How much help should I have on hand for a concrete pour?

[Gary_C]

I think a good contractor will save you way more than he will charge you. Just for starters, eight inches is way more thickness than you need all over. With a properly designed slab and a good compacted base, you can probably cut that in half except for the footings.

[Modat22]

well I have to have 6 inchs at the floor and 8 on the walls, can't change that. The roof may end up being concrete as well before its all said and done.

going to chat with a contractor this weekend and investigate a couple others to see what I can do on the site to save money.

[wildtmpckjzg]

It all depends on how well you are set up and prepared.

How wide of a pour are you planning?
How well are your forms leveled and braced?
How well is your base compacted?
Why eight inches thick?
What strength concrete?
Are you planning a pumper to place the concrete?
Do you have a good cement finisher lined up or will you be happy with water standing on the floor?

If you do not have good answers to these questions, best advice would be to hire a local contractor to advise you and do the pour for you. Concrete is very unforgiving and expensive, especially for 60 or more yards.
polished concrete gympie

What's the biggest concrete job you guys have done on your own? Its the one biggest obstacle standing in my way.

[sawguy21]

Wow, a fifteen year old thread revisited.  I have worked enough concrete to know I don't want to do it anymore and can't think of any job I would want less then three strong backs. Hand mix, power mixer or truck? Are you wheeling on to a site or hiring a pumper? Ambient temperature also plays a huge role.

[B.C.C. Lapp]

I've never been "lead guy" on a concrete pour, and for good reason.  But I've crewed on a bunch.   If you have two guys that really know what they are doing and two more that have strong backs you can handle quite a bit.   I would hire a pro for any thing over 500 square ft. This is not something easily or cheaply fixed so it better be right the first time.

[farmfromkansas]

Had to chime in, as I have had trouble with pours in the past, being the second load of the day.  The concrete company will have some unused concrete left in the truck and add some to it and bring it out to you.  That is "hot mud" and about the time you get it unloaded, it will start to set up.  We now have a company that mixes the mud on the job, they have 5 trucks, and haul the gravel, sand, water and cement and mix it in the chute as they unload it.  No more hot mud.  And they charge for exactly what they unload.  Best mud I have ever had on the job.  Did a couple concrete jobs this fall, one was a stem wall for a neighbor, then the neighbors helped me replace the slab in front of my garage that had settled.  We had 4 guys for the stem wall and 5 guys for the slab, which were tiny compared to what the thread was talking about.  Personally, I would divide a slab up into 10 or 12' strips. And always use a plate compactor before pouring concrete.

[barbender]

I have quite a bit of experience in and around concrete. Pouring it, and I ran mixer truck part time for 7 years or so. On a professional flatwork crew, 3-4 guys is plenty. On a weekend pour your own project, with willing backs but not everyone knows what their doing and even the ones that do, don't pour mud on the daily you can figure twice as many. I have had what I thought was too many people show up for pours before, I was wrong and they went home wore out. Have plenty of help, there's no worse feeling than a slab getting away from you.

[KWH]

What are you planning on pouring?

[Tom King]

It all depends on how well you are set up and prepared.

How wide of a pour are you planning?
How well are your forms leveled and braced?
How well is your base compacted?
Why eight inches thick?
What strength concrete?
Are you planning a pumper to place the concrete?
Do you have a good cement finisher lined up or will you be happy with water standing on the floor?

If you do not have good answers to these questions, best advice would be to hire a local contractor to advise you and do the pour for you. Concrete is very unforgiving and expensive, especially for 60 or more yards.
polished concrete gympie

What's the biggest concrete job you guys have done on your own? Its the one biggest obstacle standing in my way.

Just judging by this question, you need more help.  Anything over 12' wide, I want someone on the other end of the screed, and someone else to keep all the tools clean.  This if the truck can back up to the pour.  

I'd wait for the perfect conditions too, but even with the best of those plans, sometimes it goes sideways.  I remember one pour when it was supposed to be 64 degrees, but by the time I put the finishing blades on the trowel machine it was close to midnight and snowing.  I remember that like it was last night, but it was in 1981 when weather reports weren't as good as they are now, and the bulletproof youth I was then has been replaced by experience since then.

This with people who had done it before with me.  Any floor over 12x12, I want two more helpers, and I don't have a good reason to do another one that size by myself.

The one tool a lot of people try to get by without is a roller tamper.  Every step needs to be done correctly, or it will work you to death.  A roller tamper is probably the best investment you can make.
I found a video that shows one in use:



Notice how many guys he has on that job, and that they keep the tools clean.  The edges have to be worked by hand as good as modern tools are.

[Tom King]

Fast forward to about 5 minutes in this video.  The 10' Bull float saves a lot of headaches too.

[jmouton]

6 good people

[jmouton]

4 really good people,,,,,,i have done concrete for 34 yrs