTV]

Thanks for the comment! The size of the rebar would depend on the thickness of the concrete, as well as a few other factors. The best thing to do is check your local building code first, some areas of the country may different requirements than others. Common practice would be to use #3 (3/8") rebar for 4" thick concrete and #4 (1/2") for 5"-6" slabs. Common practice for spacing would be 2' on center. Again, both of these things can change depending location, load-bearing requirements and purpose of the slab. Hopefully, this helps. Thanks for watching Deco-Crete TV!!!

[@nicoletrieu716]

How thick should the base rocks be? Is 5” included the case rocks?

[@DecoCreteTV]

Thanks for the comment! The base rocks should be 3"-4" thick. It's also important to compact the sub base material, you can rent plate compactors from most tool rental shops. I'll leave a link to another video covering sub base prep and forming. Thanks for watching Deco-Crete TV!!! kzbin.info/www/bejne/naPaoqeuasadi7M

[@ItsJustJarrod]

The orange things you set in for the rebar. Could you explain how set those in?

[@DecoCreteTV]

Thanks for the comment! The orange/red tubes that you see are part of the Quick Dowel system. It's two piece system; the base gets screwed to the form and the tube slides over the base to hold it in place. When you pull the form, the tube stays in the concrete and the base comes off with from. The bases can be used for years if you take care of them. I'll leave links to the sales page on our website as well as a how-to video on the system. Thanks for watching Deco-Crete TV!!! kzbin.info/www/bejne/aonQgaKagM-tb5o www.deco-cretesupply.com/products/forms-expansion-wire/5-8-quicdowel-base

[@williambachmann6067]

I have a cement slab under my pavers on my lani. Can I pick up the pavers and fill with concrete? Can't make higher than paver height because the lani door would not open.

[@DecoCreteTV]

Thanks for the comment! How thick are the pavers? Most concrete mixes need to be poured at a minimum of 2" thick. You could check with your local ready mix plant to see if they have a good mix for thinner pours. You could also use an overlay mix if it needs to under the minimum thickness for standard concrete. Thanks for watching Deco-Crete TV!!!

[@NYTROeast]

Can I pour 2 inches of concrete over 4 inc of asphalt? This is inside of a metal storage building that was placed on asphalt

[@DecoCreteTV]

Thanks for the comment!! I would talk this over with your ready-mix supplier to see how they feel about it. You can definitely do that, but there is some risk of excessive cracking when going that thin over top of asphalt. It would kind depend on your expectations. Thanks for checking out our channel👍

[@heatherd957]

What's the guy doing 3:31 to 3:34 in this video and what is the reason for doing it?

[@DecoCreteTV]

Applying color hardener to change the color

[@bman6502]

Usually 1” deep is fine… that depth will save you money on concrete

[@youiyoui9942]

1 will crack

[@bman6502]

I started working with concrete back in 1922, in those days the concrete was much stronger because it was made in the USA.. now days, this china concrete is weak.. I’m still laying it, but miss the old days

[@1Tibs1]

Please stop...It’s not the “China” concrete that’s a problem. I’m so sick of these passive comments. It’s like me saying, I loved working with different people, but one I started interacting with “U.S.A. People, I have to Actually dumb myself down to their ignorance.... only you can prevent stupidity.

[@homosassa2tellico388]

1922? So I’m guessing you’re around 120 years old